The SGIS’s expected completion date was June 1, according to the Building a Stronger IU website. While the building appears to be undergoing the final stages of constructive details, the school is already appointing a staff dedicated to its growth.
These appointments include an assistant professor, a professor of practice in East Asian studies and diplomacy and its first endowed chair in Korean studies.
The School of Global and International Studies created the chair of Korean studies in order to deepen IU’s longstanding commitment to the study of East Asian and Pacific nations, as the Global and International Studies Building will embody Herman B Wells’ prescient vision that “the campus of Indiana University is not just in Bloomington, or even the state of Indiana; it encompasses the four corners of the globe,” the University Architect’s Office website said.
Seung-kyung Kim will become the founding Korea Foundation Chair in Korean studies and serve as a professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, according to an IU press ?release.
“I am really excited about the future of Korean studies at Indiana University, which has already established itself as a leader in area studies in the U.S.,” Kim said. “I look forward to this unique opportunity to expand and strengthen Korean studies at Indiana and position the University in the vanguard of Korean studies in the U.S.”
Kim is currently the chair of the Department of Women’s Studies and director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Maryland, where she also served as founding director of the Asian American Studies Program, according to the release.
In 2012, IU announced a $1.5 million grant from the Korea Foundation and the three Korean IU alumni would establish the University’s first endowed chair in Korean studies, according to the release. It also is the first endowed chair to be established in the SGIS.
Mark C. Minton will also join the school. He is currently president of the Korea Society in New York City, a former U.S. ambassador to Mongolia and has been a diplomat for more than 30 years. He will become a professor of practice in East Asian studies and diplomacy, according to the release.
Minton also served as the country director for Korea and as deputy country director for Japan at the U.S. Department of State. He served in various diplomatic posts in Japan, as a Pearson Fellow with the U.S. Senate and at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, according to the release. He previously taught for a year as the Diplomat-in-Residence at the City College of New York. He earned a master’s degree in history from Yale University.
Adam Liff, a post-doctoral fellow in the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program, will join the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures as an assistant professor, according to the release.
Liff is also a research associate at Harvard University’s Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, with his primary fields of research being in international relations and security studies, with a focus on contemporary security issues in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the release. He earned his doctorate in politics from Princeton University.
Lee A. Feinstein, dean of the SGIS, stated to the release how these three faculty appointments are only the beginning of an ambitious effort to enhance IU’s traditional strengths while adding new dimensions.
“Deepening IU’s longstanding commitment to the study of Asia is a top priority in light of the growing role of Asia and the Pacific,” Feinstein said. “With these new colleagues, we are significantly expanding the scholarly and career opportunities available to our talented ?students.”
