Chau Thien Phan
Biographical Sketch (revised August 12, 2017)

Dr. Chau Thien Phan was Professor of Political Science at Rider University, in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, where he taught from September 1968 to May 2003. He was Chairman of the Rider Political Science Department from 1973 to 1982, and was a lay minister for Rider Catholic Campus Ministry (CCM). He continues to serve as the web minister of Rider CCM until 2010.

He came to the United States from Vietnam in 1958 as a student, thanks to a scholarship from Marian College, run by the Sisters of St. Francis of Oldenburg, Indiana. He received the B.A. in Economics and Sociology from Marian College, Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1961; the Master's degree in International Economics and Politics from the Jesuit-run University of Detroit in 1963.  He did his doctoral studies as a Social Science Foundation fellowship recipient under the direction of Dr. Josef Korbel, father of President Bill Clinton's Secretary of State, Dr. Madeleine Korbel Albright, and mentor of President George W. Bush's National Security Adviser and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He received the Ph.D. degree in 1965 from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies of the University of Denver. 

Dr. Phan joined the faculty of the Political Science Department of Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, in 1968, where he was also Director of the Model United Nations program from 1973 until his retirement in 2003. He was chairperson of the department from 1974 to 1982. His areas of specialty included International Relations and World Politics, Nationalism, American Foreign Policy, the United Nations, global issues such as human rights, global issues including the global economy, population, the environment, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, etc. Among other publications, he edited Annual Editions World Politics 80/81, 81/82, 82/83 for the Dushkin Publishing Group, a subsidiary of McGraw-Hill. 

In terms of avocation, Chau Phan is an independent website designer for non-profit organizations in which he believes. He only does web sites over which he has control over both information and presentation. All his works are pro bono. His web designs are simple, straightforward, and stresses fast loading, using minimally distractive graphics.  He created and remains webmaster for, among other, Rider Model United Nations Alumni Association, Rider University's Catholic Campus Ministry (1988-2010), Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church in Flagler Beach, Florida (from 2003 to 2012), where he is a parishioner.

Chau founded the Christian Unity ministry at Santa Maria del Mar Catholic Church, Flagler Beach in 2007, and serves as its leader until 2015. This ministry brings together choirs of churches in Flagler County, Florida each January during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and other joint activities throughout the year.  He is the liaison person with St. Mark by the Sea Lutheran Church of Palm Coast, and the First (AME) Church of Palm Coast. See http://flagler-churches-together.info/

In 2003, Bishop Felipe Estevez of the Diocese of St. Augustine appointed him as an Associate Diocesan Ecumenical Officer to organize annual Vespers at the bishop level in Northeast Florida also during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity starting in 2014. See http://ecumenicalvespers.org/

To e-mail Chau Phan, click here 
 

With wife Teresa Phuong-Mai Phan

Sons Thomas & Francis Phan

Chau Phan was married to Teresa Phuong-Mai at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, DC, in April 1967, and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in April 2017. Teresa was an Administrative Analyst (Accounting) for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. They have two grown sons, Francis A. Phan who works in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, CA and Thomas T. Phan, living and working in Boston, Mass. 

Chau and his wife Teresa live in Grand Haven, City of Palm Coast, Florida. She has served as AARP Tax-Aide volunteer each tax season since 2005, and has been providing music for Eucharistic services at the Grand Oaks Rehabilitation and Nursing Home since 2007.

Palm Coast is 90 minutes from Jacksonville to the north, Orlando to the west, the Space Coast on the east, and 40 minutes north of Daytona Beach and south of St. Augustine, the nation's oldest city. Our house is ten minutes from exit 289 on I-95. Therefore, if you plan to go to Orlando using I-95 and I-4, please e-mail me before stopping by for a visit. I am always happy to see former students.

To Rider Model United Nations Alumni Association home page