2 Powerful Vietnamese Women Build Private Universities

By MARTHA ANN OVERLAND

Charismatic as well as politically astute, Ton Nu Thi Ninh is a patient woman — up to a point. As a high-ranking member of Vietnam's Communist Party, and regarded as the most powerful woman in the country, she had to be.

But for far too long Ms. Ninh has watched the abysmal state of Vietnam's higher education handicap the country's future potential. If Vietnam is going to be more than a source of cheap goods, patience is no longer a virtue; it's a liability.

So what