Press Release: March 12, 2002

UIC Hires Very First Asian American Studies Faculty

by Pius Wong

The UIC Department of English has hired Mark Chiang from the University of Pennsylvania and Helen Jun from the University of California, San Diego as the first two Asian Americanist faculty ever in UIC's history. Chiang and Jun will join the department for the fall semester of 2002. Jun also is a joint hire under the Department of African American Studies.

The two will have much work ahead of them, being the first faculty at UIC whose duties specifically include developing Asian American studies classes in English. They are not officially meant to develop the Asian American Studies (AAS) program at UIC, but Asian American Coalition Committee Chair Rena Patel explained, "In reality we know that they are expected, especially Mark, to provide much leadership for UIC's currently nonexistent AAS program." Chiang and Jun both will be junior professors in the English department, and therefore they may be expected to split their time amongst teaching, researching, and publishing, in addition to possibly constructing the AAS program from the ground up. Jun will also spend time with both the English and African American Studies Departments.

Even though Chiang and Jun face challenges, students and faculty are expressing excitement and optimism when hearing news of the new hires.

"This is great!" summarized Patel. "Bringing in Chiang and Jun is a big step in the right direction, and we commend Dean Fish, the Chancellor, and the Provost for making it possible."

Grace Tan of the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Asian Americans stated, "It was great to hear the news that Helen Jun and Mark Chiang accepted the offer to come to UIC and teach this fall. This marks another step forward to better and greater things for the UIC community."

Neil Iyengar, freshman representative of the Hindu Students Council and member of the Indian Students Association, said, "We're sure that the UIC administrators and faculty will greatly support the two new hires despite the pressures that might be placed on them. I'm confident that they're going to help our two new professors as much as they can to make Asian American Studies at UIC work."

"I think that it's very encouraging that this is finally happening," Volunteering Chair of the Society of Future Physicians Joyce Chen said. "UIC has a commitment to diversity, and this is a sign that we are actually trying to stick with that commitment."

Residential Assistant Janell Jones commented, "Diversity at UIC should be supported at all levels. If this means implementing courses focusing on certain ethnicities, then so be it."

Kujali Padhya, a representative of the Honors College Advisory Board, commented, "I'm glad LAS has done this. UIC has so many Asian American students, and UIC should do better to represent its students in its faculty. This is one way to do it."

"I hope -- a lot of people hope -- that things don't end here," said undergraduate Sharita Towner. "It's taken a while to diversify the faculty, but it's great that we're beginning to assemble a faculty that has the potential to relate more to the student body."

Description of the two hires reveals their many accomplishments.

Mark Chiang has in-depth knowledge of the history of AAS and much experience teaching AAS courses. He also already has experience designing AAS curriculum, as he played a key role in expanding the University of Pennsylvania's AAS course selection.

Catherine Kuo, Secretary of the Asian American Coalition Committee (AACC) who also spoke with Chiang during his interviews at UIC, stated, "His vision for Asian American Studies includes bringing in the community to closely relate the classroom with real-world applications. One of his ideas is to have students teach at high schools in Asian American neighborhoods, an idea AACC finds very progressive and appealing."

Kuo described Helen Jun as "a very passionate, driven and ambitious individual with interesting approaches to Asian American Studies." Jun's interests lie in integrating many topics into a cohesive educational program, including the topics of Asian American, African American, Women's Studies, and Latin American literatures. She shows this from her experience designing and teaching several comparative AAS courses at UCSD.

Jun's interests seem to parallel UIC students' interests. "I really like the potential for interdisciplinary approaches to Asian American Studies," Honors College Advisory Board representative Padhya stated, reflecting the thoughts of many other students.

Jun is currently a PhD candidate in Asian American and African American literature. She may help bridge such programs at UIC.

Chiang and Jun may possibly also support the establishment of an Asian American Resource and Cultural Center (AARCC) on campus, something UIC students have been rallying for in addition to an AAS program over the past years. Interim Provost Charlotte Tate at the end of February announced her plan to hire a non-faculty director for a Center at UIC. Associate Vice Chancellor Mo-Yin Tam said about the AARCC, "[Chiang and Jun] and the upcoming search for the Director of the AARCC would provide synergy needed to start an Asian American Studies Program at UIC."

These two hires in English for AAS are somewhat of a miracle. Originally, the College of LAS planned on hiring one Asian Americanist in English and another in History, with the possibilities of tenure for the hires. With the budget circumstances of this year, the search for History was postponed for the following academic year. After meeting four final candidates, the English department found that Chiang and Jun would both serve well at UIC.

The students fighting for AAS at UIC stress that they cannot simply settle now. Jason Lukasik, a leader of the student group Diversity on Demand, summarized the view of many saying, "I hope that the University produces a timeline by which they hope to completely develop the program. We must expect more from the university; this is only a beginning."

In particular, students and faculty still want by next year a search for Asian Americanist hires for the History and Sociology Departments. They also see the need for gaining a tenured faculty member for Asian American Studies.

"Whenever we go to conferences, or when visitors ask us about UIC, they're always surprised that we don't have an Asian American Studies program," stated undergraduate AACC member Rabab Moolji. "Well we're surprised, too, right here at UIC."

"We know that we are made up of a quarter Asian and Asian American students. Our curriculum and our campus resources would never let anyone know that."

Students have been vocally demanding AAS at UIC since 1991. In 1996 students also demanded the formation of a chancellor's committee for Asian Americans, and after three years in April of 1999, the creation of the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Asian Americans was approved. In March of 2000, students held a protest rally for an Asian American studies program, cultural center, and academic support network. Subsequently the search for Asian Americanist hires was approved. In 2002, students formed an Asian American umbrella group, the Asian American Coalition Committee, to continue efforts for Asian American resources and representation on campus.

As Professor Kyoko Inoue of the Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Asian Americans stated, students, faculty, and staff all "look forward to the new page in UIC's Asian American history."

The Asian American Coalition Committee is an umbrella organization of Asian American student organizations at UIC. It aims to unify Asian American students to strengthen their voice on campus, to educate the entire UIC community about issues concerning Asian Americans, and to empower Asian American students through their gaining visibility and representation.