Spotlight: Nhung Le, PhD — From Teacher of the Year to Vice President
By Brent Davis
Some people just brighten up your day. Dr. Nhung Le is one of those people. When we featured her in the April 2025 issue of TRINIUM, we celebrated her recognition as the School of Pharmacy’s Teacher of the Year. Today, we have another reason to celebrate: her well-deserved promotion to Vice President of Institutional Research and Assessment.
Dr. Le’s journey reflects the values of hard work, honesty, and dedication that she learned from her parents in Vietnam. Inspired by her mother, a physician, she pursued a career in healthcare research, earning her PhD in Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
Her commitment to excellence extends from the research laboratory to the classroom. Students have consistently recognized her outstanding teaching in Biostatistics, Cardiology, Infectious Diseases, and courses across the Schools of Pharmacy and Nursing, as well as AURA Academy. Her accomplishments reflect not only academic expertise but also a genuine commitment to helping students succeed.
Last week’s visit by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) team provided another opportunity for Dr. Le to demonstrate her exceptional abilities. Her excellent work in presenting evidence of AUHS’s educational quality, student achievement, and institutional effectiveness helped demonstrate to the visiting team the outstanding work being done throughout our university.
Institutional assessment is about more than collecting data or preparing reports. It is about demonstrating that our educational mission is being fulfilled, identifying opportunities for improvement, and helping faculty and administrators make informed decisions that benefit our students. Dr. Le’s work helps make the achievements of the entire AUHS community visible and understandable.
What makes her accomplishments especially admirable is that she combines professional excellence with the personal warmth and devotion to family that we celebrated in our earlier spotlight. As a mother of two daughters, an accomplished scientist, an outstanding teacher, and now a university vice president, she continues to set a wonderful example for our students and colleagues.
Congratulations, Dr. Le, on your promotion and on your outstanding contributions during the WSCUC visit! We are grateful for your dedication to AUHS and look forward to seeing the university continue to flourish under your leadership.
