Providence University, one of only two Catholic universities in Taiwan, is owned and run by the Taiwan Catholic Church headed by Cardinal Paul Shan and Bishop Joseph Wang. The university lies on a sprawling 28-hectare campus with a college student population of 10,500.
Dr. Michael Chen, president of the university, cited de Villa "for her distinguished humanitarian service as the first woman president of the Council of the Laity of the Philippines and founder of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), and for her outstanding performance in diplomatic service as co-founder of the Asia Group of Ambassadors accredited to the Holy See which she headed as dean for two consecutive terms."
De Villa initiated a series of conferences on dialogue among civilizations organized by the Asia Group in the Vatican. Pope John Paul II later cited this topic as essential to the quest for peace in his annual message for peace.
Providence University, founded in 1921, has since then conferred honorary doctorates on seven prominent persons who have contributed greatly to humanitarian, scientific, economic and educational development, notable among whom are Dr. Lee Yuan-che, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for chemistry, and Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, symbol of the peaceful struggle for independence of East Timor. De Villa is the university’s eighth awardee.