Vison for a Second Term as Director of EASC
My Goals and Vision for a Second Term as Director of EASC
Much of my time and energy during my first term as director of EASC was spent on preventing the ship from sinking entirely to the bottom of the ocean (we were pretty damn close). It was an extremely exhausting fight, and my decision to run for re-election has quite frankly not been an easy one. However, we have an amazing team now, the ship is no longer sinking, and I feel like we are finally ready to go somewhere exciting. Yet, the direction that I’m envisioning may not be shared by the rest of you or the HLS leadership, and if the journey is to be successful, I want to give you the chance of pointing to a different ‘captain’ (yes, I can go on all day with the nautical metaphors!) to take the center in a different direction. I will feel no resentment, if that is the result (and I might actually then get time to do some research again, so win-win). I know the center has not occupied a large role in your daily work in the past, but it has the capacity to really make a difference for our research and teaching community at IU (whether we get Title VI funding or not), so the election of director should be a matter of serious discussion and consideration for all of us. As I have mentioned before, I welcome other candidates with different visions. Indifference is the death of a center like ours, especially with several ominous storms gathering in the horizon!
Among myriads of possible ways to go and things to do in addition to the declared mission of EASC (https://easc.indiana.edu/), the following would be my priorities if elected for a second term:
Accessibility – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has come under fierce attack in higher education and elsewhere, but diversity (even without DEI) in our student and faculty population is critical for a vibrant and innovative academic environment. As I have argued in the past, diversity does not begin during the job interviews, the graduate admission process, or even through undergraduate enrollment, but by making East Asian studies accessible and interesting to future generations. It is imperative to me that EASC continues, and strengthens, its work on channeling our research and insights into classrooms throughout the educational pipeline by educating and assisting K12 teachers, several of whom are our very own graduates. This work is funded by the Freeman grant through NCTA, and it is currently our primary source of external funding. There is no glory or promotions to be gained from this work, but it is the right thing to do, and the center has made a lot of progress the last couple of years.
Innovation – If I get a second term as director, we will continue a new program through which the center is working with students (and interested faculty) to develop new ways of framing the skills and expertise that our academic practices promote in our students and society at large. I started this program last fall with a monthly workshop “Transferrable Skills for Global Students”, but I believe we can grow this much further a new “Applied Area Studies” (granted, that title needs a bit more work) that can help us all navigate and grow in a rapidly changing educational landscape. Area Studies have been on the defense for a long time, and “business as usual” is not going to benefit us in the long, or even intermediary, run. Again, lots of work, no glory or promotion, but it is the fun thing to do.
Decentralizing event planning – During my first term, I tried to create more disciplinary synergies by organizing the colloquium through semester-long themes. Unfortunately, this approach never really became successful and it was very time and energy consuming for me. I’ve come to realize that we (= I) need to return to a more decentralized structure, where the initiative to such research events lies with the center members, potentially with an emphasis on providing advanced graduate students with the means to invite scholars of their choice in collaboration with faculty. During my first term, I honestly had my fill of being an event manager, so it is the selfish thing to do.
Funding – The upcoming Title VI will of course have to be a priority for any director, and we hope that the application deadline will be sometime in fall 2025. Given the current political climate, I believe it is highly probable that the Title VI program will cease to exist, which is a reality that the director will need to deal with. This must entail a continued effort to think of alternative sources of funding for the future. Of course, all that will require a ton of work, and whoever ends up being the director they will most certainly need help from all of you guys, but it is the glorious thing to do.
The above is just a summary of some of my priorities for second term as director, but there are of course many other and equally important things going on in the center where I will be attentive: securing an equitable and enjoyable work environment for staff and students; helping faculty secure and administer external grants; finding ways to better include faculty and students at regional IU campuses; allocating adequate funds for student and faculty travels and research events; promoting East Asian Studies across our own campus; tightening and expanding collaborations with other HLS centers etc.
-Dr. Morten Oxenboell
Current Director, EASC