Peter Van Do: Director of Pan-Asian American Community House |
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September 4, 2012,
Volume 59, No. 02 |
The University Life Division (VPUL) at the University of Pennsylvania announced the appointment of Peter Van Do as director of Penn’s Pan-Asian American Community House (PAACH), effective July 23.
Mr. Van Do holds a master’s degree in American Studies from the University of Massachusetts and a bachelor of arts in history: citation in Asian American studies from the University of Maryland (College Park). He is currently completing an additional master’s in Asian Studies at Cornell. Fluent in Vietnamese, Mr. Van Do has been published in several Vietnamese studies journals and has received numerous personal and scholarly honors, including a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS) from the US Department of Education.
Mr. Van Do comes to Penn from Cornell University, where he served as assistant director/program director for Community Center Programs in Cornell’s Student Activities Office. Mr. Van Do mentored and advised student groups, student employees, and other organizational leaders to enhance the student experience and foster community. His professional specialties include mentorship model approach, organizational and program development, leadership, and team building.
Previously Mr. Van Do served in additional roles at Cornell, as program coordinator for the department of communication and as curator and director of “Exit Saigon, Enter Little Saigon,” a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit Program Series staged at Cornell. Mr. Van Do also worked as student activities coordinator at the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations at Harvard University.
“I am excited to bring my experience and background to PAACH and the larger Penn community,” said Mr. Van Do. “I look forward to supporting PAACH’s mission as a hub of academic, personal, and professional growth for all Penn students.”
Penn’s Associate Vice Provost for Equity and Access William Gipson praised Mr. Van Do, “I am delighted to welcome Peter Van Do to the Penn community as director of the Pan-Asian American Community House. The search committee—composed of students, faculty, and staff—was impressed not only with his academic credentials but by the research he had done on PAACH, the Penn community, and the Asian American communities in the city of Philadelphia. Peter’s commitment to student leadership and his fine work in the development of programs that strengthen community and deepen understanding across various markers of identity made him extraordinarily attractive and the ideal person to lead PAACH forward.”
As director of PAACH, Mr. Van Do will help to support and encourage the academic, professional, and personal growth of Penn students, and foster community, through PAACH’s advising, leadership development, cultural, and social programming. During the ongoing renovation of the ARCH building, PAACH is located in 240 Houston Hall. |