UCI Asian American Studies Department
With a unanimous vote of support by the UCI Academic Senate, followed by administrative approval, departmental status has been granted to the UCI Asian American Studies Program in the School of Humanities. Created on paper in 1991, it took student protests to actually initiate the program in 1993. Under the directorship of Professor Ketu Katrak, who came to UCI in 1996, the program has significantly expanded. It presently has nine core faculty members, ten affiliated faculty, and offers a major, a minor, and a graduate emphasis. Department status assures Asian American Studies of a permanent home at UCI. As one of the few full-fledged Asian American Studies departments in the nation, its new status will aid in the recruitment of the best new faculty and attract more students as majors and minors.
