Dr. Jack Paduntin has used his career to give back and pave roads for students from all walks of life. Now he will use this experience to guide Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School into the future, assuming the role as the institution’s 11th president. Dr. Paduntin joined the Pacific Oaks community in January as interim president, previously working as The Community Solution Education System’s Chief Academic Officer.
“I knew immediately that Pacific Oaks was my new home, a home where I want to contribute my knowledge, expertise, and energy so that students and community members have more access to the high quality, value-rich education offered by our preschool and our college,” Dr. Paduntin says.
At the age of 24, Dr. Paduntin traveled to the U.S. from Thailand in pursuit of his MBA at the University of Dallas. With very little English fluency, he continued his education and within two years had acclimated himself to an entirely new culture, learned the language, and excelled in his studies. His unique perspective as an immigrant continues to shape the way he approaches student engagement. “I’ve seen a lot of students come through the same path I did. I see how they struggle with language, culture, and change, and supporting their success is very meaningful and rewarding to me,” he says.
Dr. Paduntin has dedicated his entire professional life to giving back to the community. During his doctoral degree program, he wasted no time engaging in a myriad of community service-based activities. Dr. Paduntin worked with several churches and a retirement home for Catholic nuns to improve their performance management systems to better serve parishioners and resident retirees. He also leveraged his non-citizen, foreign status and perspective to lead the diversity council for the Society for HR Management. As president of Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School, he intends to continue the dynamic and impactful work the institution has been accomplishing for the last 70 years while upholding the community’s core values.
“Our timeless core values of social justice, diversity, inclusion, and respect set us apart. These values are instilled into members of our community. They are prominent and they define who we are,” Dr. Paduntin said. “Like our students and other community members, I was drawn into Pacific Oaks by these timeless values. They are not just the values that appear right and just but they are the values that we live by and the values which I will let guide my leadership.”
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