Study Abroad in Vietnam: Vietnamese Studies & Service-Learning in Ho Chi Minh City – Faculty & Staff

Vietnam Faculty

Language faculty come from the host university’s affiliate language school, Vietnamese Language Studies Saigon (VLS). VLS runs a training program for Vietnamese language teachers and hires its own faculty from its top tier of students.

Core course lecturers come to CET from a variety of institutions. All instructors have held teaching or research positions in the United States, or have experience teaching US students in Vietnam. Some are US-trained scholars or professionals living in Vietnam.

Vietnam Staff

CET maintains full-time, bilingual staff at each of its study abroad locations.

The Resident Director oversees the academic program; coordinates housing and local roommates; supervises local staff; arranges activities; and manages student acclimation, health and welfare. S/he is trained to prevent and handle student emergencies.

Staff Bios

Christophe Robert, Vietnam Program Director

Christophe Robert has been conducting research in Vietnam regularly since the late 1990s and has called Ho Chi Minh City home for the past several years. Immediately before joining CET, he acted as Lecturer for Loyola Vietnam Center and Director of Online Qualitative Research for Cimigo Vietnam. He earned a PhD in cultural anthropology from Cornell University in 2005, and prior to relocating to Vietnam served as Lecturer at Cornell University, Princeton University and Yale University, and Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong. Additionally, he has worked with NGOs such as ENDA and Save the Children in Ho Chi Minh City.

Nhu Truong, Vietnam Resident Director

Nhu Truong was born in Ho Chi Minh City and moved to the United States at age 11. As an undergraduate at Kenyon College, Nhu studied with CET Vietnam. After graduation, she received two masters—a Master of Arts in Asian Studies from the University of Texas at Austin where her thesis compared Vietnam and China’s economic/political policies and reforms, and a Master of Public Administration from New York University where she focused on international policy and management. While at New York University, she also served as adjunct instructor, teaching the course Topics in Vietnamese History, Economics, Politics and Culture and leading the accompanying two-week course trip to Vietnam. At UT Austin, she served as a teaching assistant for Accelerated and Advanced Vietnamese Language for heritage learners. She has led several social justice and community service programs in Vietnam and Cambodia and brings to CET both a nuanced understanding of Vietnam as well as experience with service-learning and university-level education.

Vu Ho, Vietnam Program Assistant

Vu comes from the central highlands of Vietnam but moved to Ho Chi Minh City to attend both high school and college. He graduated from the University of Economics of Ho Chi Minh City in 2013 with BA in Finance. At school, Vu was an active member and leader of the University’s Volunteer Club. He first joined the CET Vietnam team in 2010 as a Vietnamese roommate and considers his experience with the 2012 summer program in Quang Tri one of the most memorable times of his life. In addition to learning new languages and cultures, he enjoys playing sports, traveling and cooking.

Vietnam Alumni

Hear what CET Vietnam program alumni have to say! Click here to contact a program alumnus.

Academic Advisory Board

CET maintains an advisory board of US-based scholars. The Vietnam Advisory Board meets annually to discuss curricula and derive teaching standards. Board members visit the CET sites in order to evaluate programs and, when possible, teach courses.

Dr. Erik L. Harms
Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Southeast Asia Studies, Yale University

Dr. Binh Ngo
Senior Preceptor in Vietnamese, Harvard University

Dr. Dieu Thi Nguyen
Associate Professor of History, Temple University

Dr. Quang Phu Van
Senior Lector of Southeast Asia Studies, Lector of Philosophy, Yale University

Dr. Andrew Wells-Dang
Former CET Vietnam Immersion Resident Director