PAACH director to leave for Dartmouth College post

A typical day for June Chu consists of waking up early in the morning to teach a spinning class at Pottruck Fitness Center, advising students on their majors and staying up late to answer their emails.

After seven years at Penn, Chu — the director of the Pan-Asian American Community House — will be leaving her post to become the assistant dean of Undergraduate Advising at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H.

“She’ll add a lot to the Dartmouth advising office,” said Shiella Cervantes, the associate director of PAACH. She added that many current Penn students are sad to see her go.

“June is fully invested in the development of students,” said Wharton senior Jenny Fan, the executive chairwoman of Asian Pacific American Heritage Week.

Chu didn’t just hold the title of PAACH director — she also taught courses at the Graduate School of Education, was a pre-major adviser for students, served on the crisis team for Student Intervention Services and could be found in Pottruck, teaching spinning, body combat and body blitz classes.

On Wednesday afternoon, PAACH hosted its open house for the fall semester, at which students and faculty helped celebrate Chu’s time at Penn.

“You can tell that she is going to be missed because a lot of people came out today,” said Aelita Parker, a College sophomore and leadership chairwoman of Promoting Enriching Experiences and Relationships.

During Chu’s tenure at PAACH, she has helped host four national conferences catering to Asian American college students.

“June has been instrumental in putting these conferences on,” said College senior Andrew Lum, executive vice chairman of the Asian Pacific Student Coalition. “We wish we didn’t have to see her go, but we understand.”

He explained that when speakers or performers came to Penn for PAACH groups, Chu was always reliable and “great for negotiating contracts.”

“June has been very helpful because it’s so rare to have the multifaceted relationship with faculty,” Faye said, adding that her relationship with Chu has “made a world of difference” in making the University a more personal place.

Parker — who has been on two leadership retreats with Chu — said that while Chu is a respected member of the Asian American community at Penn, she “was not afraid to have fun with us.”

Although she is terrified of the snow, Chu said she is excited to move on to her new position at Dartmouth because it will allow her to “get out of the programming and tap a little more into the academic area of the student’s life.”

“If there was an opportunity, I would definitely come back [to Penn] — the Vice Provost for University Life office has been great to me, I have great colleagues and friends across campus. It’s a wonderful place,” she added.

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