To many prospective students and their parents, the admissions director of a major university is the single most influential person on campus. And for the first time in 23 years, the difficult task of selecting which students will be admitted to UCLA's coveted freshman and transfer classes will be led by a new face on campus.

Last November, Vu T. Tran, former director of student recruitment and financial aid at California State University, Los Angeles, became UCLA's new director of Under-graduate Admissions and Relations with Schools. Tran succeeds Rae Lee Siporin, who retired last spring.

"Dr. Tran's long experience with higher education in the greater Los Angeles area, coupled with his administrative track record and love of UCLA, makes him ideally suited to take over the leadership of UCLA's admissions office," said Tom Lifka, assistant vice chancellor of student academic services.

Tran's history in higher education includes 25 years in the California State University system. As director of student recruitment and financial aid at CSU Los Angeles, he managed the student information center, supervised the campus orientation programs, oversaw the campus tours and directed high school visits to CSU campuses.

A native of Vietnam, Tran earned a bachelor's degree in business marketing from Dalat University in South Vietnam in 1973, a master's degree in business management from CSU Northridge in 1976 and a doctorate of education in educational leadership from UCLA in 1999.

"It's truly an honor to be returning to UCLA, which is one of the most exciting universities in the nation," said Tran, a self-proclaimed Bruin fan whose three siblings also graduated from UCLA. "This is an enormous challenge, and I take this responsibility very seriously."

Tran's aspirations of becoming a businessman took a turn when Vietnam fell under Communist rule. At the time, he was earning his master's degree in the United States and could not return to Vietnam. After graduating, he was offered a high-paying position as an auditor at ARCO, a position that would have required him to travel 40% of the time.

"My family had just arrived from Vietnam and spoke no English, nor knew the culture," Tran said. "I knew accepting that job would mean I would leave my family behind."

Living in Van Nuys at the time, he decided to apply for a job at CSU Northridge and has since remained in the field of education -- a decision he has never regretted.

Tran's appointment comes at a pivotal time for UCLA. This month, his office began screening 43,166 applicants for the fall 2002 freshman class, a 6% increase over last year's record of 40,739. The number of transfers applying to UCLA also increased, with 11,860 applications received thus far, up from 11,285.

"UCLA is one of the most competitive and selective universities in the nation," said Tran, whose office will employ approximately 140 readers to personally read applicants' dossiers. "If you are looking for a challenge, there is no better place to be than here."