Barbara Hong, Ph.D.

When people first meet Barbara Hong, they often conclude that her life must have always been enriched. They assume she had loving, successful parents and all the support she needed to reach her goals. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Hong's path to an Ivy League university and beyond started in a filthy tenement in Singapore where she lived with an abusive father and an illiterate mother. Even as a child of six, she worked in her sweatshop home to help with extra money, which her father often wasted on alcohol. As she endured his drinking and abuse, she feared that the pain she internalized could shatter her.

But instead of falling apart, Hong managed to face her challenges with determination and hope, thanks to a few caring friends and teachers who helped her feel a sense of belonging. She learned to embrace failures as a way to find who she is and what she is made of. Once she learned she wasn't the brainless " cabbage head" her mother called her, she began believing in herself, eventually finding the courage to discover her true purpose as a knowledge seeker, educator, and advocate.

Hong's inspirational journey from a sweatshop home upbringing to an influential dean and professor movingly illustrates the true strength of the human spirit and the power of teachers.

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Dr. Hong obtained her Ph.D. from Columbia University in addition to three masters. She is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Senior Fulbright Scholar, Senior Fulbright Specialist, Fulbright Hays Fellow awards, and the First Honorable Visiting Scholar to Taiwan Municipal University of Education. In 2014, Dr. Hong was appointed by the U.S. State Department, Bureau of International and Information Programs, as a Speaker Specialist & Expert on Disability and Inclusion where she consults with governmental agencies around the world.

Dr. Hong has been a professor for more than twenty-three years and has taught in New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Hawaii, Qatar, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Guatemala, and Turkey. She is also a licensed special educator, school principal, and district supervisor/superintendent. Her two decades of research examine the barriers students face as they transition to and through college.  She also conducts professional development on the cognitive science of teaching and learning, including the development of self-determination and debunking myths about teaching and learning. 

Dr. Hong is the recipient of the International Teacher of Honor award by the Education Honor Society, Kappa Delta Pi, and the University Exemplary Faculty Award. She is also a graduate of the American Academic Leadership Institute, “The Becoming A Provost Academy,” sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges & Universities. She serves on the Advisory Council for the Oxford Educational Research Symposium, is a past member of the Board of Directors for the Council for Exceptional Children, and is the Founder of P.A.C.E.™—Parents As Advocates for Change in Education. 

Previously, Dr. Hong worked as the Education Specialist for the Virginia Fairfax County Government, Department of Family Services, and Institute for Early Learning. Later, she became the Special Assistant to Vice Presidents on A.I.D.E. (Access. Inclusion. Diversity. Equity) and the 504/ADA Compliance Coordinator. She was the former Dean of University College and Professor of Special Education at Texas A&M International University. Currently, she is the Vice President for Student Success at San Antonio College and a Special Advisor to the Office of International Programs at the Alamo Colleges District.