A Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges to Promote Asian Studies
2001 Annual Report of the ASIANetwork,
A Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges
To Promote Asian Studies
Presented to The Association for Asian Studies
February 1, 2002
Submitted by Dr. Van J. Symons
Executive Director, ASIANetwork
INTRODUCTION
ASIANetwork, conceptualized in 1992 and incorporated in 1993, has grown to become a consortium of about 150 liberal arts colleges seeking to strengthen the study of Asia on our campuses. The headquarters of the consortium are located at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. Dr. Van J. Symons is the consortium's Executive Director. ASIANetwork runs on an April to April calendar, revolving around our annual spring conference, when new board members are elected and a new board chair and vice-chair assume their responsibilities. The 2001 report bridges the work of the 2000-2001 board chair, Jim Lochtefeld (Carthage College), and the 2001-2002 chair, Joel Smith (Skidmore College).
CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF ASIANETWORK
- Stephan Goldberg, Hamilton College, (2001-2004)
- James Leavell, Furman University, (2000-2003), vice-chair, board of directors
- Gita Rajan, Fairfield University, (2001-2004)
- Joel R. Smith, Skidmore College, (1999-2002), chair, board of directors
- Deborah Sommer, Gettysburg College, (1999-2002)
- Yi Sun, University of San Diego, (2000-2003)
- Van J. Symons, Augustana College, (1999-2005), ASIANetwork executive director
- Job I. Thomas, Davidson College, (2000-2003)
- Yoko Ueda, Spelman College, (1999-2002)
- Paul Watt, DePauw University, (2001-2004)
COUNCIL OF ADVISORS
- Thomas Benson, President, Green Mountain College, (2000-2003)
- Elizabeth Bentzel Buck, Co-Director, Asian Studies Development Program, East-West Center, University of Hawaii, (1999-2002)
- Ainslie T. Embree, Professor Emeritus, Columbia University, (2000-2003)
- Carol Gluck, George Sansom Professor of Japanese History, Columbia University, (2001-2004)
- Donald P. Gregg, Former U.S. Ambassador to Korea, Chair of the Board, The Korea Society, (2000-2003)
- Timothy Light, Department of Religion, Western Michigan University, (2000-2003)
- David Vikner, President, International Christian University of Japan Foundation (2000-2003)
- Anthony Yu, Carl Darling Buck Distinguished Service Professor in Humanities, The University of Chicago, (2000-2003)
2000-2001 MEMBERSHIP
As of August 31, 2000, ASIANetwork had 153 institutional members and 13 affiliate individual members. 17 new institutional members joined ASIANetwork during the fiscal year September 1, 1999 through August 31, 2000.
At the spring business meeting of ASIANetwork, held April 30, 2000, members of the consortium approved the following formula for ASIANetwork membership. Full Membership is open to degree-granting institutions who define their sole or primary mission as the provision of an undergraduate liberal arts education and whose enrollments are roughly between 500-2500 students. (Annual dues: $250) Associate Membership is open to degree-granting institutions who define as one of their basic missions the provision of an undergraduate liberal arts education. Typical Associate Members are small universities, some community colleges, and private and public colleges with somewhat larger enrollments. (Annual dues: $150) Affiliate Membership is open to either organizations (foundations, publishing houses, etc.) (Annual dues: $100) or individuals with an interest in undergraduate liberal arts education. (Annual dues: $50).
Six faculty members from each member institution receive all ASIANetwork mailings. Faculty from member institutions are eligible to attend the spring conference at the reduced membership rate. Faculty from Full and Associate Member institutions are eligible to apply to participate in ASIANetwork programs, but in the case of competing applications for fellowships and grants administered by ASIANetwork, and for board membership, Full members will be given priority.
ASIANETWORK ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Venue: Hilton Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio
Dates: April 20-22, 2001
Attendance: 152
Keynote Speakers: Joseph W. Elder, University of Wisconsin-Madison, "Teaching India: Is Seeing Believing?", and Regge Life, Executive Director and Founder, Global Film Network, Inc., "The Underrated Power of Culture."
Program: Two keynote speaker presentations; two plenary sessions; 8 concurrent panels; one business meeting; a pre-conference field trip entitled "A Sampler of Asian Cleveland: Issues of Immigration and Acculturation" involving 32 participants, directed by Susan Long, John Carroll University; a Saturday afternoon visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art by all conference participants, hosted by Marjorie Williams, Director of Education at the CMA with concurrent interactive sessions in the museum galleries led by museum staff members; an evening reception and dinner at John Carroll University.
The spring 2002 conference will be held at the Hickory Ridge Conference Center, in Lisle, Illinois, from April 19-21. Keynote speakers are Susan J. Napier, The University of Texas-Austin and Eliot S. Deutsch, The University of Hawaii-Manoa. Yingli Wang, Northwestern University, will provide a Gu Zheng recital. A pre-conference field trip entitled Asian Art, Culture, and Community in the Chicago Area is also offered.
ASIANETWORK FREEMAN FOUNDATION PROGRAMS
Program Director: Madeline Chu, Kalamazoo College
The College in Asia Program: Under the direction of Norman Moline and associate direction of Jim Winship (both Augustana College), a faculty member and an administrator from various colleges and universities travel for three weeks through Japan, Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China to study how to administer and run in-house term-in-Asia programs. The program was not run during the summer of 2001 but will again be run the summer of 2003.
Student-Faculty Fellows Program: Under the administrative direction of Teodora Amoloza (Illinois Wesleyan University), 13 student-faculty teams (one mentor working with one to five students, 59 individuals total) from ASIANetwork colleges traveled to Asia to conduct undergraduate research projects during the summer of 2001. Teams from the following colleges participated: Austin College, Belmont University, Butler University, Carthage College, Davidson College, Elmira College, Illinois Wesleyan University, Kenyon College, Lake Forest College, Millikin University, St. Lawrence University, St. Olaf College, Viterbo University. Countries where undergraduate research was undertaken included: India, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, Thailand, and People's Republic of China.
Because of an unusually strong pool of applicants for the summer 2001 Student-Faculty Fellows Program, The Freeman Foundation graciously provided additional financial support to enable 59 student and faculty participants to study in Asia, rather than 40, as provided for in the original ASIANetwork grant request.
ASIANETWORK LUCE FOUNDATION PROGRAMS
Asia in the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Case for Asian Studies in Liberal Arts Education was published by M.E. Sharpe in May 2000. Co-edited by Suzanne Wilson Barnett (University of Puget Sound) and Van J. Symons (Augustana College), the book contains six chapters which place the development of Asian studies programs in small colleges in historical context, make a compelling case for the inclusion of Asian studies in the liberal arts curriculum, and consider the challenges faced in developing and sustaining Asian studies programs. With support provided by the Luce Foundation, gift copies of this book have been presented to each college president and academic dean or provost at all ASIANetwork colleges and several other individuals.
ASIANetwork Consultancy Advisory Program:
The ASIANetwork Consultancy Advisory Program Coordinator is Jim Lochtefeld (Carthage College). Drawing from the highly successful ASIANetwork Luce Consultancy Advisory Program, which was conducted from 1994-98, this program matches experienced consultants from established Asian studies programs at liberal arts colleges with ASIANetwork member institutions seeking advice on how to strengthen the study of Asia on their campuses. Each year about a half dozen consultancies are facilitated through this outreach program.
"ASIANetwork EXCHANGE, A Newsletter for Teaching About Asia"
The 32-page newsletter of the consortium is published three times annually, fall, winter and spring. The editor of the newsletter is Anne Prescott and the assistant editors are Ben Nefzger and Marsha Smith. All are faculty at Augustana College. Almost 1000 issues of the newsletter are mailed free of charge to up to six faculty at ASIANetwork member colleges.
The ASIANetwork Website, www.asianetwork.org