Glenna C. Chang, widely considered one of the most influential Asian women to assume a leadership role at the University, plans to leave her position as assistant dean of students at the end of the spring semester.
A search committee has started looking for Chang's replacement, and on-Grounds interviews will begin at the end of the month, said Pablo Davis, an assistant dean of students and the committee's co-chairman.
Chang arrived at the University in 1998 after a group of Asian and Asian-American students rallied University officials to fill an open position in the Office of the Dean of Students with an individual who would act as an advocate for the Asian community.
Chang said her experiences at the University have been some of the most trying yet most fulfilling of her career. She said she now is ready for a change and hopes to spend time with her family before taking on another job.
"While her position has Asian-Pacific American students and concerns as its focus, Dean Chang is far from considering herself 'the Asian dean,'" Davis said. "The work that she specifically does do with, and for, Asian-Pacific American students, is work that she believes strengthens the education of the whole University community."
Chang's efforts to establish effective programs for the Asian community have led to the creation and development of the Asian Pacific American Leadership Training Institute, a Peer Advisor and Family Network, the "Bread and Rice" program of historical readings, and awareness of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.
"They were just pipe dreams and she transformed them into reality," said Stephanie Hsu, a fourth-year College student and former Asian Student Union president. Hsu helped lead the initiative to establish Chang's position three years ago.
The APALTI program was designed to help Asian students form an identity and discover what it means to be Asian-American. It also encourages members to build relationships and connections with each other, Chang said.
Davis, an advocate for Latino students, said he and Chang both face the challenge of "working to build unity among students who may be classified together under a rubric such as Asian Pacific American but have a range of different origins and experiences."
Asst. Dean of Students Stephanie Goodell said Chang also has shown dedication to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Chang's work with this community helped create the LGBT resource center, Goodell said. Goodell already has taken over the duty of overseeing the center.
Chang also worked with the University's Task Force for Women's Concerns, in which she assisted in writing the widely circulated 1999 Report on Gender Equity.
Through her work on the task force, Chang said she urged University President John T. Casteen III "to begin work on creating a more hospitable and supportive climate for women at the University."
"We saw her as a part of the next generation of women leaders," said Equal Opportunity Programs Director Karen Holt, who worked closely with Chang on the task force. "Her wisdom is beyond her years."
ASU members, who have worked closely with Chang for the past three years, are committed to working with and acclimating the new dean upon selection, said ASU President Ryan McCarthy.
ASU members are dedicated to continuing the programs they have established with Chang's aid. They plan to advance efforts to create an Asian-American studies program, a project Chang worked hard to make a reality, McCarthy said.
"It's students from the beginning to the end," Chang said. "They won't be entirely on their own, but I expect a great deal from them"
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