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Transcript of interview with Dr. Percy Poon by Lisa Gioia-Acres, February 5, 2007

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Download OH_01491_book_o.pdf (application/pdf; 44.91 MB)

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Narrator

Date

2007-02-05

Description

Dr. Percy Poon was born in Hong Kong in 1958, the oldest of four children. He attended Catholic school through junior high and high school, but decided to work after high school instead of going on to college. After working in banking and police forensics for a couple of years, he decided to continue his education. Percy studied economics at a university in Hong Kong, graduated at age 25, and then applied to Southwest Texas State for an MBA. Having earned his degree after only a year and a half, he applied and was accepted to a PhD program at Louisiana State. He interviewed for several jobs as he was approaching graduation, but decided to follow one of his professors, Mel Jameson, to UNLV. In August of 1989, Dr. Poon moved to Las Vegas to take on a visiting professorship, and the next year was promoted to tenure-track assistant professorship. In 1994, he met and married his wife, and they make their home in the southwest valley. Percy recalls the different styles and contributions of university presidents Robert Maxson and Carol Harter. His memories of first arriving in Las Vegas include the marvel of the volcano at the new Mirage Hotel, the oppressive heat, and the smaller size of the city. Currently, Dr. Percy is dean of the College of Business and Finance, and feels that the program is working towards competitiveness with other well-established university programs, such as UCLA or Arizona State. He feels that progress has been made in pushing for academic exams, but that increased funding will create better programs and opportunities. Dr. Poon became a U.S. citizen in 1998, and makes occasional visits to his family still living in Hong Kong. He and his wife socialize occasionally with colleagues and church acquaintances, and also entertain family members when they visit from Hong Kong.

Digital ID

OH_01491_book
    Details

    Citation

    Dr. Percy Poon oral history interview, 2007 February 05. OH-01491. [Transcript]. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d1mw2ch89

    Rights

    This material is made available to facilitate private study, scholarship, or research. It may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity rights, or other interests not owned by UNLV. Users are responsible for determining whether permissions are necessary from rights owners for any intended use and for obtaining all required permissions. Acknowledgement of the UNLV University Libraries is requested. For more information, please see the UNLV Special Collections policies on reproduction and use (https://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/research_and_services/reproductions) or contact us at special.collections@unlv.edu.

    Standardized Rights Statement

    Date Digitized

    2017-05-22

    Extent

    26 images

    Language

    English

    Format

    image/tiff

    An Interview with Dr. Percy Poon An Oral History Conducted by Lisa Gioia-Acres The UNLV @ Fifty Oral History Project Oral History Research Center at UNLV University Libraries University of Nevada Las Vegas 2007 ©UNLV@ FIFTY Oral History Project U