東海大學個人網站/網路硬碟web.thu.edu.tw/mmanno/www/To office/Peace Corps.doc · Web viewPhone Number(s): (886) 4 2702-8547 Email: [email protected] Briefly describe

Peace Corps

Country Director Application

To be considered for the upcoming Overseas Staff Training (OST) cycle applications must be received by August 15th

Country Director Application Form

Name: Last, First, Middle InitialFemale [ ] Male [X]

Manno, Mark, A.

Present Address:Box 5-701Tunghai UniversityTaichung, Taiwan 40799

Telephone Number (home):Include international codes, if applicable

(886) – 4 – 23594317 (GMT+8)

Cell/Mobile Number:Include international codes, if applicable

(886) – 9 – 5843-8675

Telephone Number (business):Include international codes, if applicable

(886) – 4-23590121, ext. 3155

FAX number: (886) – 4- 23594717

Email Address: [email protected]

Social Security Number: 545-92-8817

For statistical purposes only: 1) Where did you learn about the Country Director openings that led you to apply at this time?

** Professional Association Journal (please specify)_Chinese Language Teachers Association e-announcement.

2) Identify yourself by the category with which you most closely relate (optional): __ American Indian or Alaskan Native __ Asian or Pacific Islander __ African American, not Hispanic __ Hispanic X White, not Hispanic

3) Are you a citizen of the US? _yes__ If a citizen of another country, which country? __NA_______________

4) Please complete all following sections from “A. Work History” through “G. Country Director Selection Criteria” and the following forms: H., I., J., and read K.Privacy Act Notice: Authority to request this information is the Peace Corps Act {22 U.S.C. §2501 et seq.} (as amended). This information will be used in processing your application, and may be used for the routine uses described in the Privacy Act System of Records A, B, C, D, E, F, G ,H ,I and J and as otherwise authorized by law. Failure to provide the information will preclude your consideration for appointment as a Country Director.

Overseas Executive Selection & SupportRevised 5/06 Page 2 of 21

mailto:[email protected]

Before beginning, I would like to clarify why I am thinking of a career change at this time. It will be obvious from what follows in my application that I am quite content with my current job.

Because my current employer is a foreign entity, my wife and I have been out of the US Social Security and health care system since our mid-twenties. This means that despite having worked for about thirty years, we as yet do not have the necessary point totals to qualify for Social Security benefits, including Medicare, after the age of 65. We are concerned about health care in our retirement years when we expect to return to living in the US and believe that this may be a good time for us to find a US employer so we can once again become a part of the SS system (employees of foreign entities in many countries are not permitted to pay into the Social Security System, although a few countries have special treaties with the US). I have already had a firm offer for a position with a US brokerage firm in financial planning, but do not feel it fits my personality. Upon reading about the CD position for the Peace Corps, I felt that the needed attributes and experience were a good fit for me, despite my emphasis up to now on work in academia and the performing arts.

A. Work History

List in order, present to past, the relevant positions that you have held since college. Describe your specific duties, responsibilities and accomplishments for each position held. Please indicate reasons for any lapses in employment longer than three months. Resumes may be attached as a supplement, but are not a substitute for the completion of this application form. If additional space is needed, attach supplementary sheets.

Name and address of employer: Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan 40767

Title of position: Assoc. Prof. of Music

Dates of employment: 1982-present (also 1976-1980)

Name of your direct supervisor: Mr. Sz-chao Chen, Chairman, Dept. of Music

Number of employees under your authority and reporting to or through you: currently – none, but please read below which explain my past management experience.

Description of duties, responsibilities and accomplishments:

Currently, I teach music courses for Tunghai University Department of Music. While I am not deeply involved in administration at the moment, I have a significant amount of administrative experience attenuating from my 25 years of service at this job. It should be pointed out that since 1979, virtually all of my service to the university, both teaching and administrative has been done using Mandarin Chinese (I speak, read and can write Chinese).

I served as acting chairman of the music department in the spring of 1987 for one semester while the regular chairman was on leave-of-absence. Later I was department chairman during the 2 1/2 year period from January 1997 to July 1999. As chairman I was responsible for 15 full-time faculty, 35 part-time faculty, 2 full-time office staff and approximately 150 music students. Our operating budget each year (not including personnel costs) was in excess of $250,000/year.


Prior to my administration, department committee by-laws and other regulations had not been formalized. All of these were put into place under my leadership. I personally created and managed our music department’s first website using what, at the time, were very primitive html tools (1996). As department chairman I was invited along with our then Dean of Studies to visit Millikin University in Decatur, IL on a fact-finding mission to investigate ways that our two sister institutions could strengthen ties through scholarly exchange of faculty and students. As a direct result of that trip, a Millikin University student came to Tunghai to study the following semester, and that summer a group of Tunghai University music students went to Millikin University for a two week short course. Both exchanges were deemed a success.

Between September 1998 and August of 2000 I was a member of Tunghai University’s Budget Oversight Committee. This committee is responsible for reviewing and approving any expenditures in excess of NT 5,000,000 (roughly US $150,000). This included the acceptance and approval of bids for new construction on campus; as well as review of the university’s annual budget.

In the summer of 1986 I was coordinator and administrator for the Tunghai University Music Department sponsored Summer Music Institute, inviting outstanding artists and music teachers from outside of Taiwan to give master classes and short courses. Duties included all matters connected with the personal needs and comfort of short-term foreign faculty. For example, they needed to be met at the airport and safely delivered to their living quarters at or near the university. I needed to arrange for their meals, arrange for English to Chinese translators, arrange for enjoyable ways to spend their spare time and host them for those activities. I also needed to arrange for their Taiwan earnings to be converted to US currency so they could conveniently take it out of the country. I also had to trouble shoot for any problems that students were having and explain to parents of the participants regarding policies and procedures when questions arose.

Over the years I have represented the Tunghai University Music Department on committees at all levels of the administration (departmental, college, and university). These have included hiring committees, equipment budget committees, library committees, curriculum committees and environmental protection committees.

Courses I currently teach include: keyboard skills, score reading, basic musicianship and piano. I have also taught: music history, musical form and analysis, piano pedagogy, music harmony, music research methods and computer software for music use.

“Missing years” explanation: Please note that between 1980-1982 my wife and I lived in Seattle, WA. Employment during this period will be covered elsewhere in this application. Additionally, I was on an official leave-of-absence from my teaching duties between August 1987 and July 1990 to do doctoral studies in music education (piano pedagogy) at The University of Texas at Austin. I returned to Taiwan and resumed teaching in the fall of 1990.

Name and address of employer: St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 5455 Bee Caves Road, Austin, TX 78746


http://www.millikin.edu/

Title of position: Director of Music

Dates of employment: Jan. 1989 – July 1989

Name of your direct supervisor: Fr. Vaughn Meiller, Pastor

Number of employees under your authority and reporting to or through you: No employees – all volunteers: About 20 choir members and about six other musicians.

Description of duties, responsibilities and accomplishments: Plan arrange, rehearse and conduct (choir) all music for Sunday Mass. Organize and build up the church choral library; arrange for purchase of necessary copyrights to publish song sheets for each liturgy (prior to my coming, copyrights were not being properly respected or paid for). Arrange, edit and publish song sheets for each liturgy. Coordinate with instrumental musicians responsible for music to be played at other Masses. Prepare special liturgy for the Easter celebration. This job ended after less than a year because I received an $8,000. research grant from The University of Texas which stipulated I could not work more than 10 hours per week. It was therefore necessary for me to resign the position. I was in charge of the search for my replacement and that duty was also successfully discharged.

Name and address of employer: St. Benedict Catholic Church, 1805 N. 49th St., Seattle, WA 98103

Title of position: Choir director / Organist

Dates of employment: September 1980 - June 1982

Name of your direct supervisor: Fr. Harris

Number of employees under your authority and reporting to or through you: No employees – all volunteers. About 25 choir members and an organist accompanist.

Description of duties, responsibilities and accomplishments:I planned the music for the liturgies, rehearsed the choir and directed the choir during Mass. I also frequently played the organ as well.

Name and address of employer: M & M Pianos, 5214 University Way NE, Seattle, WA 98105(This business closed sometime in the mid-1980’s)

Title of position: Sales and Repair Assistant

Dates of employment: September 1980 – June 1982

Name of your direct supervisor: Mr. Edward Wetzel

Number of employees under your authority and reporting to or through you: none

Description of duties, responsibilities and accomplishments: This isn’t relevant to the position at hand, but I list it to account for my major source of income during the time we lived in Seattle. M & M Pianos was a second hand piano store. I worked refurbishing and selling used pianos.


B. Skills & Qualifications

List special qualifications and skills (e.g. public speaking, important publications, membership in professional societies, etc.)

I have had membership in three invitation-only Greek Honor Societies which I joined when I was a student. In 1971 I became a member of Alpha Gamma Sigma while a student at Santa Barbara City College. Membership in this society was limited to students in two year colleges with a grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale.

While a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I was elected to membership in Pi Kappa Lambda, a College Honor Society for outstanding achievement in music (June 10, 1974).

While pursuing doctoral studies at The University of Texas at Austin, I was invited to membership in Mu Phi Epsilon. This society was originally a sorority for female musicians which later became co-ed. My membership in the Mu Theta Chapter dates from January 31, 1988.

Also while a doctoral student at The University of Texas at Austin, I was nominated to, and accepted membership in Pi Kappa Lambda, another College Honor Society. That membership dates from 1989.

When I first went to Taiwan in 1976, there existed an organization sponsored by the Republic of China government called the China Institute in America, Taiwan branch. My wife and I were members of this organization and participated in quite a few of their activities. The purpose of this organization was to foster good relations between the Chinese and US citizens living in Taiwan. This organization ceased to function after normalization of relations with mainland China in 1979.

In 1995 I presented a paper in Japan entitled “Towards a Comprehensive Keyboard Skills Program” at the All-Japan Electronic Keyboard Educational Research Conference held in Tokyo (August 3-4, 1995). The paper was translated from English into Japanese for inclusion in the conference publication. In addition to a demonstration presentation of how to teach, I spent time fielding questions from the teachers present.

I am used to taking a leadership role and I am comfortable with doing so – especially if it involves doing something for the common good. For example, even before I finished my MA degree (1974-76), I was involved with an organization called Los Niños whose primary purpose was to try to upgrade the standard of living and care at an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. When I found out that mirrors were needed for the children to use in the bathroom at the orphanage, I contacted a friend who donated the needed mirrors (4 2” X 4” quality plate glass mirrors and the parts needed to hang them). I personally delivered and assisted with the installation of the mirrors. I was later asked to join the board of directors of this organization, but had to decline because I had already accepted employment in Taiwan. At approximately the same time (spring 1976 – age 23) I was invited to join the board of directors of the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation. This foundation had provided me with scholarship money a number of times over the course of my college career to that point, and knew me from that interaction.

I also have been one of the active participants in our university’s movement for environmental awareness and protection. I served on this committee while chairman of the Tunghai University Music Department for two years (1997-99). For a period of roughly 5 more years (during the previous university president’s administration [1999-2004] I was a voluntary auditor of this same committee. Throughout this period I received announcements for meetings and regularly attended even though I was no longer a voting member.

I am good at public speaking and am good at extemporaneous speech. I believe this gift to be in part a function of my experience as a musical performer. During my first ten years of teaching in Taiwan, the concert audiences generally understood little or nothing about western music and etiquette for listening to a formal musical recital. I generally made it a point to talk to the audience about the music before performing to help bridge the gap between performer and audience.

I attribute my success in learning Chinese in part to my experiences with learning music. To learn a foreign language successfully takes a lot of discipline – and I think I am quite strong in this area. To learn a tonal language such as Chinese also takes a good ear for pitch nuance and inflection. I believe my musical training has been helpful in this area as well. A successful musician cannot be bashful, and it is a decided handicap if one is bashful and trying to learn a foreign language.

Since 1992 I have participated in an organization called the Focolare Movement. This movement, now over 60 years old, originated with some young women in Italy during WWII. This movement is now in


http://www.focolare.org/En

nearly every country of the world and participants try to do whatever they can to make the world a better place by concrete positive action toward whoever they meet. My direct participation in this organization has been somewhat limited by family commitments, but I participate in their activities whenever my schedule permits.

I would like nothing more than to be in a position to make a positive difference for a lot of people. I have no doubt that the Director of Peace Corps Volunteers has numerous opportunities to do just that. While many of the administrative duties are undoubtedly mundane and in some sense “uninspiring”, I am keenly aware of their importance and would give as much weight and focus to doing those tasks to the best of my ability as I would some of the more “creative tasks” such as consulting with volunteers and with local leaders regarding how we might be of help.

C. Prior Peace Corps Service and/or Employment

If you have had prior Peace Corps service or employment please provide a brief summary of the nature of your service including title, time, and location of service.

No prior service with the Peace Corps.

D. Language Fluency

For each language other than English, indicate whether you are “fluent”, have “some knowledge” or have “slight knowledge”. You will be interviewed or tested in a language if it is required for a particular country of assignment.

Language Proficiency

Mandarin Chinese near fluent (speak, read, write using computer)Spanish very slight knowledge (but willingness to learn)German very slight knowledge (but willingness to learn)

E. Educational Background

Please list your educational experience including the name and location of the institution, the type of degree and the major, and the date the degree was awarded.

DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) in Music Education from the University of Texas at Austin (1993)MA in piano performance from the University of California at Santa Barbara (1976)BA in piano performance from the University of California at Santa Barbara (1974)AA in music from Santa Barbara City College (1972)

F. Assignment Interests

Peace Corps appreciates candidates who are available for worldwide assignments. However, you may have regions of special interest (such as Inter-America and the Pacific, Africa, or Europe/Mediterranean/Asia) due to prior work or educational experience. Overseas Executive Selection & SupportRevised 5/06 Page 7 of 21

Are you available for worldwide consideration? Yes, but I have two young daughters (Taiwanese adopted at infancy in Taiwan). These daughters are

were born in 1994 and 1999 respectively. The elder daughter will be a 7th grader in the fall of 2006. The younger daughter will be 2nd grader in the fall of 2006. It will be important for me that my daughters have access to a quality American education wherever we may be posted. It is also imperative that I am headquartered in the same city (or within a reasonable commute) as my family. I place great importance on having a strong/close relationship with my wife and children.

Another reality is that my family and I have lived all of our lives in a Mediterranean to near-tropical climate. It would probably be rather too much of a hardship to be posted to a location that has severely cold winters.

Below you may list Regions or countries of particular interest:

I have lived and worked in Taiwan most of my adult life. This has resulted in a high degree of fluency in Mandarin Chinese. An assignment in China would probably be ideal, although I could understand if my deep and on-going association with the Chinese culture might be viewed in some sense as a liability. Of the other places in Asia where there are currently volunteers, I have personal acquaintance with the Philippines and Thailand. I would be especially interested in either one of these countries. I’m sure there are many other places I would seriously consider, but my knowledge of those places and their cultures is largely based on reading and occasional viewing of the National Geographic Channel!

G. References Below please list the names, addresses and phone numbers of five people whom Peace Corps can contact regarding your skills, experience and capabilities. It is mandatory that references include current or former supervisors, an employee whose work you currently supervise, an employee whose work you previously supervised and a professional colleague or counterpart. If you have been a consultant for the past 6 years and you have had no employees, please indicate and list your reporting contact at your longest running client contract as Reference #1 and the employee at that client who you had the most contact with as Reference #2.

Reference # 1: Your Current/Former SupervisorName: Dr. Juanelva RoseTitle: Professor of Music (Emeritus)Address: Box 5-947, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan 40799Phone Number(s): (886) 4 2359-0365Email: [email protected]

Dr. Rose is my former supervisor (department chairperson). She first hired me in August 1976. We (my wife and I) left our teaching positions in July 1980. She subsequently rehired me in August of 1982. She was my supervisor (department chairman) from 1976-1980, 1982-1987, and 1999-2004.

May we contact your current supervisor at this time? You are welcome to contact my current department chairperson;

however, he speaks only Chinese or Italian with fluency. He would probably not be able to communicate very well in English. Should you wish to call him, I have no objections. To keep his information under the “Reference #1” category, I include his name immediately below as “Reference #1, part 2”:



Reference #1, part 2Name: Mr. Szu-chao ChenTitle: Associate Professor of Music, Music Dept. Chairman (current immediate superior)Address: Department of Music, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan 40767Phone Number(s): (886) 4-2359-0220; (886) 4-2359-5019; Mobile: (886) 9-3704-2086Email: [email protected]

Reference # 2: Employee Whose Work You Currently Supervise

I do not currently supervise any employees. By the nature of my work, almost all of my “underlings” are university students or adult students.

I volunteer at my church to plan the music liturgies for our English language Mass every Sunday. The closest thing I have to an employee are other volunteers with whom I work to coordinate the preparation for the liturgy at Mass. At this same church, I had, for a time, directed a volunteer choir and about three years ago spent a period of two years teaching two members of the Chinese Catholic community how to accompany hymns for Mass. The one person who could best answer questions about my ability to work with and direct other people in my charge would be our parish pastor, Fr. Nguyen Nhuan, MM (Maryknoll Missionary). Fr. Nhuan is quite fluent in English. He was formerly a refugee from South Vietnam, before going to the US where he went to seminary to become a Maryknoll priest. Below is his contact information:

Name: Fr. Nguyen Nhuan, MMTitle: PastorAddress: #240 Ching Hai Road, Sec. 2, Taichung, Taiwan 40745Phone Number(s): (886) 4 2702-8547Email: [email protected] describe your relationship with this individual: Fr. Nhuan has been the pastor at our church for about seven or eight years. Due to my extensive experience in liturgical music and planning the liturgical celebrations at our church, Fr. Nhuan has asked me to do various projects to help upgrade the quality of our liturgies. All of my work for the church has been strictly on a volunteer basis.

Reference # 3: Employee Whose Work You Previously Supervised

The person listed for this reference is someone who was under my supervision while I was chairman of the department of music (1997-1999).

Name: Ms. Lily HanTitle: Office Assistant (really an office manager)Address: Department of Music, Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan 407676Phone Number(s): (886) 4-2359-0220; (886) 4-2359-5019Email: [email protected] describe your relationship with this individual:

Miss Han is Taiwanese and has been working in the Tunghai University Music Dept. office for over 25 years. She is and has been the person who keeps the place running smoothly and does the most to



transition the department from one administration to the next (the department has a rotating chairmanship). Miss Han worked under me when I was chairman of the department (1997-1999) and I continue to have an on-going work relationship with her. We have known each other through work for over 25 years. Miss Han is a Taiwan native. She has a high degree of fluency in English (she was an English major in college). She could easily answer questions via telephone interview.

Reference # 4: Professional Colleague/Counterpart

Name: Dr. Gregory LeeTitle: Assistant Professor of MusicAddress: #137 Fu-shuen Road, Area B2, Bldg. A, 6th Fl., Apt. 7, Taichung, Taiwan 407Phone Number(s): (886) 9-1688-4483 (this is a mobile phone number)Email: [email protected] describe your relationship with this individual:

Dr. Lee joined our faculty about two years ago. He is a violinist. Although of Chinese ancestry, he grew up in Australia and was educated in the US, therefore his Chinese is not particularly strong, but his English is very good. I have worked with him on a number of proposals for the upgrading of the string department (which he heads) and on many occasions have informally served as his translator (English to Chinese and vice-versa). My translations services have ranged from on-the-spot oral translation to the translation of work related documents. All translation work is done gratis as a courtesy to colleagues.

Reference 5: Other (Optional)

Name: Mr. Timothy TremblayTitle: Financial Advisor, owner Tremblay Financial Services, Santa Barbara, CAAddress: 3905 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93105Phone Number(s): 805-569-1982; toll free: 888-569-1982Email: [email protected] describe your relationship with this individual:

I’ve known Tim since elementary school. Tim is a year younger than I and his older brother was my classmate. Tim and I studied Karate together when we were in our teens. Tim is the founding owner of a successful investment consulting and brokerage firm in Santa Barbara, CA. My wife and I are currently clients of his, and he recently invited me to come to work at his firm – an offer which I have so far not felt called to accept.

H. Country Director Selection Criteria



The responsibilities of a Country Director (CD) are wide-ranging as mentioned in the Description of Responsibilities. CD candidates must demonstrate a broad range of leadership qualities, management expertise, interpersonal skills and cross-cultural proficiencies. This is not comparable to a State Department diplomatic posting.

The seven selection criteria listed below will be used in evaluating your application and suitability for the Country Director position. Please address each criterion in a written statement documenting your capabilities and/or providing examples of your previous accomplishments related to the topic.

The best answers in this section may include an introductory sentence/paragraph for each of the elements 1-7 that is an overview of your ability, managerial philosophy; plus a summary of your skills or experience, followed by clear documentation (1-2 paragraph “stories”) of specific situations, actions and results.

1. LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

Country Directors are responsible for leading the Peace Corps program in their assigned countries. Each Country Director should have and share a philosophy and a vision for the country program and a plan for achieving that vision. That vision must be based on the expressed host country needs. Therefore, candidates are needed who possess strong leadership attributes enabling them to establish direction and set the tone for post operations. In documenting your leadership experience, please differentiate between leadership that was demonstrated following an assignment versus actions that you initiated or sought permission to pursue.

I have always tended to be an observant person. This combined with a certain amount of idealism has made me by nature look for solutions to problems that I come across. If a solution to a problem is within my means and the solution will have benefits for the common good, I am internally motivated to do what I can to solve the problem. This is nothing new with me. For example, during my fourth year of teaching in Taiwan (1980 – I was 27 years old at the time), we had a situation where there were an increasing number of traffic accidents on campus due to reckless driving. A substantial amount of building construction was going on at the time and early in 1980 there was an accident between two motorcyclists on campus and both of the riders died from injuries sustained in the collision. I knew that we used speed bumps in the US to deal with the excessive speed problem and spoke with the Director of General Affairs about the possibility of installing speed bumps. The Director was not keen on the idea because apparently years earlier one person had been killed when a motorcyclist failed to slow down for a temporary construction bump in the road, resulting in his rider being thrown to the ground and killed. Not to be deterred, I went ahead and shared the idea of installing speed bumps with my Chinese language teacher. In consultation with this teacher and her husband on the faculty of physics, I authored and circulated a petition among the university community in the spring of 1980 which ultimately led to the installation of speed bumps on campus to enhance traffic safety. My personal involvement included going as an official representative of the university to the two bus companies who regularly drove buses on campus, and getting their agreement to continue driving buses on campus after the installation of speed bumps. I visited another local university that had speed bumps to see how another school was handling the Overseas Executive Selection & SupportRevised 5/06 Page 11 of 21

problem. I spoke with construction people to get cost estimates for the installation of the speed bumps. I personally made a presentation and appeal to the University Council which (after some revision) ultimately approved the proposal. Speed bumps were installed on campus in the summer of 1980 and are still in use on campus today.

When I first arrived in Taiwan (1976) conditions in the music department were pretty primitive. The piano teaching studios had extremely inadequate florescent lighting. I was told there was no budget to purchase new or better lights. Since the lights were mounted on the wall, I decided an easy way to increase the amount of light would be to take aluminum foil and thumb tack it to the ceiling (the ceiling was made of pressed sugar cane fiber insulation) immediately above the lights so that additional light would be reflected down into the room. This simple solution more than doubled the amount of light originally provided without increasing energy costs. I did this on my own (with the approval of the department chairman) for all seven of the teacher studios that we were using at the time. Later, I purchased simple low-wattage spot lights which we had the university install directly over each piano to further improve the situation. It wasn’t until about another ten years later that better lighting was finally installed!

2. VOLUNTEER SUPPORT EXPERIENCE (PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT, TRAINING, LOGISTICAL SUPPORT, HEALTH CARE, SAFETY AND SECURITY)

The Volunteer is the Peace Corps’ most important resource. It is important that Volunteers have meaningful work, that they have received the training necessary to be effective, that Peace Corps ensures that their safety and health care needs are being met; and that their allowances and housing meet their basic needs. It is the ultimate responsibility of the Country Director to ensure that the Volunteers have meaningful jobs within quality educational and/or development projects, access to health care, safety and security, logistical support and informal counseling. The Peace Corps grants Country Directors significant decision-making authority. They act with minimal consultation from headquarters in providing the necessary support to the Volunteers. They must routinely exercise independent judgment in providing and conducting oversight over these matters within country. They will need to mentor, counsel, and encourage/inspire the Volunteers.

Prior experience working with volunteers and/or young adults may indicate that the candidate has the necessary skills and capability to carry out this important set of responsibilities. If you have no relevant experience managing volunteers, please indicate any experience you have with the items in the heading of #2 above with employees.

I have always enjoyed working with my students in various capacities. As a member of our faculty, I have been an advisor to two student extra-curricular activity organizations: The Philharmonic Society and the Classical Guitar Club. I served as advisor to both of these clubs from the period of 1982-1987 and participated in all of their activities.

There is a tradition in Taiwan that college students annually go on an outing together – usually to some other place on the island of Taiwan. These excursions may be to welcome new students at the beginning of the year, or in the spring as a senior trip for the soon-to-be graduates. As one might expect, the university likes to have adult supervision of Overseas Executive Selection & SupportRevised 5/06 Page 12 of 21

these kinds of outings to insure that safe practices and common sense prevail. I have gone on numerous outings of this type over the years with the students, and have done so willingly. I enjoy the company of the students, and I think it is important that the students know there is an adult who can be consulted if there is ever a problem.

Since my work in the music department involves public performance, there have also been times when I supervised groups of students who were performing in places outside of Taichung city. This was particularly true during my tenure as chairman of the music department (1997-99).

In my view, two qualities are needed to successfully carry out duties related to volunteer support. The first is an ability to understand how the details effect the “big picture.” For example, the priorities for Peace Corps CD in a given situation should include (descending order): 1. the volunteer’s safety; 2. the volunteer’s physical and mental health; 3. the volunteer’s personal needs (adequate housing, food, etc.); 4. local needs and how the volunteer interfaces with those needs. The second quality is the ability to empathize with those with whom one must interact. This quality stems from a number of skills, including the ability to listen and hear, weigh various factors and evaluate their potential impact. Most of all, it is important to show respect for the concerns of the person (s) at the center of the interaction.

I believe I have successfully demonstrated my ability to do these tasks by my work for at the various churches I have served, as well as at school. I also believe it was demonstrated during my tenure as Chairman of the Music Department at Tunghai University. I would suggest speaking with people that I have worked with, and am currently working with, to get their judgment on this subject.

3. MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE (INCLUDING FINANCIAL, HUMAN RESOURCES, AND SECURITY MANAGEMENT)

The Peace Corps has adopted organizational systems designed to ensure agency-wide effectiveness in planning, budgeting, programming and Volunteer support, training and safety. The Country Director bears ultimate responsibility for managing these systems and adhering to established Peace Corps policies and procedures. At the same time, the Peace Corps grants Country Directors significant decision-making authority; they must routinely exercise independent judgment and act with minimal consultation from headquarters.

Please provide separate answers to each of the four management areas listed and underlined below that are part of “3. Management Expertise”.

At least five years of management experience are preferred. Candidates should have experience and/or demonstrate a capability to be able to perform the following tasks:

Program management – the Country Director has project approval authority; makes technical analyses and evaluations of the implementation of Peace Corps projects. The CD prepares, in conjunction with others, the annual country integrated planning and budget system report in a timely fashion, as well as other reports for the regional office in headquarters.


My management experience has been in academia and the arts, rather than in business or other NGO’s. As mentioned earlier, I was head of the Music Department where I teach for 2 1/2 years (1997-99) [* see note on next page].

Vis-à-vis the position of department head, I was responsible for all department related administration, including budget proposals and the chairing of all department meetings and committees. Committees chaired included: General Music Council (all full-time faculty), Music Personnel Committee, Music Curriculum Committee, and Major Performing Groups Committee.

As music department chairman, I personally prepared numerous proposals for the codification of our departmental rules and regulations, as well as budget related proposals. I usually prepared these proposals in Chinese since that is the language we normally work in here.

Over the years I have occasionally been music director for different Catholic churches (details mentioned above – see pp. 4-5, 9-10).

While my total actual managerial type experience probably doesn’t quite add up to five years, I am extremely capable in this area and have purposefully chosen not to do more because while my children were young, I felt that helping to manage at home needed to take precedent. Now that both girls are in school, this is less of a problem.

* A word of explanation as to why the length of my tenure as chairman was 2 1/2 and not three or more years. The normal term is three years. A second consecutive three year term is permitted, but not required. At the time I was elected by peers, then appointed by the university president, we were already mid-academic year. Therefore, I served only the last half of the first academic year I was in office. I successfully completed what would normally be the first of two possible terms at which time due to other considerations, it was decided to appoint the music department’s founding chairman for one last three year term prior to her retirement. I was in the process of trying to adopt our second daughter at the time and because of impending parental responsibilities was happy enough to decline the possibility of a second term. This situation can be verified with any of our full-time faculty of music who were present at the time.

Financial management – the Country Director administers and oversees the conduct of all Peace Corps financial activities at post, including developing the necessary financial controls. In addition, the CD prepares and submits budget data as requested, reviews fiscal expenditures and imprest fund activities. Experience as a senior administrator of a budget of between $500,000 - $4,000,000 is preferred.

While I was music department chairman, I oversaw an annual budget which was probably more in the neighborhood of $250,000 US per year. I have every confidence that I could faithfully and accurately manage a larger budget, but the opportunity has not thus far presented itself.

Human resources management – the Country Director supervises the multicultural Peace Corps staff whose jobs are closely integrated. The CD ensures that all personnel have an understanding of their responsibilities, are trained to support Peace Corps Volunteers and accomplish program goals, and that there is an effective performance appraisal system serving as a tool for problem solving and work improvement, as well as for recognizing superior performance. Manage a staff of at least 10 people with hiring and firing responsibility preferred.


While music department chairman I was in charge of a staff of two office assistants as well as responsible for leadership of about 50 full and part-time faculty members. I had hiring and firing power over the two office assistants, although to be perfectly honest, to have personally fired any staff member would not have been a conceivable alternative (unless there was some scandal) in Taiwan’s culture. While I do my utmost to have a good working relationship with all personnel with whom I must interact, I am confident that I can, when necessary, distance myself from the social pressures of interpersonal relationships if that is necessary for the good of the larger organization.

Management of health, safety and security matters - the Country Director ensures the personal safety and security of Volunteers and supervises the management of the medical unit that supports them. This requires developing, testing, and enforcing policies and procedures, ensuring the delivery of training to Volunteers and staff; coordination with U. S. embassy and host government as appropriate, and management of crises with the appropriate plan of procedures in place.

Experience in managing a multi-faceted organization or program with a close-knit, multicultural staff and a sizeable budget in a complex setting is a good indication of the candidate’s capabilities in this area.

Working in Taiwan, I have been in a multi-cultural staff setting now for twenty-five years. We have had students from Korea and Hong Kong, in addition to Taiwanese students. Our teaching staff has included Taiwanese, Americans, Germans, and Russians. While all of the people involved were either musicians or helping to serve musicians, anyone who has much experience in the field of music will soon realize that there are often divergent views and approaches within this field. The expression “artistic temperament” and its various sometimes negative connotations is not without merit. For me, a key attitude for the successful interaction of members within a group of disparate interests is to be relentless in showing respect for all parties.

There was a true incident that transpired when I was department chairman which illustrates how I handled a specific thorny problem in the past. One of our teachers, I will call her Miss Hua, was having significant difficulties with one of the classes she was teaching. The students had gotten to a point where they were no longer willing to take a class with this teacher due to a variety of problems, including issues of competency and teaching style. This teacher already had a history of alienating many of her students prior to my becoming chairman. After consulting with colleagues (an admittedly contentious situation), it came down to my decision whether to allow this teacher to continue to teach the class, or to give the class to another more suitable teacher. Since students come and go, the easiest thing would have been to keep the status quo. However, this clearly was not the best thing for the students or for the long-term interests of the department. I therefore took the decision to take the music course in question away from the teacher who was having difficulties. About eight years have passed since that event. The problem teacher remains on the faculty and is still very difficult to work with. I, of course, have never been forgiven by this teacher for slighting her, and continue at various times to pay the price. Despite these on-going difficulties, I stand by my original decision and I would make the same one again today, because that was what was best for the department and for the students.


4. DEVELOPMENT EXPERIENCE

The fundamental mission of the Peace Corps is to send Volunteers to assist in the on-going grassroots development efforts of its host countries and to promote better understanding between Americans and the peoples of those countries. Country Directors play a key role in fulfilling this mission. They must ensure that local efforts are conducted in a manner consistent with agency goals and policies and are responsive to the needs of host country people.

The Peace Corps recognizes that, while these skills and abilities may be gained in different settings, specific experience in international, grass-roots development programming is usually the most relevant to the CD position.

While I have a lot of “international” experience, I’m not sure how “grass-roots” one might consider it. My expertise to this date has been primarily in music education. Within that context I have – on a volunteer basis, worked with various local church groups to help them: learn new music, learn how to accompany for worship service, and learn how to program music suitable for a given liturgical context. More details related to this specific area were articulated earlier under “Employee reference #2”.

Another area where I have been involved in “grass-roots” activity is in a leadership capacity in my daughters’ schools. Even when my daughters were in Chinese Kindergarten, I was active as class representative to the PTA (an elected position – 1996-97). Another year I served as vice-president of the entire Kindergarten’s PTA (1997-98). The following year I served as president of the same Kindergarten PTA (1998-99). Once my daughters entered elementary school (and now middle school), I have continued to be active in the school’s Parent’s Association. For the last two years, among other things, I’ve carved turkeys at the Thanksgiving Day celebration at school. The school honored me with a certificate, recognizing my contribution to the betterment of the school.

My older daughter was involved in after school sports during the most recent academic year (2005-06). Our family was consistently in attendance at all of the various games throughout the year. I believe this is good not just for our family, but also to encourage the children of other parents who may not be able to make the time commitment to attend these various school-related events.

5. CROSS-CULTURAL SENSITIVITY AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Country Directors must work and live comfortably in international and cross-cultural environments at all levels of society.

One of the things that I am often overtly conscious of is the importance of showing everyone the respect that they are due. While this is not generally expected in traditional Taiwanese culture, as a Christian I feel it is my duty to outwardly show respect for the other, regardless of their social or economic status. A simple smile can go a long way to making a stranger feel welcome.

Candidates need to demonstrate a keen sensitivity to and respect for other cultures, traditions and values. Experience with other ethnic, racial, or religious groups may reflect valuable cross-cultural expertise. In addition, experience living overseas is mandatory. Preferably in a developing country. Overseas Executive Selection & SupportRevised 5/06 Page 16 of 21

My comments in the previous paragraph regarding respect for the other culture certainly may be echoed here. When I first arrived in Taiwan in 1976, Taiwan was definitely a developing country. My starting salary as a full-time lecturer in music translated to less than $150.00 US per month. I lived in a small room in a men’s dormitory (less than 150 Square Feet). A fire had to be built under the water heater every day using coal in order to get a hot shower. There was probably one car for roughly every 1,000 households and perhaps one motorcycle for every 100 households.

I think it is useful to point out that both my wife and I have a substantial amount of experience living in a developing world environment. When she came in the 1977 to Taiwan, housing was still quite primitive. Electrical appliances were few (a rice cooker, toaster and a couple of lamps). Although we had a fan to help with the often stifling heat, we had no air conditioning and only a small space heater in winter. We usually slept with a mosquito net, and to this day, we always must boil our water before we drink it. In those days, if you needed major medical attention, you needed to go to a hospital in the next county – about an hour’s drive away. For local transportation we relied on local buses and taxis exclusively until February of 2002 when we finally purchased a used car. Except for some basic foodstuffs, any shopping to be done was a thirty minute bus ride away (each way) over a heavily potholed road.

In the summer of 1978, my wife and I were assigned our own house. Large gaps in the windows made the house drafty when it was cold in winter. I bought various thicknesses of rubber in strips and hand glued rubber insulation in all the windows to weatherize the house. I did the same thing with the next house we moved into in 1983. I’ve also built some simple shelving to make storage easier in the limited space we have. When my older daughter was first starting to crawl (circa 1995), I built a step and banister to help her get from one room to the next (originally a 14” step upward into a tatami room). We’re still using that step!

I have painted both the inside and the outside of our house. I often do much of my own yard work. Suffice it to say, I don’t mind ‘rolling up my sleeves.’

At a minimum, 80% of your staff at post will be host country nationals and not Americans. (Only 2-4 of your staff will be U.S. citizens.)

While working in Taiwan, all of the staff in all situations have been either Taiwanese or Asian nationals of Chinese ancestry.

6. COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Country Directors must be able to interact effectively with others, both within the assigned country and with Peace Corps headquarters. Electronic communication is the modus operandi in most cases and candidates should note their level of proficiency in the use of email, WordPerfect, and basic use of the internet in your response. These are mandatory skills for all applicants. The Peace Corps expects both verbal and written communications to be clear, accurate and articulate.

I am extremely facile in the use of email. I have had some type of personal computer since 1982. During my tenure as chairman of the music department I got all of our colleagues to sign up for e-mail. Usage of e-mail was not nearly as common as it is now, so there were some faculty who refused to use it at first. I, for one, have always been a firm Overseas Executive Selection & SupportRevised 5/06 Page 17 of 21

believer in the usefulness of this media. I have used MS Word for all of my word processing since that product became the (more-or-less) standard for English. I have never used WordPerfect, however, in this day and age of user-friendly and intuitive software design, I have no doubt that I could learn to use it very effectively and in a very short time frame if the need arose. I am facile with MS Excel spreadsheets and years ago purchased Adobe Acrobat which I use extensively for preparing my own income taxes (Taiwan, California, and Federal) and for preparing teaching materials. While I no longer do webpage authoring, I still do a fair amount of photo scanning and editing using Compupic-Professional by Photodex.

In response to the last sentence regarding “verbal and written communications”, I believe my writing skills are evident from this application. The verbal skills will no doubt be evaluated should you folks decide I am worthy of an interview.

Language requirements. In many countries, official business is conducted in a language other than English, and the Country Director must be fluent in the language to be effective. For these assignments, language proficiency (usually in French or Spanish) is a pre-requisite. Interviews for positions with such requirements will include written and oral tests of fluency.

I have no fluency in either French or Spanish. I am near fluent in Mandarin Chinese having done all of my teaching in that language now for over 20 years. I would be happy enough to submit to evaluation of language skills in Mandarin Chinese.

7. REPRESENTATIONAL CAPABILITY

The Country Director is the highest-ranking Peace Corps official in the country of assignment and a member of the American Embassy Country Team. As such, he or she interacts with officials of the host government, the Ambassador and diplomatic community, staff from other development organizations, and local community leaders and officials.

The CD must present, explain, promote, defend and negotiate the Peace Corps positions, while maintaining good relationships with others within and outside the agency. Please document your experiences with governmental or other leaders in a representational capacity for yourself or an entity you represented.

I have had no direct experience interacting with local government leaders beyond the occasional social event (celebration of the Republic of China National Day on October 10th, Retrocession Day on October 25th, and similar “national” celebrations).

I successfully interacted with the head managers of two local bus companies on behalf of our university when discussing the possible installation of speed bumps on campus for safety reasons (for details, please see p. 12 of this application).

My interpersonal skills were put to the test at the time we were applying to adopt our second daughter. Our first daughter had been adopted through a private agency in Taiwan. While we decided to once again apply through this agency, as a backup, I decided to look into applying through the regional branch of the government sponsored home for homeless children (Taichung Children’s Home).

For personal reasons, my wife and I wished to adopt another girl, rather than adopt a boy. Both my wife and I have sisters, but no brothers and I have always worked in a “mostly girls” environment (in Taiwan, roughly 90% of all college music students are Overseas Executive Selection & SupportRevised 5/06 Page 18 of 21

female). On the first day visiting the Taichung Children’s home, I was, after having asked permission, wandering the facilities to get a look around. By chance, I happened to meet the director with whom I immediately struck up a conversation. We found ourselves to be virtual soul mates when it came to concern for the welfare of the homeless children.

Following that visit, my wife and I filled out the application forms and jointly went to submit them to the director. The director immediately invited us to see the only two infants that were available for adoption at the time (all of the older children in this facility are off-limits because they have known relatives who must disown them before they can be adopted). One was a girl, the other a boy. The director essentially said that if all of the paperwork worked out, we would have an excellent chance to adopt the girl. It should be borne in mind that at that point in time there was a waiting list of about 300 couples wanting to adopt an infant!

What is truly amazing about this is that the government agency has an official policy which states the priorities for deciding who may adopt are as follows:

1. couples with no children may adopt a child of either sex2. couples with one child must adopt a child of the opposite sex

The director willing went to bat for us to adopt a second girl when the rules technically did not allow him to do so. We are happy to report that we were successful in adopting that second little girl.

Between first meeting our future second daughter and actually taking her home, there elapsed a period of roughly seven months (November 1999-June 2000). During this time we regularly – two or three times per week – went to the children’s home to interact with this baby and the roughly eight other children under three years old who were being cared for in this ward.


I. Intelligence Background Information and Certification (Original Signatures Required)

The following information is required by Peace Corps Manual Section 611 entitled "Eligibility for Peace CorpsEmployment or Volunteer Service of Applicants with Intelligence Backgrounds" If you have any questions, please contact the Peace Corps Office of General Counsel, 1111 20th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20526; telephone (202) 692-2150.

Eligibility for Employment by the Peace Corps, MS 611, part 4.

Permanent Ineligibility - Persons formerly employed by the Central Intelligence Agency shall be permanently ineligible for employment by the Peace Corps.

Ineligibility for a Minimum of Ten Years - Any person who had been employed by an agency or division of an agency, other than the Central Intelligence Agency, a substantial part of whose mission has been determined by the Peace Corps General Counsel to include intelligence activities, shall be ineligible for employment for a period of ten (10) years from the last date of employment by such agency.

Ineligibility for a Period In Excess of Ten Years - Individuals may be ineligible for employment for a period in excess of (10) years where the General Counsel determines that their background or work history with regard to intelligence activities warrants such action.

Related Work - Applicants for employment whose background or work history discloses a substantial connection with an intelligence activity or related work other than through employment shall be ineligible to serve as employees of the Peace Corps for a period of time ordinarily not to exceed ten (10) years from the date of their last connection with the agency or activity. For the purpose of this provision, family relationship to an employee of an intelligence agency may be considered a disqualifying connection.

Have you ever been employed by any intelligence organization or otherwise engaged in or been connected with intelligence related activities?

yes __________ no _________

If Yes, explain below giving dates, nature of connection, and other details.

Attention:I have completed this Statement with the knowledge and understanding that all items contained herein may be subject to investigation and verification prescribed by law or regulation.

I have read the paragraph relating to eligibility for a position as an employee, expert, consultant, or personal services contractor with the Peace Corps. I UNDERSTAND THAT A FALSE answer or false information may be grounds for not employing me or for dismissing me after I have beenhired, and may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (US Code, Title 18, Section 1001).

Certification:I certify that all of the statements made by me are true, complete, and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief, and are made in good faith.

Signature Date


PC Form 1336 6/99J. Signature, Certification, and Release of Information

Please read the following information carefully and sign below:(Original Signature Required)

• I understand that any information I give may be investigated as allowed by law or Presidential order;

• I consent to the release of information about my ability and fitness for Federal employment by employers, schools, law enforcement agencies and other individuals and organizations, to investigators, personnel staffing specialists, and other authorized employees of the Federal Government;

• I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, all of my statements are true, correct, complete, and made in good faith.

Printed Name Signature Date

K. Vacancy Announcements

“Peace Corps Manual Section 611 is applicable to this position. This section prohibits the employment of certain persons previously engaged in intelligence activities or connected with intelligence agencies. Applications must be accompanied by a completed PC-1336 form (see Section I.) or narrative signed statement, indicating whether the applicant has been involved in or has had any connection with intelligence activities or related work and if so, the nature and dates of his or her involvement. Failure to meet this requirement will result in the applicant being rated ineligible for consideration.”


東海大學個人網站/網路硬碟web.thu.edu.tw/mmanno/www/To office/Peace Corps.doc · Web viewPhone Number(s): (886) 4 2702-8547 Email: [email protected] Briefly describe

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