The 7th Triennial Vietnam Symposium is just two weeks away, but there is still time to register.

The symposium will be held at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center in Lubbock on March 10-12th.  This year’s symposium includes presentations on a wide variety of topics, with presenters from around the United States, Australia, Scotland, China, Vietnam, and Germany.  The complete agenda, hotel information, and an online registration form are available on the symposium website: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/symposium.htm

We hope to see you there!

From Left to Right: Ambassador Sichan Siv, Anna Mallett, Martha Pattillo-Siv

The Vietnam Archive is pleased to announce that on September 14, 2010 Mrs. Martha Pattillo-Siv participated in its Oral History Project and was interviewed by Ann Mallett, Vietnamese American Heritage Archivist.

Martha Lee Pattillo was born and raised in Pampa, TX. Her parents, both educators, helped instill in her a lifelong love of languages, reading, education, libraries, and helping others. These lifelong loves have been a constant and binding thread throughout her life.

During her career she worked at the Atlantic Institute in Paris, France (1972-74), UNESCO in Bangkok, Thailand (1974-76), various agencies of the U.N. (1977-89), and the World Bank (1989-2006). While working for UNESCO in Bangkok she visited Thai refugee camps. Upon seeing the conditions of the camps, she helped provide the refugee women with an income by buying their handmade goods and then selling them outside the camps at no profit for herself. In 1988 she formed the South China Seas Company to help impoverished, displaced women sell their textiles. In 2000 Mrs. Pattillo-Siv became the Vice-President of Friends of Khmer Culture. In 2005 she became a member of the Board of Directors of Teachers Across Borders, Inc.

Martha Pattillo-Siv resides in San Antonio with her husband, Ambassador Sichan Siv, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. They met when Siv was a new immigrant from Cambodia, where his entire family had been killed by the Khmer Rouge, and have been married since 1983.

Listen to the Complete interview here

Adrian Cronauer will be the first speaker in the 2011 VNCA Guest Lecture Series on March 10th at 7:00pm

The Vietnam Center and Archive has a full schedule of events coming up over the next few months:

March 10-12, 8:00am-5:00pm: 7th Triennial Vietnam Symposium at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center [symposium information, agenda, and registration: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/symposium.htm]

March 10, 7:00pm: 2011 Guest Lecture Series presents Adrian Cronauer at the Lanier Auditorium of the TTU Law School [more information: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS].  The lecture will be preceded by a special invitation-only reception with Mr. Cronauer for Friends of the Vietnam Center.

April 6-13: 3rd Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Film Festival (4 films: Green Dragon, Rashomon, The Toll of the Sea, and Kim’s Story).  All films at the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library [more information and film show times: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/2011filmfestival]

April 14, 7:00pm: 2011 Guest Lecture Series presents Kim Phuc at the Allen Theatre of the TTU Student Union Building [more information: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS]

May 12, 7:00pm: 2011 Guest Lecture Series presents LeAnn Thieman at the Allen Theatre of the TTU Student Union Building [more information: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS]

We will post more information about each of these events as the dates get closer.

Funeral services for DaNita Buckley will be on Saturday, February 19th at 11:00am at Oakwood Baptist Church, 6002 Ave. U, Lubbock, TX.  DaNita passed away on February 7th.  She spent the last 9 years at Texas Tech, and will be greatly missed.

The agenda for the 2011 7th Triennial Vietnam Symposium is now available online.  The symposium will occur on March 10-12, 2011, at the Overton Hotel and Convention Center in Lubbock.  Presenters will speak on a wide variety of topics. 

Please note that speakers and the schedule are subject to change, and we will update this agenda as changes become available.

A registration form for the symposium is available online as well.

• Symposium Information Page
• Symposium Agenda
• Symposium Registration Form

We hope to see you there!

We are very sad to inform our friends and supporters that Ms. DaNita Buckley died yesterday, February 7, 2011.  She spent the last nine years with us at Texas Tech University and was a wonderful friend and colleague.  We miss her very much.  We will post information about memorial and funeral services when they become available.

Tet, the Vietnamese New Year
Today – Friday, February 4th
3:00-5:00 pm
The International Cultural Center’s Hall of Nations, Texas Tech University Campus 

This is a free event open to the public.

Traditional Vietnamese food will be served. A special presentation will be given by the Vietnamese Student Association at Texas Tech. Please join us and learn more about the rich heritage and culture that makes Vietnam so remarkable.

February 3, 2011 ushered in the Lunar Year of the Cat. In Vietnam, one of 12 animals of the zodiac represents each year. The cat symbolizes sensitivity, gentleness and kindness. It is said that people born in the year of the cat are compassionate, ambitious and sentimental, but they are often very vulnerable to opportunistic and unscrupulous people.

The Vietnamese people regard Tet as their most important holiday. Food preparation for Tet is very time consuming and often requires days of cooking and, prior to the celebrations, people clean, paint, and decorate their homes. People avoid cleaning during Tet so that good luck will not be “swept away.”

We hope you will be able to join us on February 4, 2011 as we celebrate this special event!

For more information, please call (806) 742-3742 or visit www.vietnam.ttu.edu

Link to event flyer: http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/events/tet/tet2011.pdf

Today is the start of Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year celebration and 2011 is the year of the cat.  To celebrate this great holiday, we have created an online exhibit that is an exploration of the Tết holiday and its customs, history and traditions supplemented with photos and documents from our collection.  If you would like to learn about this unique holiday please click on the link below to see our exhibit.

 http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/exhibits/tet/ 

Adrian Cronauer

Thanks to a generous grant from the Helen Jones Foundation, the Vietnam Center and Archive at Texas Tech University will present a guest lecture series throughout 2011.

The mission of the lecture series is to enrich the cultural life of attendants by bringing distinguished individuals to campus for presentations on specific aspects of the Vietnam War and its impact on American policies, society and culture.

Adrian Cronauer – Cronauer is the radio DJ portrayed by Robin Williams in the movie “Good Morning Vietnam!” (March 10, 7 p.m., Lanier Auditorium of the Texas Tech School of Law)

Kim Phuc – In 1972, Kim Phuc was photographed running down a road naked and on fire after a napalm strike on her village. Today, Kim Phuc runs a non-profit organization for children and is a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Peace. (April 14, 7 p.m., Allen Theater of the Student Union Building)

LeAnn Thieman – Thieman was a nurse involved in Operation Babylift, a mission to evacuate more than 300 Vietnamese babies from South Vietnam before it fell to communist troops. (May 12, 7 p.m., Allen Theatre of the Student Union Building)

Kara Dixon Vuic – Historian and author of Officer, Nurse, Woman: The Army Nurse Corps in the Vietnam War. (October 13, 7 p.m., Lanier Auditorium of the Texas Tech School of Law)

Dave Carey – Carey spent more than five years as a POW in Hanoi during the Vietnam War. (Nov. 10, 7 p.m., Allen Theatre of the Student Union Building)

Admission is free and open to the public.

Visit www.vietnam.ttu.edu/GLS for more information.

Dates may be subject to change.