1. The Asian American Population (p.1)
Asian Americans are
the fastest growing minority group in the United States. The
number of Asian Americans in the U.S grew
from 3.5 million in 1980 to more than 11 million in 2000, and
is projected to increase to 20 million by 2020. California now
claims more than 40% of the nation’s ethnically and socioeconomically
diverse Asian American population. At UCLA, close to 40% of the
current undergraduate student population is Asian American.
2.
Asian American Studies as a Specialized Field of Study (pp. 1-4)
Asian American Studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines
all the relevant aspects of the historical and contemporary experiences
of Asian Americans, including their histories, communities, and
cultures, as they constitute an indispensable part of American
life. The field has been energized by the interdisciplinary dynamism
that exists not only in history, cultural studies, and literature,
and has infused itself in disciplinary fields such as anthropology,
political science, psychology, and sociology, as well as in professional
fields such as education, social welfare, urban planning, public
policy, health and medicine, law, and library and information
studies. Asian American Studies also adopts comparative methodologies
to study racial and ethnic relations in America, diasporic and
transnational experiences and communities, global economy and
development, and US-Asian relations. The interdisciplinary and
comparative approaches allow Asian American scholars and students
to move beyond the simple assumption that, because people share
certain phenotypes, they must also share the same experiences,
values, and beliefs. Asian American Studies has also injected
historical and ethnic sensitivity into various academic disciplines
and prevented itself from being trapped as an isolated elective
sub-discipline.
Interdisciplinary scholarship has from the outset
been the cornerstone of Asian American Studies at UCLA, and
has been the driving force of its success and growth.
The field of Asian American Studies has always embraced interdisciplinarity
and benefited immensely from traditional disciplines. While it
will continue to use
interdisciplinarity as an intellectual point of departure, however, the field
holds that Asian American experience cannot be solely understood through the
rubric of traditional disciplines. The intellectual mission of the proposed
department includes not only the development of Asian American
Studies but also the enhancement
of interdisciplinary scholarship in traditional fields. The proposed structure
of the new Department, with a significant proportion of its faculty holding
split appointments, is one that advances interdisciplinary scholarship
and continual
interactions with traditional and other interdisciplinary fields.
3.
Benefits of Asian American Studies and a Department of Asian American
Studies (pp. 4-10)
- Enriching traditional disciplines
- Bridging disciplines and area studies
- Enlarging the boundaries of liberal arts education
- Developing a multiethnic/multicultural pedagogy
- Providing mentorship and serving as role models
- Helping students to acquire usable skills and a sense of
social responsibility
- Preparing students for graduate study and professional training
- Preparing students for employment in a multiethnic society
- Contributions to the social sciences
- Contributions to literary studies and the arts
- Contributions to professional education
4.
History of the UCLA Asian American Studies IDP (pp. 10-14)
The Asian American Studies IDP at UCLA was formally
established within the College of Letters and Sciences in Fall
1976. The
program’s goals were to enhance and infuse the UCLA curriculum
with an interdisciplinary understanding of the Asian American
experience, promote scholarly research on Asians and Pacific
Islanders in the United States, provide academic and leadership
training to individuals interested in working in Asian American
communities, and prepare students for advanced training or doctoral
studies in the humanities, social sciences, and professional
school disciplines.
The IDP now has a BA degree program, an undergraduate
minor program, an undergraduate honors program, an MA degree
program, and two
joint master degree programs (with Social Welfare and with Community
Health Sciences), which are supervised by an interdepartmental
faculty advisory committee. Currently, the IDP Advisory Committee
consists of 21 faculty members (20 with tenure) actively teaching
classes, advising students, and doing research in the field of
Asian Americans Studies. The Asian American Studies Center (ORU)’s
Faculty Advisory Committee consists of 41 tenured and tenure-track
faculty members, most of whom simultaneously serve on the IDP
advisory committee and teach various Asian American-related courses.
5.
Rationale for Departmentalization (pp. 15-20)
During the past seven years the faculty, students, and staff
of Asian American Studies at UCLA have held numerous discussions
and meetings to discuss and debate the prospect of departmentalization.
In this regard, the proposal for departmentalization is a culmination
of views and sentiment expressed over half a decade representing
a significant segment of the UCLA community. In addition, recent
reviews of the Asian American Studies IDP and ORU (the five-year
review of the Asian American Studies Center in 1996-1997, the
Academic Senate review of the IDP in 1999-2000, and the 15-year
review of the Asian American Studies Center in 2000-2001) have
all recommended departmentalization of the IDP. On February 14,
2002, the IDP faculty unanimously voted in favor of departmentalization
(votes at faculty meeting: 17 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; absentee
votes: 6 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain).
The IDP model served well the
beginning and initial growth of Asian American Studies at UCLA.
However, as the field multiplies
and matures and as the program increasingly takes on the functions
of a department, the intellectual and academic mission of Asian
American Studies outgrows the IDP model and must gain departmental
status in order to accommodate growth. Pedagogically, intellectually,
and practically, a Department of Asian American Studies would
help students and scholars to see and think of Asian Americans
as central, rather than marginal, actors in society, and to
recognize Asian American Studies as an established field of interdisciplinary
inquiry. Faculty and students would have access to a central
departmental home.
The Department of Asian American Studies that
is proposed here would build on the IDP’s academic and faculty strengths.
First, existing degree programs– the BA, undergraduate
minor, undergraduate honors, the MA, and the two joint master
degrees – will continue to constitute the academic structure
of the proposed department. However, departmentalization would
put Asian American Studies in a better position to improve existing
academic programs and develop new programs. Currently, the size
of the Asian American Studies IDP, in terms of faculty, number
of majors, courses, enrollment, and degree programs, is already
bigger than many other departments at UCLA. It annually offers
more than 60 classes with enrollments exceeding 1,500 students.
As of September 2002, 151 undergraduate majors, 47 minors, and
26 MA students were enrolled. With the expected growth in overall
enrollment at UCLA in which Asian American students are likely
to be disproportionately represented, the demand for Asian American
Studies course offerings will be exceptionally high. In many
respects, the IDP is already performing almost all the academic
functions of a department. The recent Academic Senate review
recommends that the IDP’s programmatic development include
offering more graduate classes, expanding the curriculum on community-based
field studies, and increasing faculty advisement for undergraduate
and graduate students, and to develop new joint master degree
programs and possibly a PhD program. Thus, a departmental structure
would better address these needs and to ensure continued growth.
Second, departmentalization formalizes the joint
appointment of faculty currently teaching classes in Asian
American Studies
and also provides greater FTE flexibility that can alleviate
the difficult situations facing Asian American Studies faculty.
With departmentalization, Asian American Studies can have its
full-time FTEs, which would greatly facilitate the appointment
of faculty to administrative positions and the formation of a
core faculty fully committed to Asian American Studies without
having to worry about demands from other units. Moreover, departmentalization
would allow some faculty to move a greater percentage or all
of their FTE to the Department of Asian American Studies. Furthermore,
by making its own appointments, the new Department would be able
to make the best decisions for the development of the field in
general and for prioritizing its own curriculum needs in particular.
Finally, departmentalization would strengthen the program’s
participation in the system of personnel reviews by making it
a true partner with other departments in the process. The departmental
model proposed here is one that gives the program maximum FTE
flexibility while at the same time retaining the advantages of
interdisciplinarity. Specifically, we envision a department with
some full-time FTEs and with the majority of faculty holding
split FTEs, at least in the next 3-5 years, with other departments.
This structure would allow the interdisciplinary program to thrive
on a stronger institutional arrangement while maintaining its
ties with traditional disciplines. Faculty who hold full-time
FTEs in Asian American Studies should be encouraged to have formal
affiliations (such as 0% appointment) with traditional departments.
Faculty who hold split FTEs (e.g., 75%, 50%, or 25%) would teach
in Asian American Studies and in other departments, and by doing
so would continue to enrich the curricula in traditional departments
with materials on Asian Americans. Faculty who hold 0% appointments
in Asian American Studies would serve as important academic and
institutional bridges with other units although they do not teach
in the proposed department.
In terms of funding, since 2000-2001
Chancellor Carnesale has provided a significant augmentation
of permanent funding to the
ethnic studies programs, and from this augmentation Dean Scott
Waugh has allocated additional $168,000 to the Asian American
Studies program. This allocation brings the funding level of
the Asian American Studies program closer to that of other Social
Sciences departments with similar enrollments, and would significantly
facilitate the departmentalization of the program. As both the
IDP’s self-review and the Academic Senate review point
out, graduate funding the Asian American Studies program receives
is extremely limited. TA funding for the IDP is less than a fraction
of what regular departments of similar size and enrollment receive.
Significant increase in TA positions is needed for improving
MA time-to-degree and for addressing Academic Senate’s
recommendations for curriculum development. With departmentalization
we hope that graduate and TA funding would be allocated based
on enrollment and on a par with other regular departments.
Overall,
while much of what is required for departmentalization has
already been in place, we do need to secure funding for future
faculty FTEs, graduate and TA funding, and, most urgently, space.
6.
The Proposed Department of Asian American Studies (pp. 20-27)
Mission
The proposed Department of Asian American Studies seeks to enrich
the undergraduate and graduate education at UCLA by promoting
excellence in interdisciplinary instruction and scholarship on
Asian American history, cultures, and community. The department
aims at providing students with the theoretical, methodological,
and practical skills needed to be successful in teaching, research,
and/or community work in a multitethnic, multicultural, and diverse
society; exposing students to a breadth of knowledge in the field
of Asian American Studies so that they can become active thinkers,
critics, and practitioners in society; and enabling students
to develop in-depth expertise in one or more areas of specialization,
thereby ensuring that they can make contribution to original
research, service, and leadership to the community in California
in particular and to the nation at large. Through the above,
the proposed department also aims at building on the preeminence
of UCLA in Asian American Studies so that the university would
continue to be the national locus and leader of this field.
Faculty
Composition
The faculty composition model that best reflects
the strength of Asian American Studies as an interdisciplinary
field is one
where some faculty hold 100% FTE while a large number of faculty
hold split (25% to 75%) or joint appointments (0%). This flexible
structure enables the faculty to continue their bridging roles
between Asian American Studies and other departments, and is
conducive to ensuring an interdisciplinary pedagogy and research
in the proposed department. We envision that in about five years’ time
the department would have five faculty holding 100% FTE. These
five faculty would consist of faculty who currently hold joint
appointments and wish to be 100% in the proposed department in
the future and new appointments for 100% FTE.
At present, one
tenured faculty member has committed 50%-100% of his FTE to
the proposed new department (Nakamura); 10 tenured
faculty members have committed 50% of their FTEs to the proposed
new department (Cheung, Kagawa-Singer, Ling, Louie, Matsumoto,
Nakanishi, Ong, Park, Yu, and Zhou). Dean Scott Waugh has committed
3-4 full-time FTEs to the new AAS department. In addition,
18 tenured faculty members have expressed interest in holding
0%
appointments with the new department (Roshan Bastani, Emil
Berkonovic, Mitch Chang, Clara Chu, Cindy Fan, Shirley Hune,
Jerry Kang,
Snehendu Kar, Vinay Lal, Rachel Lee, Jim Lubben, Takeshi Makinodan,
Ailee Moon, Lorraine Sakata, William Ouchi, Michael Salman,
Shu-mei Shih, James Tong, and Cindy Yee-Bradbury) in the proposed
new
department.
Upon tenure, tenure-track assistant professors who
currently hold joint appointments or are affiliated with Asian
American
Studies may choose to shift a portion of their FTE into the
proposed department. Assistant Professor Thu-Huong Nguyen-Vo,
who holds
a joint appointment with the IDP, teaches two courses in Asian
American Studies. Another tenure-track assistant professor
whom we are in the process of recruiting this fall, will have
a joint
appointment with the IDP, plus another possible tenure-track
FTE for the replacement Wei Hu. In addition, Assistant Professor
Ninez Ponce is developing courses for Asian American Studies.
Upon tenure, these faculty members may choose to have part
of their FTE in the new department.
Therefore, the Department of
Asian American Studies would start with a total of 15 FTEs: 7
institutional FTEs originally held
by the Asian American Studies Center—Cheung, Kakawa-Singer,
Matsumoto, Nakamura, Nakanishi, Ong, and Agbayani-Siewert (to
be filled); 3 existing 50%-50% split FTEs—Ling, Louie,
Park, Yu, Zhou, and Hu (to be filled); 3 100% growth FTEs; and
2 spilt future FTEs—Chang (25%), Nguyen-Vo (50%), Ponce
(25%), and Hune (50%). All faculty members who wish to have split
appointments have been teaching a number of core, required, as
well as electives courses in the Asian American Studies IDP and
would continue to do the same in the proposed department. This
core faculty resource would ensure that the existing curriculum
and departmental duties are carried out smoothly and effectively.
Along with the actively involvement of 18 tenured faculty members
holding 0% appointments, 3 professors emeriti (Lucie Cheng, Harry
Kitano, and Kazuo Nihira), and 2 adjunct professors (Russell
Leong, and Nancy Harada), the faculty base for the proposed department
in terms of teaching and programmatic development, research,
and service is solidly in place. Some of the faculty with split
or joint appointments may choose to increase their FTE proportion
in Asian American Studies in the future, but it is important
that during the initial period of the new department they continue
to help maintain the interdisciplinary strength of the program.
Staff
Since the inception of the IDP, much of the staff
support is provided by the Asian American Studies Center. With
the current
increase of the IDP’s operating budget to $168,000, a full-time
Student Affairs Officer has been hired and two more full-time
staff persons – one MSO and one Administrative Assistant
will be hired. These three full-time staff positions at the IDP
will become core staff in the proposed new department.
Academic
Programs
The BA, undergraduate minor, undergraduate honors,
the MA, and the two joint master degree programs will be in
place when the
IDP moves into a department. The proposed department’s
curriculum remains largely similar to that of the IDP, but abides
by UCLA’s departmental rules and regulations (Appendix
O).
With departmentalization, we will establish an Undergraduate
Affairs Committee consisting of the faculty Undergraduate Adviser,
the SAO, and undergraduate student representatives to examine
undergraduate issues and curriculum issues. We will also improve
the undergraduate curriculum in several specific ways. First,
we will incorporate the existing community-based field courses,
along with relevant new courses, into a coherent set of experiential
education and service learning courses. Second, we will work
closely with other ethnic studies programs on campus and offer
courses that are crosslisted with other ethnic studies programs
or focus on inter-racial and inter-ethnic relations. Third,
we would like to expand the curriculum by developing a number
of
new courses, including courses on Media and Communication,
Asian American Art History, Asian American Religion, Asian Americans
in Politics, Asian Americans and Technology, and by offering
more classes on underrepresented Asian American ethnic groups.
We will continue to administer the two joint
master degree programs—one
with Community Health Sciences and the other with Social Welfare.
The joint master degree program with Information Studies is currently
pending for final approval and is expected to accept applications
soon. Proposals to establish two more joint degree programs with
the School of Law and the Department of Urban Planning are being
developed. Meanwhile, we will explore the costs, benefits, and
possibility of establishing a PhD program in Asian American Studies.
Hitherto no PhD in Asian American Studies exists. One clear advantage
of such a program would be to further advance the development
of the field and to raise the profile of Asian American Studies
in higher education. Faculty in the new Department of Asian American
Studies would debate the issues related to the establishment
of a PhD program as part of the department’s long-range
plan.
Leadership
and Governance
Three faculty members of the proposed Department
of Asian American Studies – a Chair, a Vice Chair-Graduate Advisor, and an
Undergraduate Advisor – would constitute its core faculty
leadership. The department’s committee structure would
be similar to that of regular departments, with an Executive
Committee, a Graduate Advisory Committee, an Undergraduate Advisory
Committee, an Admissions and Awards Committee, and other ad hoc
committees to oversee various aspects of the department. The
membership of each of these committees would include faculty,
student representatives, and/or staff. In addition, ad hoc committees
for personnel actions would be established whenever appropriate.
Because the proposed department would consist of a large number
of faculty with split and joint appointments, a set of by-laws
governing faculty voting privileges on personnel cases and
other departmental affairs is necessary. In accordance with the
Call,
faculty with more than 0% FTE in the department have voting
privileges on personnel cases, whereas faculty with 0% appointment
in the
department can request to have their voting privileges waived
and to have the department waive participation in their personnel
actions.
Space
Space is perhaps the most urgent need for the
proposed department. For more than 25 years since its inception,
the IDP had only
a small office for the chair, and no space for faculty, temporary
instructors, teaching assistants, staff, and graduate students.
Nearly all IDP administration was undertaken in offices held
by the Asian American Studies Center. Recently, Dean Scott Waugh
has allocated three more offices to the IDP at Hershey Hall.
However, departmentalization would require significant augmentation
of office space. The IDP’s current space (4 offices) is
barely enough for the proposed department to function effectively,
and more space is thus urgently needed. We request a minimum
of 14 more offices immediately and another 14 offices over a
five-year period of expected departmental growth.
Relations
with the Center and Other Units on Campus
The Asian American Studies IDP and the Center have enjoyed a
long-standing and close relationship, and the synergies between
them are a main reason for the preeminence of Asian American
Studies at UCLA. This relationship is best described as an interdependent
and mutually beneficial one. Perhaps the most challenging aspect
of the ORU-Department relationship is faculty FTE. With departmentalization,
some portions of the 7 Center FTEs currently held by faculty
with joint appointments between the IDP and their home departments
would be moved to the new department. We recommend that these
FTEs be jointly administered by the Chair of the new Department
of Asian American Studies Center and the Director of the Asian
American Studies Center. This recommendation is necessary to
insure a smooth transition of the IDP into a department. When
and if in the future the Center wishes to discontinue its administration
of the FTEs and the department wishes to be the sole unit administering
them, this arrangement can be further reviewed and negotiated.
The new department would continue to maintain close relationships
with other campus departments and programs.
