The Office of Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs has a director for the first time.
Student Body Vice President Anthony Reynolds, along with the Office of Multicultural and Diversity Affairs, spearheaded the effort.
Reynolds, who is the first Filipino collegiate Student Body vice president in Florida, said he wanted to help find a director on which students could rely. He is a member of the Asian American Students Union.
"This was a very personal project for me," he said.
Although he is not sure exactly how long it has taken to hire a director, Reynolds said he knows the move has been in progress for at least eight years.
As director, Leah Villanueva said she will bring an ability to relate to APIA undergraduates.
Villanueva graduated from UF in 2006 and was involved in APIA as a student. She started the job at the beginning of the Fall semester. She said she wants to work on developing leadership opportunities, educational programming, advocating for Asian-American studies and organizing an alumni-student mentoring network.
Email Villanueva with questions at lmv@multicultural.ufl.edu.
