As Associate Dean for Institutional Diversity, Sumun (Sumi) Pendakur is focused on leading the Office of Institutional Diversity, as well as on campus-wide efforts related to access, equity, inclusion, and social justice education.

Professional Background:
Pendakur joined the Dean of Students team in the summer of 2012. Prior to arriving at HMC, she spent 7.5 years at the University of Southern California, where she served as the Director for Asian Pacific American Student Services.  Pendakur was charged with leading an award-winning, multi-faceted department, dedicated to holistic student engagement, leadership development, social justice education, cross-cultural dialogue, and service learning.  Pendakur served as a mentor and advisor to many students and student organizations, in addition to dedicating time to student affairs and campus-wide initiatives. Sumi is a highly skilled facilitator, social justice educator, and presenter, with over a decade of public speaking experience. Sumun has held leadership positions and presented her original research at NASPA, ACPA, NCORE, and ASHE.   She also recently finished a six-year term as Board Secretary for the South Asian Network, a grassroots, Southern California non-profit, dedicated to the health and empowerment of South Asians.

Education:
Pendakur holds a B.A from Northwestern University in History and Women's Studies, with a minor in Spanish.  She received her M.A. from the University of Michigan in Higher Education Administration.  She earned her Ed.D. from the University of Southern California in Higher Education Leadership.

Additional Information:
In 2007, Pendakur received the LGBT Service Award for outstanding dedication and commitment to the USC LGBT community.  In 2010, Pendakur won the NASPA Gold Excellence Award in the Multicultural and Inclusion category for the creation of Project ReMiX.  In 2011, she won the USC Remarkable Women Award and the USC Rossier School of Education Dissertation of the Year Award.  Sumi recently published her first chapter with her brother, Vijay Pendakur, entitled, "Let's Get Radical: Being a Practitioner-Ally for Asian Pacific Islander American College Students," in Amy Agbayani and Doris Ching's (Eds.), Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Higher Education: Research and Perspectives on Identity, Leadership, and Success.

Contact Information:
Sumun L. Pendakur, Ed.D.
(909) 607-1865
spendakur@hmc.edu