Luis Maria R. Calingo

Dr. Luís María R. Calingo is the 13th President of Woodbury University in Burbank, Los Angeles, and San Diego. He is the incoming President of Holy Angel University in Angeles City, Philippines.

Dr. Calingo is an educator whose background in higher education is extensive and varied, with most significant success in turnaround and institution-rebuilding environments. He believes that the core purpose of university education is to transform students into graduates with highly valued degrees and responsible citizens of a democratic society. He has over twenty years of academic administrative experience in higher education, has taught in both public and private institutions in the United States and Southeast Asia, and have led business schools and academic organizations with sizes ranging from 400 students (private) to 6,000 students (public). He brings to the institutions he has served his portfolio of executive leadership experience in higher education, proficiency in strategic planning and accreditation processes, proven competence in building partnerships and generating considerable philanthropic support, and internationally recognized expertise in managing quality and continuous improvement. As an educational leader, he seeks to make a difference by leading higher education organizations through strategic renewal and realignment of strategies, structures, and systems.

Dr. Calingo joined Woodbury from Dominican University of California, where he was executive vice president and chief academic officer and earlier was dean of its School of Business and Leadership. Dr. Calingo previously served as dean of the Boler School of Business at John Carroll University, the Jesuit university of Cleveland. Prior to Boler, Dr. Calingo was dean of the College of Business Administration and professor of international business at California State University, Long Beach and past chair of the California State University Association of Business Deans, which coordinated the academic leadership initiatives of the 23 business schools in the CSU system.

Dr. Calingo holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of the Philippines (UP), and a B.S. in industrial engineering from UP. He received the Distinguished Alumnus in Education and International Development awards from the UP Alumni Association (UPAA) and the UPAA in America, as well as the Most Outstanding Alumnus Awards from the UP College of Engineering and the UP School of Urban and Regional Planning. Dr. Calingo has been married to Gemeline, his wife of 34 years. They have three daughters: Ashley Marie, Alexandra Nicole, and Arienne Louise.