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Diana Rea Flores

HEAL 225 Higher Education Leadership and Supervision

Dr. Pryor

October 8, 2021

Leadership & Supervision Interview Paper 

Higher education leaders and supervisors are the essence of an organization. It is with

their leadership that they keep a positive environment, and the organization afloat while

contributing to the success of the students being served. It’s important to have leaders in these

positions that will advocate and assure that the student’s best interest is being considered. To

learn more about the different leadership styles in supervision and the role it plays in the

organization, I had the pleasure to interview Dr. Mui Vuong who serves as the Director of the

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and Special Support Programs at CSU Fresno (Fresno

State). The special support programs that Dr. Vuong oversees include the Summer Bridge

Program, Renaissance Scholars Program, Dream Success Center, and the Office of Black

Student Success. Under her supervision, these programs strive to provide a fostering learning

environment where the students feel welcomed, challenged and supported at the same time.

Dr. Voung has served in her current role as the EOP director for 11 years and has been

working in the field for more than 20 years. She first entered the field of student affairs through

counseling. Before serving as the EOP Director, Dr. Vuong worked as a counselor for the EOP

Program. After completing her doctoral program, she was quickly offered the position of Interim

Director for the program and soon after, became the EOP Director. In her position, she oversees

that the programs under her set and achieve goals, ensure program operations and other activities

adhere to the policies of the university. Aside from that, Dr. Vuong is responsible for

implementing planning, development, administration, and leadership for her staff. She oversees
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full-time counselors working in the different special programs as well as student peer mentors

working for the programs. Specifically, she works closely with the coordinators of each of the

programs. She provides the type of supervision the way she would like to receive herself. “I try

to provide supervision the way that I’d like to be supervised… I like to set goals as much as

possible. I like to give my coordinators information… I meet with them regularly and share my

vision and what I hear to see how we can build programs based on the information and goals of

the university.” (M, Vuong, personal communication, September 30, 2021). As an individual

with an extensive background and valuable experience in higher education and supervising

student affairs staff, Dr. Vuong provides valuable knowledge in the leadership and supervision

field.

Leadership Philosophy

In talking with Dr. Vuong, she shared with me her struggles of staying true to herself

while holding her position. She shares, “when you become in a position where you have to make

decisions, a lot of the time the decisions can be so politically driven… sometimes people have

their agenda or sometimes the university’s mission or goals can be very different from yours”

(M, Vuong, personal communication, September 30, 2021). Supervision is considered one of the

most integral functions of managing student affairs personnel (Elrod et al., 2015). Though the

role of supervision is to support the mission of the institution, Dr. Vuong shares how important it

is to stay true to yourself and your beliefs regardless of the different opinions or policies. She

comments, “… as you get up the [corporate] ladder, your values are going to be challenged in so

many ways” (M, Vuong, personal communication, September 30, 2021). Correspondingly, Dr.

Vuong shared how her leadership philosophy has changed over the years, “if you’d asked me

about my leadership philosophy when I first started, I’m certain my answer would be very
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different to what I’d answer now” (M, Vuong, personal communication, September 30, 2021).

Today Dr. Vuong supervises with the philosophy of staying true to herself, her beliefs, and

values. It is critical for her to stay true to her beliefs because they are deeply connected to the

way she was raised and ultimately define who she is.  

Reframing Leadership

Under the Human Resources framework developed by Bolman and Deal, supervisors lead

and focus attention on human needs and assume that organizations that meet the basic needs will

work better than those that do not (Bolman and Deal, 1991, pg. 512). In talking with Dr. Vuong,

her leadership style toward her supervisees is driven by the Human Resources framework. She

strongly values cooperation among the organization and believes communication is key to the

success of the organization. Human resources leaders value relationships and feelings and they

too, seek to lead through facilitation and empowerment (Bolman and Deal, 1991, pg. 512).

Dr. Vuong shares “I strongly believe in providing the opportunity for professional

development. If the individual is willing to learn and wants to explore options, I’m always trying

to find opportunities for them to do that,” (M, Vuong, personal communication, September 30,

2021). She follows with, “oftentimes, knowing that they are willing and open to share their

professional and personal goals, helps me know a bit more and I try to find opportunities whether

is on campus on committees, across different divisions or within divisions so they can gain more

experience” (M, Vuong, personal communication, September 30, 2020). Human resources

leaders tend to define problems individually or on interpersonal terms and look for ways to

adjust the organization to fit people, conversely, to adjust the people to fit the organization

(Bolman and Deal, 1991). This can be done through training and workshops. Additionally, Dr.

Yuong approaches her employees in a synergistic approach, in where she supports her employees
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as they objectify their goals and those of the organization to advance their leadership

development (Shupp and Arminio, 2012).

The student population that Dr. Vuong works with is constantly under pressure. She

explains how not everyone supports the student population she works with. Under her

supervision, Dr. Young works with students who are first-generation, undocumented, or formally

in foster care. Dr. Vuong describes, “not every staff, or faculty support undocumented

immigrants… I was an immigrant and so this aligns really well with me in terms of this

population” (M, Vuong, personal communication, September 30, 2021). She also supervises the

Office of Black Student Success, where she states the ethnic portion comes in place. Together,

she shares her department becomes quite political. As a first-generation, immigrant herself, Dr.

Vuong understands the challenges these underrepresented students face. Because of her

background, and as part of her work in supervision and leadership, Dr. Vuong advocates for

equity.

The political frame of Boleman and Deal views organizations as grounds of continuing

conflict and competition among different interests for scarce resources (Boleman and Deal, 1991,

pg. 512). Leaders in the political frame are advocates and negotiators who value realism and

pragmatism (Boleman and Deal, 1991, pg. 512). Like Dr. Yuong, leaders in the political frame

spend a lot of their time networking, creating coalitions, building a power base, and mobilizing

people and resources to ensure the organization is acquiring and allocating resources

appropriately (Boleman and Deal, 1991).  

Fostering Collaboration

In conversing with Dr. Yuong and the way she fosters collaboration among her team, she

shares that she tries to set goals that are high and as clear as possible. She states, “I try very hard
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to communicate as often as possible… having engagement with [them] is really important,

oftentimes I praise the work with an email and sometimes I send cards, praising is important”

(M, Vuong, personal communication, September 30, 2021). One of the five practices of

exemplary leaders is to encourage the heart. Exemplary leaders that encourage the heart

understand how important it is to recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual

excellence (Kouzes and Posner, 2018). It is important to take time to celebrate the successes of

the organization as well as to recognize the failures. Like Dr. Vuong shared, appreciation can be

expressed individually or to a whole group. Being an exemplary leader requires showing

appreciation for people’s contribution and creating a culture of celebrating the values and

victories in which essentially create an environment for fostering collaboration (Kouzes and

Posner, 2018, pg. 13). Dr. Yuong expresses that unfortunately, “when it comes to education,

giving raises does not endure, hence, expressing gratitude for their contributions in whatever

their abilities or ways [they] have done is essential” (M, Vuong, personal communication,

September 30, 2021). Dr. Vuong represents a leader who encourages the heart because she

strongly believes in the importance of offering encouragement and the value it brings to the

success of the staff and of the organization.

Modeling the Way

Ultimately, Dr. Yuong believes that through her position as supervisor, she is certain her

work is making a difference to an extent. She is also aware that there are many limitations such

as bureaucracy, policies, and regulations that don’t allow her to do the things she strongly

believes would benefit her students and truly make a difference. Her past and lived experiences

allow her to truly connect with the population she serves because she can identify with them. Dr.
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Yuong indicates that the gratification she receives from the students and the staff gives her the

confidence to continue leading the way she has thus far.

My admiration towards Dr. Yuong is more imminent now than before this interview.

Understanding and learning why she does the work she does is remarkable. She instills the role

of the supervisor who cares for the programming and purpose of the organization she serves

while at the same time ensuring her staff is well equipped with the tools needed to succeed in and

outside the organization.

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References

Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (1991). Leadership and management effectiveness: A multi-frame,

multi-sector analysis. Human Resource Management, 30(4), 509–534.

https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.3930300406

Elrod, R., Haynes, C., Cade, S., Forrest, A., Loch, T., & Schuckman, G. (2019). No Cookie

Cutter Approach: Supervision in Community College Student Affairs. Community

College Journal of Research and Practice, 43(2), 149–152.

https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2018.1424664

Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2018). The student leadership challenge: Five practices for becoming

an exemplary leader (3rd ed.). Wiley

Shupp, M. R., & Arminio, J. L. (2012). Synergistic Supervision: A Confirmed Key to Retaining

Entry-level Student Affairs Professionals. Journal of Student Affairs Research and

Practice, 49(2), 157–174. https://doi.org/10.1515/jsarp-2012-6295

Student Affairs and enrollment management at Fresno State. California State University, Fresno.

(n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2021, from

https://studentaffairs.fresnostate.edu/eop/index.html