bio

Dr. Francois Nguyen

I was born in Hue, Vietnam in the late 1950’s. Attending French schools with an interest in the sciences, I was always a good student and often voted class president by my peers. My family moved to Saigon where I attended high school at Ngo Quyen and passed the highly competitive bachalauriet exam. In 1975, I left Saigon on my brother’s helicopter leaving half my family including my parents behind. Not knowing I would not return for 20 years, I came to the United States seeking refugee resettlement.

I arrived in Minnesota, took English classes at Macalester College, then was accepted as a Freshman at St. Thomas College the same year. Learning English very quickly, I did well in my courses and made many friends. I was President of the International Student Organization for two years, involved with the Minnesota Council of Private Colleges to bring more minorities in to private colleges, and worked on the Economic Security Department’s Governor’s Special Task Force on Minority Employment.

After college I worked for three summers as a chemist intern for the St. Paul Water Department. I worked part time in the Bilingual department at St. Paul Technical and Vocational Institute. I received my Masters in Education from La Verne University in 1982.

I was awarded a full time contract as a Bilingual Instructor at St. Paul Technical and Vocational Institute in 1982 and received tenure in 1985. I continue to teach Math, Computers, and English as a Second Language at St. Paul Technical College which is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and University system.

Since 1975, I have always been very active in the Vietnamese Community. I have provided initial assistance to Vietnamese newcomers. I have represented the Vietnamese community as a spokesperson on issues related to refugee resettlement. I continue to mentor Vietnamese in cross cultural issues.

I hosted a radio talk show on news and information about the Vietnamese community.
I participated as a panelist in the WCCO town meeting for the 10 year anniversary of the Vietnam fall to communism. I participated on committees for the Chamber of Commerce to promote refugee employment.

I was hired as a Coordinator for the St. Paul Foundation’s Supporting Diversity in Schools project which was set up to combat racism in the St. Paul Public Schools.

I was selected as a participant in the Great Lakes Governor’s Council Pioneering Partnership which focused on technology innovations in schools.

I coordinated and instructed St. Paul Urban League’s Summer Science Institute which provided career exploration for St. Paul high school students. I also coordinated and instructed the St. Paul Connections program for afterschool career exploration for St. Paul high school students.

Francois Nguyen: Vision for the Community

The Asian population in this country is very young. This potential resource needs to be tapped to develop a high quality workforce for the future. This can be done with education and training. The educational system needs to be transformed to better meet the needs of the Asian population. Schools need to become more global. Technology can equalize educational opportunities. School policies should be updated to better reflect student needs. Asian youth need to be empowered with leadership skills to compete in the global marketplace.

The Asian crisis has affected the whole world. We need to think beyond boarders and act on a more strategic global economic level. Minority businesses should use this time of American prosperity to reach out and seek global opportunities. I have an interest in going back to Vietnam and setting up a technology in education partnership. We need to bring Asian values and traditions into American society and learn to work together on economic ventures.

As we enter into the new millennium, we are faced with many dilemmas, but at the same time there is much opportunity for growth. With new technology the world is becoming more interconnected and is in constant rapid motion. Now days we all must know about technology to be part of the information rich. I am constantly learning the latest cutting edge technologies and enjoy teaching technology skills to my students. I want to empower people with technology not only for their betterment, but also so they can be leaders.

With my leadership capacity I can contribute and provide vision and direction to the community. Instead of minority communities wasting energy dealing with oppression and neutralizing negative forces, they need to work together to develop and evolve core values which all cultures accept such as: dignity, liberty, and democratic forms of government.

I am interested in studying the speeches and works of great roles models of this century such as: Nelson Mandela, Fidel Castro, Kim Dae Jung, Aung San Suu Kyi, Mother Theresa, Jimmy Carter, and Kofi Annan. These people have inspired me because of their courage to withstand hardships, their dedication to human dignity, and their willingness to take a stand for the betterment of common people. These people preached dignity and hope over despair and hatred. They wanted to see a good future for their people but not through oppressing or controlling. Their kind of dedication demonstrated their own nobility. Studying what others have done inspires me and allows me to reexamine my service to the cause of the common good.

My research is in the areas of technology and leadership in education. I intend to share my knowledge with others and contribute not only to the local community, but to the global community.