President Bush Appoints Vietnam Center Director to Education Foundation

Written by Cory Chandler

President George Bush has appointed Steve Maxner, director of the Vietnam Center and Archive, to the remainder of a three-year term on the Board of Directors for the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF).

The VEF is a federal agency created to strengthen the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam through educational exchanges in science and technology.

Board members include the Secretary of State, Secretary of Education, Secretary of the Treasury and representatives from the U.S. House and Senate.

Maxner pointed to his work both as deputy director and now director of the Vietnam Center as preparation for the appointment, noting that he has interacted extensively with university administrators, faculty, staff and students in Vietnam.

The Vietnam Center has inked a number of exchange agreements with Vietnamese universities and Maxner also has worked with officials in the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training – the equivalent of the U.S. Department of Education – developing a scholarship that directly mirrors the VEF program.

“I think anytime you get to sit down and meet with the U.S. Secretary of State, Secretary of Education and prominent U.S. Senators, this is good for the image and national prestige of Texas Tech University,” Maxner said. “While we get lots of great publicity through our athletics programs, our national leaders need to know that Texas Tech is also a place where great things happen in our academic research centers and institutes, like the Vietnam Center and Archive. I am honored to be able to represent our great university in this capacity and to serve on this board to help Vietnam and Vietnamese students in achieving some of their dreams and goals.”

VEF initiatives include providing opportunities for Vietnamese nationals to pursue graduate and post-graduate studies in science and technology in the U.S., while allowing Americans to teach in the same fields of study in Vietnam.

Maxner’s term will expire April 17, 2010.

Related

The Vietnam Center and Archive houses one of the largest collections of Vietnam-era related documents outside the National Archives. It supports and encourages research and education regarding all aspects of the American Vietnam experience to promote better understanding of this experience and the peoples and cultures of Southeast Asia.