Dr. Nguyen-Trung Hieu, EdD, PhD

Founding Director of:
National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), Washington, DC
Asian American Coalition of Chicago, Inc. (AACC)

Education Director and the 1983 Presidential Medal of Community Service winner Dr. Nguyen-Trung Hieu, one of the Asian American Coalition of Chicago's original founders in 1981, was honored with the prestigious Ping Tom Pan Asian American Award on February 28, 2004 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago.

Dr. Hieu is the Director of Clemente Math, Science & Technology Academy; a member of the doctoral dissertation committee at DePaul University; and Founding President of Nghia Sinh International, established in 1963. Nguyen-Trung Hieu has given 34 years of dedicated service to the Pan Asian American community. Since 1975, Dr. Hieu and Nghia Sinh have sponsored more than 1,100 Indo-Chinese refugees from Southeast Asia to the United States, providing them with education and employment services.

In 2005, Dr. Hieu founded the "Youth Who Excels" Awards to honor Asian American students once a year for academic excellence, outstanding leadership, and dedicated service to the communities, including Bangladeshi, Cambodian, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Malaysian, Pakistani, Thai, and Vietnamese American communities. 

From 1976 to 1998, in consultation with educator Steve Shiu, Dr. Hieu founded and led the Asian American Education Program at Clemente Community Academy of Chicago. For 22 years this program has assisted hundreds of Asian students to become technicians, nurses, engineers, lawyers, and doctors.

From 1977 to 1987, together with Professor Wook Park, Dr. Hieu initiated and directed the Pan Asian Educators Training Program at National Louis University. This program helped 72 Asian students become teachers, who now are successfully teaching in Illinois and other states.

Between 1982 and 2009, Dr. Hieu and Nghia Sinh's leaders organized 27 annual Thanksgiving celebrations and dinners for Asian Americans in Illinois. He served on the board of directors of Asian Human Services of Chicago for three years. Nguyen-Trung Hieu worked with community leader Prem Lalvani to organize and sponsor Pan Asian American parades and festivals over the past several years.

Dr. Nguyen-Trung Hieu has also excelled in many areas of the Three-Ls: Learning, living, and leading.

Nguyen-Trung Hieu is a learner. He has attended several universities, including Loyola University, Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago. He has earned five Master's degrees, a Certificate of Advanced Study, a Certificate of Business Administration, a Certificate of Law for Community Developers, and two Doctoral degrees, one in education and one in administration.

Nguyen-Trung Hieu is an educator. He has taught at a number of schools, including those of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the National School of Social Work, Clemente Community Academy, City Colleges of Chicago, College of DuPage, DePaul University, Governors State University, and National Louis University.

Nguyen-Trung Hieu is a writer. He has written a number of books, including "Practical English-Vietnamese Idioms," "English-Vietnamese Key Terms in Social Sciences," "Vietnamese Boat People: Journeys to Life, Liberty, and Learning," and "Vietnamese Songs for Peace and Love." He has also produced three brief documentary films: "Vietnamese Homeless Children," "Vietnamese American Contributions to America," and "Visions of Educational Excellence."

Nguyen-Trung Hieu is a volunteer extraordinaire. He served as a member of the Asian American Advisory Council to the Governor of Illinois from 1981-1987; he served on U.S. Senator Paul Simon's Advisory Committee from 1984-1988; he was a director of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in Washington, D.C., from 1989-1995; and he has three times served as chairman of the Asian American Coalition of Chicago in 1989, 1997, and 2005.

Nguyen-Trung Hieu is a public servant. He served as a member of the board of directors of the Northeastern University Foundation from 1998-2001. Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed him to the City of Chicago's Advisory Committee on Capital Development, where he served two terms, during 2001-2003. He was appointed to the Loyola University Advisory Council on Education and served for three consecutive school years, from 2002-2005.

Nguyen-Trung Hieu has received numerous awards and honors for his efforts and service to the community, including the 1977 "Those Who Excel" Award from the Illinois State Board of Education, the Loyola University Founders' Dedicated Service Award in 1984, the 1987 Golden Apple Award from the Foundation for Excellence in Teaching, the Northeastern Illinois University's Meritorious Service Award in 1995, and the 1996 Thomas Jefferson's Public Service Award from NBC-TV 5 Chicago.