Professor receives alumni award for mentoring, work

When Eugene Eoyang, professor emeritus of comparative literature at IU, was informed he had been selected to receive one of IU Asian Alumni Association’s most distinguished honors, he was told jokingly by an associate that the organization must have run out of Asian Americans to whom the award could  be presented. 

Eoyang will formally receive the Distinguished Asian Pacific American Alumni Award in about two weeks in a formal commemorative ceremony.

The award recognizes outstanding professional achievements and community service of Asian and Pacific-American alumni of the University, according to a press release.

“I wasn’t aware of it. I didn’t know about the award,” Eoyang said.

“I didn’t know there was such an award. About 25 years ago, the number of Asian-American faculty and student body was quite small, so to say they ran out of Asian-Americans may (have been) true 25 years ago, but there’s quite a substantial number now.”

Eoyang’s most recent professional endeavor is his work associated with  the release of his latest book “The Promise and Premise of Creativity: Why Comparative Literature Matters (Continuum),” — a work, he said, that is dedicated to his IU mentors, colleagues and students.

Eoyang said he considers the award timely since it parallels with his book’s publication.

“I did not know, and couldn’t have guessed, that members of the current Comparative Literature Department would have nominated me for the award,” he said in a press release.

“That means all the more to me because it reflects the esteem of colleagues I have worked with over the years.”

Eoyang also said the value of his work is timeless and he would pursue the same amount of work with or without the formal recognition.

“I just keep on working,” he said. “It’s nice to have the recognition. I would do it without the recognition or not. I don’t mean to disrespect the award, but the value of my work is not just for the moment, it’s for the future.”

IU was one of the first universities to produce a standalone comparative literature program and did so in 1949, Eoyang said.

Since the distinguished professor’s involvement with the program, he has since established scholarships and prizes honoring three of his IU mentors and has authored and published at least five other books.

“Professor Eoyang’s dynamic and robust contribution as a great teacher, thinker and personality exemplify the way in which a lifetime contribution to Indiana University
continues to enrich many aspects of IU’s mission,” said Norris Wang, an IUAAA board member, in a press release.

“His longtime connection to Bloomington also deserves commendation.”

Eoyang will be honored at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Lilly Library.