That sort of teaching and mentoring is also valued by Dr. Ming-Tung “Mike” Lee, associate vice president and dean for academic programs at California State University, Sacramento. Like Sanyal, Lee is a former ACE fellow and department chair. After the fellowship, his confidence was shaken when he was passed over for a couple of positions he applied for. Then he was named a special assistant to Dr. Alexander Gonzalez, CSUS’s president, where he served for almost a year until April 2005 when he moved into his current job. “It took me a long time to find a middle ground between being overly cautious about career goals and being overly aggressive,” Lee says.
He continues his professional development through seminars such as those offered by LEAP, where he met Wong, who has become one of his mentors.
“When I see Les Wong, I see a very thoughtful man, yet an aggressive leader,” he says. “Yes, it’s possible for other Asian Americans to become like him.”
Khator, who’s as disappointed as Wong in the paltry number of Asian American presidents, pledges to mentor others. “I’ll do whatever I can if someone asks,” she says.
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