We hope you enjoy this series where we meet and get to know employees from across campus. Would you like to be featured? Contact us at campusnews@csufresno.edu.

Name: Vicky Xiong-Lor
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education
Academic Degree(s):

• B.A. in Liberal Studies, Fresno State
• MA in Mathematics Education, Fresno Pacific University
• Ed.D in Educational Leadership, Fresno State

How long have you worked at Fresno State?
Nine years in the Literacy, Early, Bilingual and Special Education Department in the Kremen School of Education.

Are you a Valley native?
I came to Fresno at the age of 10 from Minnesota and have been here since then. Prior to coming to the United States, my family lived in Laos. Due to my father’s role and service in the Secret War in Laos, we became refugees, as did all the Hmong people now in America. We lived in the refugee camp, Ban Vinai, in Thailand for a year before coming to America in 1980.

Are you a Bulldog family with generations of Bulldog graduates or current students?
Yes. Both my husband and I are alumni. All three of our children are also alumni, and our daughter-in-law just graduated last spring. Our oldest child is Joshua Lor, who is 30 years old, and has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. Our second son, Brandon Lor, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, and our daughter, Rachel Lor, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Our daughter-in-law graduated with her bachelor’s degree in psychology as well.

Do you have a campus mentor or someone who has helped you in your career?
Dr. Tony Vang, Dr. Susan Tracz and Dr. Soua Xiong were great mentors for me before coming to campus. Dr. Tony was my mentor and invited me to teach some of the Hmong BAP courses while I was a doctoral student. As he is retiring from the university, I have been hired to take on his role as the Hmong BAP professor and coordinator. I am blessed to have him pave the way for me.

Dr. Tracz was my dissertation chair when I was getting my doctoral degree. She is such a wonderful and caring mentor for me. I could not have been as successful as I have been had it not been for Dr. Soua Xiong’s guidance during my application and interview for my current position. So many professor friends also mentored me in one way or another and I just can’t thank them all.

Tell us about your department and what people may not know about it.
I am very happy to be working for the LEBSE Department. It is a wonderful department to work in. Our department has faculties who represent four different fields of expertise, and our faculties are pretty diverse in so many areas. They are experts in the field of literacy education, early childhood education, bilingual education and special education, therefore, the name of our department is (L)iteracy, (E)arly, (B)ilingual & (S)pecial (E)ducation.

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important?
I was the California Language Teachers Association’s world language teacher of the year in 2022 and have been a public school teacher and administrator for 27 years prior to becoming a full-time assistant professor. My research on the Hmong language maintenance and loss was pretty significant in creating Hmong programs in California, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why?
Hmong language reclamation and revitalization work is what I am most passionate about. Children should have every right to be literate in their native language and culture in order to develop healthy self-esteem and realize their full potential in life.

What is a memorable moment you had at your job?
Bringing back the Asian Pacific Islander Commencement ceremony in 2015 after it was discontinued for over 10 plus years was the most memorable moment for me as a faculty. Not only that, but I was also a graduate in that ceremony with my doctoral degree.

What is a memorable moment you had in class?
In the spring of 2015, I taught my first Hmong Bilingual Authorization program course and seeing students write lessons plans in Hmong and teaching their lessons in Hmong in class was a phenomenal experience.

What is your teaching style?
I see myself as a facilitator and a student at the same time. My teaching style is learning by doing and exploring, whereby students are at the center of learning, and I am there to provide resources and to help them navigate. At the same time, the students and I co-construct the learning and we adapt activities and learning tasks to meet the needs and feed the curiosities of the students.

What is your favorite quote or saying?
"If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done." — Thomas Jefferson

Nyiaj puv hnab tsis cuag li tswv yim pub plab.
Nyiaj puv tsev tsis cuag li tswv yim pub cev.

What is the most interesting or unusual job you've ever had?
I am proud to say that I am the first Hmong woman “Pab Thaa,” a Lao word used by the Hmong people which means “leader.” I am the president of the Hmong Lor clan (families) in the County of Fresno. In the history of the Hmong people, only men have held this title. This is a four-year term.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
I love to read. There is not enough time in my busy schedule to read books that I love. I have so many books that I have not read and look forward to reading them every chance I get.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know?
After a week of monsoon rains in the refugee camps in Thailand, at the age of six, I fell into a drinking water well that was 10 feet deep and survived. My little five-year-old brother and I never told my parents about this incident until about 10 years ago.

Is there something else you would like to share that was not asked?
I am most proud to be a grandmother to the cutest grandbaby of mine. This is my pride and joy. I would like to introduce all the readers of this Employee Spotlight to my little grandson. His name is Jameson Zoo Txuj Lor and he is my little cup of tea, my sunshine, my heart and soul. I would love for all of you to experience the joy of being a grandparent. It is the best title anyone could be called by, and it is happiness that cannot be compared to any riches in the world. “Pog Pog” is what he calls me. It means grandmother in Hmong and it is music to my ears.