Preparing for Positions at the Administrative and Leadership Levels

Presenter: Peter Armbrust, Dean, Asian School I, Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and Presidio of Monterey

Mr. Armbrust was born in Austria in 1943 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1956. He graduated from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY and received a Masters Degree from John Hopkins in 1970. He served in the US Army as an Intelligence Officer and joined the East Coast Branch of the Defense Language Institute in 1972 before moving to the West Coast Branch in 1974. He has served as German teacher, course project developer, Dean of School of Germanic Languages, Dean of Romance Languages, and Dean of Asian School 1. Mr. Armbrust has also served as President of the local chapter of the National Federation of Government Employees; President Federal Managers Association, President Toastmasters International, DLI Chairman, Handicapped Individual Employees Program Committee, DLI, Rotary.

This presentation will address various issues dealing with enhancing opportunities for Asian Pacific Americans to assume positions of leadership in academia. The speaker will provide a brief summary of the current status in higher education as it pertains to rank advancement, awarding of tenure track status, the use of adjunct faculty and teaching assistants, and the impact of anti-affirmative action legislation. Based on empirical data, possibilities for increasing the number of qualified APA educators will be discussed. Topics to be considered will include the performance of teaching duties, especially in a standards-based environment, professional development opportunities and community involvement, and prerequisites for career advancement as well as transition into academic leadership positions.