I t. Plan of Operation 

Founded in 1963, Kennesaw State University (KSU) is located 20 miles northwest of 

Atlanta. It is the third-largest university in Georgia with more than 24, I 00 undergraduate and 

graduate students representing 142 countries. The student body is 48% "non-traditional" 

although the number of residential students, now at 15%, is growing at a steady pace. Accredited 

by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). KSU offers 80 bachelor's, master's 

and doctorate degree programs. KSU's national reputation was recognized by Us. News & 

World Report's America's Best Colleges issue in 2010 as one of the top universities in the 

region, and its first-year experience program has been named an "Academic Program to Look 

For" by U.S. News for nine consecutive years. The proposed project focuses on expanding and 

strengthening opportunities for international learning; it fully accords with the university's 

commitment to enhance the global experiences of students, faculty and staff through its 2007 

Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), known as the "Get Global" initiative (see also Section 7). 

Asia is playing an ever increasing role in the world economy and politics, and KSU has 

begun to attract a nationa l reputation for its Asian Studies program. Over the past 20 years KSU 

has created a number of courses focusing on Asia in history, business, political science, 

international affairs, philosophy, languages, and the arts. In 20 II , the university founded the 

largest Asia Business Conference in Southeastern USA: Symposium on ASIA-USA Partnership 

Opportunities (SAUPO), honored by the White House only one year later for its "leadership and 

commitment." Yet, to date, many of our students have a limited understanding of the complex 

cultures and human experiences of people living in these regions, not to mention a lack of 

language proficiency to engage with those people. For our students to benefit from the increasing 

number of job opportunities in government, business, and non-profit sectors related to Asian 

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countries, they need to engage in a focused and intentional curriculum that will broaden their 

worldview and provide them with the knowledge, skills, and expertise necessary to succeed. 

In order to afford our students that rich curriculum, KSU is applying for Title VI-Part A 

UISFL funding to develop an Asian Studies undergraduate major with a strong Asian language 

and culture curriculum. The UISFL grant forms the centerpiece of an initiative that will reach 

malUrity after a carefully planned and nurtured decade-long incubation. Briefl y, the history of 

this initiative began with our Chinese language program. Started six years ago, our Chinese 

program has experienced tremendous growth boasting a healthy 325 enrolled students this past 

academic year. Four years ago KSU developed a minor in Asian Studies that has attracted an 

increasing number of students. The initiative's next phase requires critical seed money to expand 

the program to a full major at the end of two more years, which will attract additional external 

support. As explained in this proposal, in light of the faculty expertise on campus, student 

demand, and strong interest from external partners, we believe the program will be solidly 

sustainable three years after the UISFL grant ends. 

The Title VI funding is a key component to continue building the initiative's capacity for 

a major in Asian studies. Our goal is to offer KSU students an opportunity to gain a deep 

understanding of the histories, cultures, arts, business practices, and religions of Asia. Further, 

we believe that language shapes the way that people think, behave, and develop values and 

beliefs; language is the portal to reach a deep understanding of one's culture. Thus, in addition to 

providing a solid foundation in Asian cultures, our proposed B.A. in Asian Studies includes a 

strong language component in three less commonly taught East Asian Languages: Chinese, 

Japanese, and Korean. To accomplish this goal, our project includes four areas of emphasis: 

A. Develop an interdisciplinary B.A. in Asian Studies in the Interdisciplinary Studies 

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Department (ISO). This degree program will include a strong Asian language and culture 

requirement (in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) as well as courses in history, philosophy, art, 

anthropology, religion, political science, economics, communication, and business. The major 

will be developed in 2012-2013, with a target starting date of fa ll 20 14. 

B. Increase the number of courses with an Asia prefIX focusing on Asian issues, including 

study abroad opportunities lasting a full summer or semester. 

C. Expand advanced level language instruction in Chinese and develop a three-year 

language sequence in Japanese and Korean. 

D. Enhance the KSU library collection relating to South and East Asia with a special 

attention to history, philosophy, religion, business, and Asian language and literature collections. 

Each of these four objectives, described in more detail below, is highly pertinent to the 

purposes of the UISFL program, "to plan, develop, and carry out programs to strengthen and 

improve undergraduate instruction in international studies and foreign languages." Our project 

features an effective plan of operation that is properly and efficiently administered, with 

personnel and other resources that are integral to a design of the highest quality. The following 

general description explains how resources and personnel support each objective. The Plan of 

Operation section concludes with a table showing the monthly breakdown of project activities 

for two years. Please see the appendices for a table that places the two-year grant period within 

the larger context of our five-year sustainability plan. 

A. Establish a B.A. in Asian Studies 

KSU intends to develop a B.A. degree program in Asian Studies that will be housed in 

the Interdisciplinary Studies Department located in the College of Humanities and Social 

Sciences (CHSS). Students enroll ed in this program will be required to complete courses in 

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philosophy, economics, political science, and languages as part of the lower division major 

requirements. A distinctive feature of our proposal is to require 12 credit hours at the 3000 leve l 

in one of the Asian languages taught at KSU (Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, or Korean) or 

demonstrate oral and writing proficiency at the Intermediate-Mid level on the American Counci l 

on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) scale in one of the followi ng languages: 

Cambodian, Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese), Hindi, Hmong, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, 

Punjabi, Lao, Taga log, Thai, Urdu, or Vietnamese. In addition to the language requirement, 

students will also be required to participate in an approved study abroad program or internship. 

We believe the deve lopment of a comprehensive program in three Asian languages 

(Japanese, Korean, and Chinese) is critical to offer a B.A. of the highest quality; we will use the 

UISFL grant to strengthen our Chinese program and launch the Japanese and Korean programs. 

Upper division requirements will also include courses in art, philosophy, history, economics, 

political science, and research methods. Students will complete their degree program by taking a 

capstone course in Asian Studies where they will be asked to develop a research project or write 

a senior thesis on a topic arranged by their instructor. To create a high-quality B.A. in Asian 

Studies, we are following best practices in Asian Studies, borrowing from the curriculum design 

of such programs as Brigham Young University, Emory University, and University of Oregon. 

Quality is also assured by designing the forei gn language and culture curriculum to follow the 

national standards (ACTFL) and includes external reviewers as we ll as ACTFL proficiency tests. 

Our goal is to have the B.A. in Asian Studies degree program proposal approved on 

campus by the end of spring 2013 and have the program approved by the Board of Rege nts of the 

University System of Georgia by the end of spring 20 14 so as to officially launch the degree 

program in fall of 20 14. The B.A. proposal can realistically be completed by December 20 12, 

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with the spring of 2013 reserved for the various levels of reviews and approvals, because of 

extensive work already completed prior to the proposed grant period. In the fall of 20 II , Asian 

Studies faculty established the Asian Studies B.A. task force to develop a B.A. in Asian Studies 

program proposal. The task force has made great progress, having developed a well-articulated 

curriculum for this degree program with most courses, except for foreign languages, already 

either fully developed and approved or in the final stages of development. 

Over ~he next five years, we wi ll also hire a total of five language and culture faculty 

members (one in Chinese, two in Japanese, and two in Korean) to develop our comprehensive 

language and culture programs. Job ads for these positions will clearly state that expertise in 

developing a proficiency-based language program and having a study abroad experience are 

required qualifications. The Department of Foreign Languages, which has a long tradition of 

developing proficiency-based curriculum, is fully supporti ve of this initiative. 

B. Increase the number of courses with an Asia prefIX focusing on Asian issues 

Our B.A. in Asian Studies will draw on a rich array of courses that focus on global and 

Asian issues in art, communication, economics, geography, history, management, marketing, 

philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. As an interdisciplinary program 

supported by faculty from many departments and several colleges, we have garnered great 

support for the B.A. in Asian Studies within CHSS and outside of the college boundaries. Listed 

below are the strengths of our core and affi liated faculty for developing new interdisciplinary 

Asian Studies curriculum. (Current course descriptions follow the list of faculty.) 

• Dr. Don Amoroso is a Professor of Information Systems and the Executive Director of 

the International Center for Innovations in Technology (Ph.D. University of Georgia). Dr. 

Amoroso has strong connection with the Japanese American community, Japanese universities, 

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Japanese companies and Japanese government. He frequently travels to Japan for cooperated 

research. Dr. Amoroso teaches ASIA 3950 - Technology Strategy in Asia. 

• Dr. Tavishi Bhasin is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and International 

Affairs (Ph.D. Emory University). She conducts research in Comparative Politics: Violent and 

Nonviolent Dissent, Autonomy Demands, Human rights, Democratic institutions -- Electoral 

Systems, Politics of Developing Areas. She is an expert on South Asian politics, and teaches 

ASIA 4457: South Asian Politics: A Comparative Perspective. 

• Dr. May Gao is an Associate Professor of Communication and Coordinator of the Asian 

Studies program (Ph.D. University of South Florida). Her research interests include the 

globalization processes of Chinese and American corporations, intercultural learning and 

adaptation, race and diversity issues, and global occupational mobility. She has worked as TV 

anchorwoman at China Anhui Television Station, as well as a PR specialist in the University of 

Science and Technology of China. She currently conducts a research project with 20 American 

and Chinese multinational corporations, including UPS, the Citi Group, Home Depot, Duracell, 

the Sports Authority, Inductothenn, Lenovo, and Haier. She has published in Thunderbird 

International Business Review, Global Business Languages, China Media Research, Journal of 

Chinese Culture and Management, and East West Connections. 

• Dr. Leena Her is an Assistant Professor in TESOL and Global Learning (Ph.D. Stanford 

University). She conducts research on minority in education, such as "Gender Ideologies, 

Schooling and Ethnic Identity of the Hmong in Laos." 

• Dr. Wenhua Jin is an Assistant Professor of Chinese (Ph. D. University of Texas at 

Arlington). She has more than 15 years' university-level teaching experience in China and US in 

the areas of English, Chinese language, and linguistics. She has presented her research at many 

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national and international conferences, and has authored several articles and books in linguistics 

and language pedagogy. Her research interests include Chinese language acquisition and 

pedagogy, Chinese linguistics, Asian language variation and change, phonetics and phonology. 

Dr. lin is proficient in English, Chinese and Korean. 

• Dr. Thomas Keene is a Professor of History (Ph.D. Emory University). Dr. Keene is an 

Indian history and culture expert and has worked in India and China. On the KSU faculty since 

1973, he teaches courses in the History of Science, Environmental History, and South Asia. 

• Dr. Heeman Kim is an Associate Professor of Communication and the Asian Studies 

Associate Coordinator (Ph.D. Temple University). He teaches Communication Research, Digital 

Media Production, and Advanced Video Production; his research is closely related to his 

teaching and includes the cultural and social uses of electronic media. Current research examines 

the cultural uses of Social Media and draws on field surveys in Korea and the U.S. He has 

presented his research at major communication conferences and has published in communication 

and education joumals. 

• Dr. Chien-pin Li is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and International 

Affairs (Ph.D. University of Iowa). Dr. Li was an Associate Research Fellow at Academia Sinica 

(Taipei, Taiwan), a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States (Washington, 

D.C.) a Research Fellow at the Pacific Cultural Foundation (Taipei, Taiwan), and a Visiting 

Professor at Nanjing Normal University (Nanjing, China). His research interest is in the area of 

intemational political economy, including trade disputes, trade negotiations, and political risks. 

He has published articles in Internalional Negotiation, Asian Survey, Issues & Studies, Pacific 

Review, and International Studies Quarterly. 

• Dr. Sarasij Majumder is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Asian Studies 

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(Ph.D. Rutgers University). He is a member of the BA in Asian Studies task force and 

coordinates the gateway course for the Asian Studies minor: "ASIA3001 Understanding Asia." 

His research looks at politics of land in neoliberal India and South Asia, drawing on fieldwork 

currently underway in India. 

• Dr. Luixi Meng is an Associate Professor of Chinese (Ph.D. Uni versity of British 

Columbia) and the Coordinator of the Chinese Program. He is also a member of the Board of 

Advisors of the statewide Georgia Chinese Language Educators Group. Dr. Meng teaches 

Chinese culture and language to KSU students, as well as linguistic s, literature, and culture to 

Chinese teachers in the Alternative Teacher Preparation Program. He has developed courses for 

the lower-division Chinese program, the Chinese minor, and a study abroad component for the 

Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Chinese and serves on the MAT Admissions and Advisory 

Committee. Dr. Meng regularl y conducts sessions on Chinese language pedagogy and Chinese 

literature and culture at national and international conferences. He has published a number of 

books/book chapters, and journal papers in both Chinese and English. 

• Dr. Luc Noiset is an Associate Professor of Economics (Ph.D. Tulane Uni versity). He 

has worked as an economist forthe Office of Tax Analysis in the U.S. Department of the 

Treasury and was the U.S . Treasury's representative to the Latvian Minister of Finance. Dr. 

Noiset has worked as a tax policy advisor in many countri es of the fa nner Soviet Union, Egypt 

and Vietnam. His research and teaching focus on the role of government in a modern free-market 

economy. Dr. Noiset is a member of the BA in Asian Studies task force, and is currently leading 

the effort of developing a new course on "Economies in the Emerging Markets." 

• Mr. Tom Pynn is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Coordinator of the Peace Studies 

Program, and an affiliated faculty with Asian Studies at KSU. He holds two M.A. degrees, in 

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Literature and Philosophy, both granted by the University of Mississippi. His interests in Asian 

Studies include Daoism, Buddhist ontology and ethics, and Yoga Philosophy. His most recent 

publications include "Introducing Students to Classical Indian Philosophy in Asian Texts-Asian 

Contexts" in Southeast Review of Asian Studies. 

• Dr. Masako Racel is an Assistant Professor of History (Ph.D. Georgia State University). 

For 15 years at KSU, she has taught Asia-related courses such as Introduction to World History, 

Origins of Great Traditions, the World Since 1945, and Pre-modem Japan. She also leads study 

abroad programs in Japan. Dr. Racel is a faculty advisor to various Asian Studies student clubs. 

• Dr. Teresa Raezek is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology (Ph.D. University of 

Pennsylvania). She joined KSU in fall of 2011 as an anthropological archaeologist who has 

worked extensively in Rajasthan, India. She will teach the archeology of Asia in the new B.A. 

• Dr. Abhra Roy is an Assistant Professor of Economics in the Coles College of Business 

(Ph.D. West Virginia University). His areas of specialization are International Trade and 

Development Economics. 

• Dr. Debarati Sen is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology (Ph.D. Rutgers University). 

A cultural anthropologist with a background in sociology and gender studies, especially related 

to South Asia, she is proposing a "Gender in Asia" course for the new BA in Asian Studies. 

• Dr. Jun Tu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Anthropology 

(Ph.D. City University of New York). His specialty is environmental issues, especially China. 

• Dr. Ginny Zhan is a Professor of Psychology (Ph.D. Cornell University). Dr. Zhan's 

research interests include cross-cultural developmental topics, gender issues, parenting in 

contexts, and Asian-American identity. Dr. Zhan leads a summer study abroad program to China. 

• Dr. Jiayan Zhang is an Associate Professor of History as KSU (Ph.D. UCLA). He 

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specializes in agrarian history, environmental change, and peasant studies. His research focuses 

on the interrelationship of environmental change, economic growth, and peasant responses in the 

Jianghan plain, Hubei, China. He teaches world history, Asian history, and Chinese history. 

• Dr. Binyao Zheng is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology and Research 

(Ph.D. University of Memphis). He conducts research in international and comparative 

education, learning and teaching, and character education. He has been a Guest Professor at 

various Chinese universities. Dr. lheng is a member of the BA in Asian Studies task force. 

• Dr. Guichun Zong is a Professor of Adolescent Education and Social Studies Education. 

(Ed.D. Florida International University). Dr. long strives to develop pedagogies that enhance 

prospective and practicing teachers' cross-cultural communication and global understanding. She 

is we ll published, with such books as Social Education in Asia: Critical Issues and Multiple 

Perspectives. Dr. long also serves as SAUPO Vice Chair. 

Building on this expertise and on the work that has already be done during A Y 2011-

2012, our aim is also to increase our course offerings on Asian-specific topics in areas that are 

not as well covered by our current curriculum. To this end and to present a comprehensive 

degree program proposal by December 2012, Asian Studies faculty members have already 

committed to deve loping courses in the following areas: 

• ASIA 3360: Archaeology of Asia 

Asia has a rich and deep history, much of which can only be accessed through archaeology as 

texts are unavailable or scarce for many time periods. Given the nature of archaeological 

evidence, scholars must interpret their findings to give life to raw data collected in the field. 

This course will survey the major debates that have arisen from competing interpretations of the 

archaeological record, and the cultural and historical developments in Asia from approximately 

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10,000 BCE through 1600 CEo Topics of study will include the rise of complex societies, cities, 

and states; early economies; empires; and the role of archaeology in modern Asia. Dr. Teresa 

Raczek has developed and will teach this course. 

• ASIA 3340: Contemporary South Asia Literature 

This course explores South Asian experiences by examining diverse aesthetic and cultural 

perspectives from 20th and 21st century South Asian literature. In order to familiarize students 

with the growing, diverse South Asian population, this course will introduce students to a variety 

of South Asian experiences through literary works from writers in this demographic-through 

critical reading and analysis, reflection, discussion, and research-students will see the South 

Asian experience as a global one. Professor Komal Patel, Lecturer in the English Department, 

will teach this course. 

• ASIA 3370: Economies of the Emerging Markets 

The course will introduce students to evolving economies in emerging markets. The eight largest 

emerging economies by nominal GDP or PPP are Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC), Mexico, 

South Korea, Indonesia and Turkey. This course will compare and contrast various fonns of 

economies in emerging markets with a focus on Asia. The goal is for each student to achieve a 

solid understanding of the economic concepts and arguments drawn from the variety of covered 

readings. This course will be taught by Dr. Abhra Roy. 

• ASIA 4102: Gender Issues in Asia 

This interdisciplinary course places gender relationships at the center of understanding 

economic, political and cultural change in Asia, a world region that is home to some of the most 

diverse occurrences of gender differences and its theoretical explorations. Drawing from the 

existing literature in anthropology, education, arts, sociology, literature, philosophy, economics, 

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political sc ience, geography and communication, this course exposes students to both 

"traditional " and "modern" aspects of gender relationships in Asia. The course will also have an 

applied aspect emphasizing how a gender focus in critical Asian Studies can shed light on 

educational policy and practice in the Asian diaspora of the United States. This course will be 

team-taught by Drs. Debarati Sen and Leena Her. 

• ASIA 3355: Capital isms and Cultures in Asia 

This course will compare and contrast various fonns of capital isms in Asia to understand the 

dynamics of society and political life in Asia. This course will enable students to develop a 

global perspective on critical issues that concern policymakers, business-strategists, 

development-workers and academics. This course will be taught by Dr. Sarasij Majumder. 

C. Expand the course offerings in Chinese at the 3000 and 4000 levels and develop a 

three year language sequence in Japanese and Korean 

What will distinguish our B.A. in Asian Studies from similar programs around the 

country will be its strong language requirement. Our goa l is for all of our majors to reach an 

Intermediate-Mid level of proficiency on the ACTFL sca le in both oral and writing production. 

Although this is an ambitious goal for Asian languages, we have been successful in having our 

students complete their B.A. in Modem Language and Culture (with specializations in French, 

German, or Spanish) with Advanced-Low scores according to the ACTFL proficiency scale . 

Recognizing that the quality of students' perfonnance in language proficiency depends greatly 

on the quality of instruction delivered in and out of the classroom, our project requires the hiring 

of five new permanent Asian language and culture faculty members over fi ve years (three during 

the proposed grant period) in order to expand o ur upper-leve l course offerings in Chinese and 

develop a comprehensive language program to the 3000 level in Japanese and Korean. 

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1. New Faculty Lines 

a. One Assistant Professor in Japanese 

In January 2013 we will hire a temporary full-time Japanese faculty member with expertise in 

teaching Japanese language with a proficiency-oriented approach to launch our Japanese 

language program. At the same time we will launch a national search for an Assistant Professor 

of Japanese with expertise in building a proficiency-based Japanese language program as well as 

developing a study abroad program. The starting date for this position wi ll be August 2013. 

b. One Assistant Professor in Korean 

Because our needs are identical in Japanese and Korean, we would fo llow the same pattern for 

Korean and hire a temporary full-time faculty for the spring of20 13 and a full-time Assistant 

Professor with the same set of qualifications as for the Japanese position, also starting in August. 

c. One Lecturer in Chinese 

With 325 students enrolled in 201\-2012 and only two full-time faculty members, we have to 

rely more and more on part-time faculty to deliver our program. KSU has a long-standing 

relationship with Chinese universities and the Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), 

a division of the Chinese Ministry of Education, and we house a very active Confucius Institute 

on campus. Hanban has expressed a strong interest in supporting the expansion of our Chinese 

language program and together with our Confucius Institute will provide funding to hire a 

lecturer in Chinese starting spring 2013. This wi ll allow us to increase quality, expand capacity, 

and develop an additional upper-level Chinese course. 

d. One Lecturer in Japanese 

Our goal is to hire a Lecturer in Japanese in the fall of 20 15 to support our Japanese program. A 

single permanent faculty member cannot manage a high quality language program and with the 

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help of the UISFL grant and the Japan Foundation to launch the program, KSU is committed to 

hire a Lecturer to support the Japanese program in fall 2015 . That person will be mostly 

responsible for teaching Japanese courses at the 1000 and 2000 leve ls. 

e. One Lecturer in Korean 

As for Japanese, we need a second pennanent faculty member to sustain and allow for the 

expansion of our Korean language program. The university is equall y committed to hiring a 

Lecturer in Korean in the fall of 20 15 and the person hired will have similar responsibilities for 

the Korean language program as the lecturer in Japanese for the Japanese language program. 

2. New Language Courses 

a. Chinese. For Chinese, we now have a complete set of offering at the 1000 and 2000 

levels as well as three courses at the 3000 leve l: 

• CHNS 3200 - Critical Reading and Ap plied Writing 

CHNS 3200 is a study of selected readings of signs, news, and literary and cultural works to 

increase vocabulary, enhance grammar skills, and develop reading skills. It is also designed to 

give students extensive experience in reading Chinese. 

• CHNS 3302 - Practical Conversation 

CHNS 3302 stresses expansion of effective listening comprehension and speaking skills through 

culturally and linguistically appropriate activities. 

• CHNS 3303 - Grammar and Composition 

CHNS 3303 is a general review of grammar and composition and other writing activities, such as 

summaries, correspondence, descriptions. narration, literary analysis, and other rhetorical and 

culturally appropriate forms. 

During the 2012-2013 academic year, we will add a fourth course at the 3000 leve l: CHNS 3304, 

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Literature and Culture I, as well as plan for expanding course offerings at the 4000 level. 

b. Japanese. The Japanese curriculum will follow the same pattern as the one for Chinese. 

We already have JPN 1001 , JPN 1002, JPN 2001, and JPN 2002 that are offered through our 

Critical Languages Program. We will develop the four 3000 level courses during 2013 and have 

them approved for delivery in spring of 20 14. 

c. Korean. For Korean, we will also follow the same curriculum as for the other two 

languages, but we will need to develop all the courses. The two introductory courses (KOR 100 I 

& KOR 1002) will be developed in fall 2012 to begin offering them in spring of2013; the two 

intennediate courses (KOR 200 1 & KOR 2002) will be developed in Spring of 20 13 for 

implementation in fall of20 13; and the four 3000 leve l courses will be developed in fall of 2013 

by the newly hired Assistant Professor of Korean. 

D. Enhance the KSU library collection relating to South and East Asia 

The proposed major in Asian Studies will require strengthened library resources. To 

support studies at the level for an undergraduate major, the Sturgis Library at KSU proposes to 

add mainly to its books, multimedia materials, and reference collections in Chinese, Japanese 

and Korean literature and culture. Collection development will respond to emerging program 

goals in support of undergraduate teaching and research. We will add material primarily in 

English. supplemented by material in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, chiefly in literature and 

culture. Particular attention will be paid, especially in acquiring material on China, to ensure that 

aspects of di versity are addressed. 

The current collection is comprised of some 8600 catalogued items plus serials. Of the 

catalogued items, about 60% use the subject heading China, 32% Japan, and onl y 12% Korea. 

During the period of the grant, we will build the relative strength of the Korea-related collection. 

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Among our serials subscriptions we include China Academic Journals, a collection of over 9000 

full-textjoumals published in the People's Republic of China; of these, over 700 are from the 

fields of literature, history and philosophy. The collection includes dual language (ChineseEnglish) journals, particularly in the humanities and social sciences. These, in addition to the 

journals already found in our general literature, humanities and social sciences databases, will 

enable most undergraduates to access adequate journal literature for many research topics. 

The library will match a portion of the grant funding, committing $5000 per year for two 

years; in using these funds, care will be taken to purchase materials that overlap with existing 

programs in communications and international relations. 

Regarding equal access, KSU does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, national 

origin, color, sexual orientation, religion, age or disability in employment or the provision of 

services, including the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its programs or 

activities. In furthering this policy, the KSU Office of Diversity and Inclusion is committed to 

embracing diversity, equity and inclusion as well as promoting a welcoming campus climate for 

all of its stakeholders. KSU actively promotes initiatives that serve the diversity goals and 

academic mission of the Uni versity through the adoption of policies, procedures, and curricula 

that are guided by the principles of diversity, equity, transparency, and shared governance. 

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ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES, BY MONTH 

( I) Advertise for Temporary Full-time Faculty in Chinese, in Korean and in Japanese (to begin in 

January 20 13); (2) Finalize the curriculum for the B.A. in Asian Studies and continue the crafting of 

the of the B.A. in Asian Studies program proposal; (3) Develop 6 Asia-prefix courses to complete 

content courses for the B.A. in Asia Studies curriculum; (4) Develop 3 additional 3000-level Chinese 

courses, 4 3000-level Japanese courses and 4 IOOO-2000-level Korean courses; (5) Develop a 

comprehensive Assurance ofLeaming (AOL) plan; (6) Schedule courses in Korean and Japanese for 

Spring 2013 as well as develop a preliminary schedule for Fall 2013 and spring 2014 for additional 

courses in Chinese and courses in Japanese and Korean; (7) Develop 2-year schedule for all Asiaprefix courses as well as all content area courses supporting the B.A. in Asian Studies. 

PR/Awarcl # P0 16A120070 

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(I) Apply for Korea Foundation support to hire a full-time faculty member in Korean for fall 201 3 

($50K in years 2-5); (2) Apply for Japan Foundation support to partially pay for one full-time faculty 

member in Japanese ($30K in years 2 and 3); (3) Advertise for full-time Lecturer in Chinese and 

Assistant Professors in Korean and in Japanese (to begin August 2013); (4) Continue writing the B.A. 

in Asian Studies program proposal; (5) Continue to develop a comprehensive Assurance of Learning 

(AOL) plan; (6) Complete development of Asia and Asian language courses listed above; (7) Review 

and complete the 2-year schedule for all Asia-prefix courses as wcll as all content area courses 

supporting the B.A. in Asian Stud ies; (8) Provide the Library with a list of necessary books and 

pedagogical material. 

(I) Screen and select temporary full-time faculty in Chinese, in Korean and in Japanese (to begin 

January 20 13); (2) Complete the Assurance of Leaming (AOL) plan; (3) Finalize the B.A. in Asian 

Studies program proposal ; (3) Submit initial library acquisition request 

(1) Begin approval process for the B.A. in Asian Studies program proposal and all Asia and Asian 

language courses listed above. (2) Recruit and hire GRA to begin January 2013 for 16 weeks (spring 

semester 2013). 

(I) Continue approval process of B.A. in Asian Studies program proposal and all Asia and Asian 

language courses listed above; (2) Screening of Lecturer and Asst Prof applicants. 

(I ) Continue approval process of B.A. in Asian Studies program proposal and all Asia and Asian 

languages courses listed above; (2) Phone interview of top tier Lecturer and Asst Prof applicants; (3) 

Schedule campus visit for Lecturer and Asst Prof finalists. 

(I) Continue approval process of B.A. in Asian Studies program proposal and all Asia and Asian 

languages courses listed above; (2) Campus visit for Lecturer and Asst Prof finalists; (3) Make job 

offer to first choice for Lecturer in Chinese and Asst Profs in Korean and in Japanese. 

(I) Submit B.A. in Asian Studies program proposal to Ihe Board of Regents of the University System 

of Georgia for final approval. (Implementation date: fall 2013); 

(2) Develop a marketing campaign on campus and in the community announcing the anticipated 

approval of the B.A. in Asian Studies as well as the new course offering fo r fall 2013 and spring 

2014; (3) Publicize the anlicipated B.A. in Asian Studies and related courses at the SAUPO 

[Symposium on Asia-USA Partnership Opportunities) conference in Allanta; (4) Travel to 

Washington D.C. 10 attend the UISFL Conference. 

Internal assessment of progress on UISFL grant, including course development, course enrollment, 

student evaluations, course schedules, B.A. in Asian Studies development and approval process, and 

faculty hiring. 

(I) Write UISFL progress report for Year I; (2) Recruit and hire GRA for Year 2. 

Submit library acquisition request for Year 2. 

(I) Discuss assessment results from year one; make any necessary adjustments; (2) Develop 4000-

level courses in Chinese; (3) Develop 4 3000-leve l courses in Korean. 

(I) Continue development of 4000-level courses in Chinese and 3000-level courses in Korean; (2) 

Advertise for one Lecturer in Japanese, and one Lecturer in Korean; 

(3) Develop a course schedu le for the B.A. in Asian Studies (including Asian language courses) for 

fall 2014 and spring 2015. 

(I) Finalize 4000-level courses in Chinese and 3000-level courses in Korean; 

(2) Begin proposal for language and culture study abroad programs in Japan and Korea. 

(1) Begin approval process for 4000-level courses in Chinese and 3000-level courses in Korean; (2) 

Screen and select top candidates for Lecturer positions in Korean and Japanese (to begin in August 

2014). 

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" (I) Continue developing a proposal for language and culture study abroad programs in Japan and 

• Korea; (2) Collect data for AOL; (3) Schedule phone interviews for top cand idates for Lecturer Q positions in Korean and Japanese. 

(I) Continue approval process for 4000-1evel courses in Chinese and 3000-level courses in Korean; 

ci (2) Continue develop ing a proposal for language and culture study abroad programs in Japan and « 

~ Korea; (3) Conduct phone interviews for top candidates for Lecturer positions in e~n and 

Japanese; (4) Schedule campus visit for fina lists for Lecturer positions in Korean and Japanese. 

~ ( 1) Complete approval process for 4000-1 evel courses in Chinese and 3000-1 evel courses in Korean; 

• (2) Plan trip abroad in June to sign study abroad agreement in Japan and Korea; (3) campus visit for .. fin alists for Lecturer positions in Korean and Japanese 

" (I) Make job offers to first choice candidates for both Lecturer positions. 

« (2) Publicize the BA in Asian Studies and the course offering in Asian Languages for fa ll 2014 and l1 spring 20 15. 

(I) Develop a marketing campaign on campus and in the community publicizing the B.A. in Asian 

Studies as well as the new course offering for fa ll 2014 and spring 201 5. A special emphasis will be 

'< put on Asian language courses; (2) Interna l assessment of progress on UISFL grant, including course 

c. development, course enrollment, student evaluations, course schedules, B.A. in Asian Studies 

., development and approval process, and faculty hiring; (3) Collect data for AOL; (4) Bring external 

~ reviewers to campus to evaluate UISFL grant progress and quality of the B.A. in Asian Studies; (5) 

e - Trave l to Wa hin'~on D.C. to attend the UISFL Conference. N 

~ 

(1) External reviewers submit their report. (2) Travel to Japan and Korea to finalize study abroad « agreements to begin study abroad programs in summer 20 15. l1 

• Participating fac ulty complete KSU application form for summer 2015 study abroad in Korea and c Japan. ~ 

= 

... Draft UISFL progrelss report for year 2 . 

~ 

= 

'" 

Reflect on data collected for AOL as well as on external reviewers' reports and make adjustments 

= when necessary. ., 

(I) Complete UISFL progress report for year 2; (2) Develop a course schedule for the B.A. in Asian ~ 

c. Studies (including Asian language courses) for fall 20 15 and spring 2016; (3) Promote Study Abroad 

• '" programs. 

2. Quality of Key Personnel 

Several facu lty members and administrators will be directly responsible for implementing 

this grant project and several more will play various roles, primarily in curriculum development, 

facu lty mentoring, and program assessment. 

• Thierry Leger is Associate Dean for Undergraduate Affa irs, College of Humanities and 

Social Sciences, and Professor of French (Ph.D. Washington University). Dr. Leger will serve as 

Project Director with ultimate responsibility for the grant's administration, devoting 5% of his 

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time to the project over two years: planning and leading its core activities, communicating and 

coordinating with the university's Office of Academic Affairs, and supervising the graduate 

research assistant. (The GRA assigned to this project, working 13 hours per week for a total of 

48 weeks over the two years of the project, will support Drs. Leger and Kim by tracking faculty 

time devoted to the project, planning meetings, taking minutes, coordinating the visits of external 

reviewers, and monitoring the budget.) While Interim Chair of the Department of Foreign 

Languages, Dr. Leger was instrumental in the design of the B.A. in Modem Language and 

Culture that received a state award for its curriculum innovation. As Associate Dean, he has 

overseen an increase in interdisciplinary studies programs from one to eight, including the Asian 

Studies program and the establishment of the Interdisciplinary Studies Department. He has 

extensive travel abroad experience, including to China. Dr. Leger has been the PIon two grants: 

one to establish a partnership with Moroccan colleagues to develop a local history exhibit in 

Casablanca, another to help faculty develop modules on Islam to be integrated in the general 

education curriculum. His publications focus primarily on 2008 Nobel Prize laureate for 

literature JMG Le Clezio. In June 2012 he was named Executive Director of the Council for 

International Francophone Studies (ClEF) (www.cief.org). 

• May Gao. (Please see additional description in Section lB.) As Coordinator of the Asian 

Studies program at KSU, Dr. Gao will commit 3.5% of her time over two years by facilitating 

regular communication with 30 Asian Studies core and affiliated faculty members. She will also 

lead outreach/dissemination efforts and the cultivation of additional external support through her 

excellent connections with the Asian American community and Asian-owned multinational 

corporations in metro-Atlanta and beyond. Dr. Gao is the founder of the Symposium on ASIAUSA Partnership Opportunities (SAUPO), the largest Asia business conference in the Southern 

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United States and has received and managed sponsorship, grants and awards from the ICA 

Institute, Confucius Institute, Grant Thornton, China Research Center, Touchmark National 

Bank, tvsdesign, Asian American Heritage Foundation, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, 

Chinese Business Assoc iation of Atlanta, the White House Initi ative on Asian American and 

Pacific Islanders, and KSU. 

• Heemull Kim. (Please see additional description in Section 18.) As Assoc iate 

Coordinator of the Asian Studies program and Assoc iate Director for this proj ect, Dr. Kim will 

oversee the da il y operation of this grant. His commitment to the project will be 10% of his time 

in Year 1 of the project, for whi ch he will be re leased from teaching one course, and 9% of his 

summer time in Year 2. He has received and managed seve ral grants from AT&T, the Korea 

Foundation, and KSU. As the SAUPO Vice-Chair, Dr. Kim is well connected with the KoreanAmerican community and Korean-owned companies in metro-Atlanta and beyond. 

• Wenhua Jin. (Please see additional description in Section 1 B.) As the Curriculum 

Coordinator for this project Dr. Jin will oversee the curriculum deve lopment of the BA in Asian 

Studies, including the foreign language courses, and will ensure that all course proposals meet 

the standards for internal approvals. She will devote 10% of her time in Year I of the project, for 

which she will be rel eased from teaching one course, and 9% of her summer time in Year 2. 

• William Griffin (Professor of French and Chair, Department of Foreign Languages), and 

• Dawn Kirby (Professor of English, Associate Dean of the College of Humanities and 

Social Sciences, and Acting Chair of the Interdisciplinary Studies Department). These 1\\'0 

departments will be highly involved in the project. The DFL Chair will have an acti ve role in the 

recruitment, hiring, and supervision of the three facu lty positions that will be established under 

this grant; the ISO Chair, as the home department of the new 8.A. in Asian Studies, will have an 

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active role in preparing and presenting the proposal for the degree to the University System of 

Georgia's Board of Regents. The Chairs will each devote 2% of their annual time to the project 

ove r two years. Dr. Griffin came to KSU in 2003. Afte r completing his B.A in French and 

International Studies at the University ofNC~Chapel Hill and studying at I'Universite de Lyon, 

France, he completed the M.A.T. in French at Appa lachian State University. In 1980, he received 

his Ph.D. degree in French from the University of Alabama. His interests range from 19thcentury French literature to the use of computers in second language acquisition and teaching. 

Dr. Kirby is the acting chair of the ISD while the search for a tenured chair nears completion 

(appointment expected in spring 20 1 3). Her role in this project will be to ensure a smooth 

transition to the new hire. 

In addition to this core faculty, other faculty members affi liated with Asian Studies will 

contribute to the program. Their time commitment to this project is approximately 3% of the 

service time in their annual Faculty Perfonnance Agreements, at no cost in the project budget. 

• Liuxi Meng. (Please additional description in Section 18.) As a member in the SA in 

Asian Studies task force, his role in this project will be to serve as a Faculty Advisor throughout 

the development and implementation of the new B.A. in Asian Stud ies. For example, we already 

have a strong summer Chinese language study abroad program at Shanghai International Studies 

University (a leader in language and international education) directed by Dr. Meng, and our goal 

is to expand this program and develop semester or year-long options. As one of the project's 

Faculty Advisors, Dr. Meng will advise the new faculty hired in Japanese and Korean on the 

initi al development of a summer study abroad program in Japan and Korea (Year 2 or 3), with 

the ultimate goa l to develop a semester or year-long program (Year 4 or 5). 

• Sarasij Majumder (Please see additional description in Section 1 B.) Because faculty 

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expertise for the new degree program derives from two departments in particular (Foreign 

Languages and Interdisciplinary Studies), Dr. Majumder will also serve as a Faculty Advisor in 

this project, advising on the development of undergraduate research opportunities for our Asian 

Studies majors. He has been awarded numerous grants and fellowships for his own research from 

such institutions as the National Science Foundation, American Institute of Indian Studies, 

Office of Population Research, Princeton University, and Taraknath Das Foundation at Columbia 

University. In addition to specialized articles in academic journals in the United States, Europe 

and India, he contributes to national newspapers in India. 

• Sohyun An is an Assistant Professor of Social Studies Education, Bagwell College of 

Education (Ph.D. University of Wisconsin-Madison). As the Assessment Coordinator for this 

project, Dr. An will serve as liaison with the external evaluators who will consult on this 

program. She specializes in Asian American education, global and international education, civic 

education, and the history and current issues of South Korean education. (Please see Section 4 

for further detail on the project's evaluation.) 

Regarding personnel to be hired under the UISFL grant, recruitment for the positions 

described in this proposal will include the language routinely used in all employment notices for 

faculty in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences: "It is our policy to hire individuals 

with a strong commitment to intercultural competence to work in a global environment with a 

diverse student body. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals, especially those 

from members of underrepresented and marginalized groups." All schools in the University 

System of Georgia adhere to non-discriminatory employment practices. The mission of the Equal 

Employment Opportunity Office at KSU is to support the KSU community'S enhancement and 

expansion of academic programs by creating a campus environment that is free from unlawful 

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forms of discrimination as outlined under Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 

as amended, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, Executive Order 

11246, as amended, the Vietnam Era Veteran's Readjustment Act of 1974, as amended, Section 

504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 

as amended, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of2009, the Georgia Fair Employment Act of 

1978, as amended and other related mandates under KSU Policy. 

13. Budget and Cost Effectiveness 

The project's budget is straightforward and directly relevant to the purpose of expanding 

the Asian Studies minor into a new B.A. degree. The primary expense comes from hiring faculty 

with appropriate expertise to carry out the activities described for each objective in this proposal. 

The new hires will join a very knowledgeable and skilled team, whose credentials and roles are 

described above. Secondary costs include providing a unique learning opportunity for a student 

assistant in administering the grant, strengthening the library's resources, travel to required 

meetings, and assessment. Please see the Budget Narrative for details of every line item. 

These expenses are reasonable and effective because of three factors. First, the program 

already enjoys great strengths on which we build: existing, capable, permanent personnel who 

have the necessary experience to accomplish all project goals. Second, the program began as an 

initiative intentionally designed to reach sustainability over a ten-year period. The UISFL grant 

comes at the beginning of the second half after a very successful first phase; it will provide the 

vital seed money to achieve the new degree program; the SA in turn is essential to attract 

additional support from key partners, which is the third factor. 

Although the UISFL grant is a two-year project, we have developed a comprehensive 

five-year plan to raise additional external funds to create a strong far-reaching and sustainable 

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B.A. in Asian Studies. The strengthening of the Chinese language and culture program and the 

development of language and culture programs in Korean and Japanese requires a major longtenn institutional commitment to fund these programs, and a corresponding great focus to secure 

funds that can support these programs in the short, mid-range, and long-term. All players arc 

very committed to this initiative and we have a heahhy balance of Asian studies and language 

and culture experts involved, including several senior administrators, to ensure fiscal 

sustainabi lity after the grant period ends. 

We arc extremely honored that HanbanlConfucius Institute (CI) has agreed to support the 

proposal for a total of$1 00,000 over five years. This funding assures our ability to hire a very 

important position to expand and strengthen our program in Chinese language and cultural 

studies, a pennanent, full-time Lecturer to be jointly appointed between the Cl at KSU and the 

Department of Foreign Languages (DFL). Under a "joint appointment" agreement, this new 

lecturer of Chinese will complete 1/3 of his/her workload for CI at KSU (equivalence of three 

courses per year), and he/she wilJ complete 2/3 of the workload for DFL of KSU (equivalence of 

six courses per year). This lecturer will primarily report to DFL, and hislher supervisor will be 

Dr. Bill Griffin, the Chair of the DFL. For Cl at KSU, this lecturer will support CI's Chinese 

language education in public schools by providing professional teachers' training ofCI's guest 

teachers, and support CPs research efforts in Pre-K Chinese programs. The Lecturer wi ll provide 

training for local Chinese teachers in addition to 38 guest Chinese teachers currently at CI. 

Equally important, we believe Cl's commitment will be instrumental in attracting 

additional support. Both the Korea Foundation and the Japan Foundation offer funding 

opportunities specifically for the hiring of new faculty. We will seek the maximum funding from 

each in August 2012 and May 20 13, respectively. The Korea Foundation will provide up to 

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24 
$50,000 per year for five years to support up to 70% of a tenure-track position. The Japan 

Foundation will provide up to $30,000 per year for two years to maintain positions that are 

already in place. Neither Foundation is able to provide a letter of support prior to its own 

deadline. However, we are highly encouraged by our preliminary conversations, and the Korea 

Foundation has already supported KSU during the "Year of Korea" (2009-20 I 0). This 

confidence is the basis on which the CHSS Dean has been willing to commit to funding the 

Assistant Professor faculty lines in Korean and Japanese in the event that support from the Korea 

Foundation and the Japan Foundation is less than expected. 

Fiscal oversight and compliance with award conditions will be monitored by the KSU 

Office of Grants and Contracts. For example, all travelers funded by the UISFL grant, from both 

direct and matching funds, will use U.S. air carrier service as required by the "Fly America Act." 

KSU is well experienced in the administration of grants and contracts. Between July 2005 and 

February 20 I 0, KSU received more than $32 million in grants and contracts, with more than half 

of that amount from federal sources. Awards for FY 20)) totaled $16.6 million. Current federal 

funding includes Year 3 of a TQP award from the Department of Education ($1,403,905); two 

RUI awards from the National Science Foundation ($141,944 and $98,119); and two awards 

from the National Institutes of Health ($22,927 and $3\9,240). 

I 4. Plan of Eva luation 

The purpose of this project is to develop a B.A. in Asian Studies with a strong Asian 

language requirement. The evaluation plan aims to gather appropriate data to assess the proposed 

program. To measure the success of this project, we have created an evaluation committee 

comprised ofKSU faculty members and administrators, including five members of the key 

project personnel: Thierry Leger, Heeman Kim, May Gao, Bill Griffin and Sohyun An, as well 

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as external evaluators Eric Hyer (Asian Studies Program Coordinator and Professor of Political 

science at Brigham You ng University), and three language specia lists in Chinese, Korean, and 

Japanese from Georgia uni versities. We have devised a short-term and a long-term eva luation 

plan; the first to cover the length of the grant, the second to measure the program's success 

beyond the graduation of our first majors. 

A. Short-term Evaluation Plan 

We wi ll demonstrate our short-term success by documenting the approval of the B.A. degree 

program through the various and rigorous levels of internal review by May 20 13 and by the 

Board of Regents by May of 20 14. Another indication of our success will be the hiring on 

schedule of the three permanent language and culture facu lty members (Lecturer in Chinese and 

Assistant Professors in Japanese and in Korean in fall of2013) as we ll as the completion of the 

development of the proposed new ASIA courses. We wi ll closely monitor the number of 

students enrolled in ASIA courses as we expect to see a significant increase during A Y 2013-

20 I 4. We will also document the number of stude nts who declare a minor as we expect their 

number to grow in anticipation of the B.A. degree program. Because our project reli es heavil y on 

integrating language programs into the curricu lum, one measure of our success we will be to 

track enrollment in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean in comparison to our projections. 

ENROLLMENT 2012-2013 2013-2014 201412015 2015-2016 2016-2017 PROJECTIONS· 

Chinese" 30 70 100 135 170 

Korean··· 30 70 100 135 170 

Japanese··· 60 120 160 200 240 

TOTAL. 175 290 400 535 630 

• Number of students enrolled during an academic year 

•• For Chinese, the numbers refl ect the projected increase in enrollment over the 325 students currently enrolled 

in Year 6 of the nro"ram 

... Korean & Japanese figures are based on curreRI enrollment in Korean & Japanese language courses at KSU 

IhrOU2h our Critical Lan2u32c DroR.ra~·(-self sl ructjon) 

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Numbers are important and they provide a simple and direct yardstick to describe the 

effectiveness ofa program, but they do not ensure the quality of the program. To help assess the 

quality of our BA in Asian Studies, we will develop a comprehensive Assurance of Learning 

(AOL) plan modeled after a template used on campus for all degree programs to satisfy 

accreditation (SACS) and other State and Federal requirements. (Please see AOL synopsis in the 

Appendices.) The main purpose of the AOL plan is to provide relying data on the quality of the 

program allowing for continuous improvement. This AOL plan will include clearly defined and 

measureable learning outcomes, identify which courses will address those outcomes, the 

assessment methods used to evaluate them, who will be responsible for collecting the data, when 

the data will be collected and reported as well as identify a time for Asian Studies faculty to 

meet, discuss the results, and make any necessary adjustment to the curriculum or other aspects 

of the program as necessary. An important part of the AOL plan will include an evaluation of the 

students' ability to meet the learning outcomes in their research project (capstone experience). 

The AOL plan will be developed in Year I of the project and implemented when the program is 

officially launched. 

Moreover, in order to provide an independent assessment of the quality of our program, we have 

asked several external reviewers to help with evaluating the various dimensions of the program. 

1) Eric Hyer from Brigham Young University (BYU) has agreed to serve as external reviewer 

for the B.A. in Asian Studies. He is the Director of the B.A. in Asian Studies at BYU and he has 

extensive experience with curriculum design, Title VI grants and assessment. He will come to 

KSU for two days in the spring of2014 and will have full access to students and faculty as well 

as any documentation he may request. He will conduct an overall review of the entire B.A. 

program, including curriculum design, the hiring of faculty and assessment plan as well as 

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provide input on opportunities for improvement. 2) We have asked foreign language experts in 

the metro Atlanta area to review our language programs. Dr. Bumyong Choi from Emory 

University will review our Korean program; confirmation from the Chinese and Japanese 

reviewers is pending. They will spend one day on campus in Spring 2014 to examine our 

curriculum and have full access to our students and faculty to evaluate the quality of our program 

and provide suggestions for improvement. 

B. Long-term Evaluation Plan 

The number of declared majors will be closely monitored and enrollment numbers will be 

compared to our projections (25, first year of implementation of the program; 50, second year; 

75, third year). We will also keep track of the number of minors enrolled in the program as we 

expect that number to grow steadily from lOin Year I to 50 in Year 5. The number of students 

enrolled in the language programs will also be closely monitored. 

A major component of the long-term evaluation of our program will be the 

implementation of our AOL plan. Data will be collected on a regular basis throughout the 

program as well as at the end of the program. Our AOL plan will also include an exit survey for 

our graduates where we will ask them to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the program, 

ask for suggestions, and tell us whether they have secured employment or been admitted to 

graduate school. We will create a social network for our graduates, so that they stay in touch 

with one another and with KSU. Every five years, we will conduct an alumni survey to assess 

where our graduates are and whether their education at KSU has met their expectations. We will 

also conduct a similar survey with employers. Faculty will meet at least once a year to review the 

data and make recommendations for continuous improvement. 

A distinguishing characteristic of our degree program is the integration of proficiency 

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tests in our AOL plan. In their senior year students will be required to take the ACTFL Oral 

Proficiency Interview (OPI) and Writing Proficiency Test (WPT). Our aim is for 80% of our 

graduates to reach Intermediate-Mid on both the OPI and WPT. 

15. Adequacy of Resources 

Matching institutional resources are largely a portion of contributed time dedicated to this 

project by some of the key personnel, plus some travel and library funds, all of which are already 

secured in the College's annual budget. Matching resources from external partners, as explained 

in Section 3 and in the Budget Narrative, come from HanbaniConfucius Institute (commitment 

secured) and from The Korea Foundation and The Japan Foundation (proposal deadlines 

occurring after June 29,2012), with assurance from KSU to address any shortfall. 

Physical resources not listed in the itemized budget include the collections of Sturgis 

Library and the Foreign Language Resource Center (FLRC) housed in the Department of 

Foreign Languages. Please see Appendices for a summary description of Sturgis Library 

holdings related to Asian Studies. The FLRC is a dedicated space where students have access to 

tutors, foreign language software and web resources. It can also be used as a classroom for 

language instruction. Although we propose to use $ 10,000 of the UISFL grant (with additional 

contributions from KSU) to strengthen our library and FLRC collections, the current resources 

have proved adequate to carry out the project activities of two major grants in 2011 and 2012 

(StarTalk, totaling $224,775) for intensive summer programs for Chinese Teachers in K-12 and 

for Chinese language students. 

16. Commitment to International Studies 

KSU is recognized as a leader in the University System of Georgia for its emphasis on 

International Studies as an integral part of undergraduate education. In fact, KSU was one of the 

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first institutions of higher education in Georgia to internationalize the general education 

curriculum by offering majors, minors and certificates with an international focus, and since 

2009 has offered a Globa l Engagement Certificate (GEC) to recognize student achievement in 

developing global perspecti ves, intercultural skills, and global citizenship. This commitment to 

international studies is particularly true for the College of Humaniti es and Social Sciences, as 

measured by activities, majors, minors, and units. In AY 2010-11 the CHSS had 225 appropriate 

courses with global learning content, 16 partnership agreements with overseas institutions, 100+ 

global learning specialists/contributors, and more than 200 international activities. Data for A Y 

20 11-2012 were not complete as of the submission date for this proposal, but evidence ofCHSS 

global learning remains extensive and fonns a significant part of daily activities in the College. 

The table below lists the wide range of programs through six of its nine departments. 

Department Pro2ram 

En lish Lan ua e & Litera Studies Minor 

Forei n Lan ua es Modem Lan ua es & Cu ltures (B.A.) 

Chinese Studies, German Studies, French & Francophone Studies, 

Italian Studies, Spanish (Minors)' 

Japanese, Portuguese, and Russian also available in a 4-course 

sequence through the 2000 level. 

Geography & Anthropology Geography (B.A.); Anthropology (B.S.) 

History & Philosophy History (B.A. Concentration in World History and Culture); 

Philosophy (B.A. Concentration in Non-western Philosophy) 

Euro ean Union Studies Certificate 

I nterdiscip I inary. Studies African & African Dias ora Studies B.A. and Minor 

Asian Studies, Latin American Studies (Minors 

Political Science & International Affairs International Affairs B.A. and Minor) 

Another indicator of the robust success of our undergraduate program is that the Coll ege 

has established several graduate programs, responding to the growing demand of students who 

have earned the B.A. or B.S. degree: the M.A. in Teaching Foreign Languages, the M.A. in 

Integrated Global Communication, the M.S. in International Pol icy Management, and the Ph.D. 

in International Connict Management, which will confer its first degrees in A Y 20 14-20 15 . 

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KSU's campus-wide commitment to honoring diversity and multiculturalism begins with 

the encouragement of its highest leadership. University President Daniel S. Papp, whose own 

background is in international affairs, has consistently supported programs that enhance KSU's 

global learning mission. At the College level, the Asian Studies minor began with the blessing of 

Dean Richard VengrofT, a specialist in comparative politics (Canada, Senegal) and fluent in 

French, who lived and worked overseas for eight of the last thirty years. The realization of the 

minor into a full major will occur after Dr. Robert DortT, a specialist in strategic studies and 

national security and fluent in German, becomes Dean of the College in A Y 2012-2013. 

Continuity in the planning and implementation of the proposed program and its communication 

with the highest levels of university administration is assured through the central involvement of 

Associate Dean Thierry Leger as the Project Director. Dr. Leger's duties as Associate Dean 

include development and oversight of all undergraduate programs. Planning activities from the 

beginning have also included the Director of the Asian Studies Minor, Dr. May Gao, the 

Assistant Director, Dr. Heeman Kim, the Chair of the Department of Foreign Languages, Dr. 

William Griffin, and Dr. Wenhua Jin, Assistant Professor of Chinese. 

The proposed expansion of the Asian Studies minor into a B.A. will benefit from a strong 

and longstanding institutional commitment of resources. At a time when KSU has experienced 

rapid physical growth and teaching schedules have exploded to till six days per week and up 

tol4 hours per day, a resource that merits special mention is the College's commitment to 

dedicate an additional classroom for the exclusive use of the Department of Foreign Languages. 

This room seats 35 and features wireless, high speed internet with overhead projector capability 

from the Web, as do all classrooms on campus. 

One of the most important resources for strengthening a key program in our international 

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studies is the presence of the Confucius Institute on campus since 2009. KSU was the second 

university in Georgia to host a Confucius Institute, which operates under an agreement between 

KSU and Yangzhou University in China's Jiangsu Province, as well as with the Chinese 

Language Council International (Hanban), a division of the Chinese Ministry of Education. The 

KSU program offers a range of academic and professional development programs, including: 

courses, workshops and seminars on Chinese language, healing and martial arts, painting, 

calligraphy, cooking, economics, social development and business. 

The Confucius Institute at KSU has been instrumental in helping to develop a key 

resource specific to the Asian Studies minor program and its proposed expansion: a 20-member 

Asian Studies Advisory Board (ASAB) with whom the faculty can consult on the growth of the 

program. The ASAB includes prominent business and academic leaders in the metro Atlanta 

region and beyond. A member of the key personnel team for the UISFL grant, Dr. May Gao, will 

have as a primary task the continued cultivation and communication with ASAB. 

Like other interdisciplinary programs, the Asia Studies minor was originally housed in 

the Dean's Office of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. As a sign of the strong 

institutional and CHSS' commitment to interdisciplinary programs, the university approved the 

creation of the Interdisciplinary Studies Department in summer 2011, where the minor now 

resides and the major will also. This represents a significant commitment in funding to support a 

departmental chair and administrative staff, to the great advantage of the proposed project. 

Financial support also comes from the university's office of international programs. KSU 

was one of the first schools in the University System of Georgia to establish an internal unit for 

this mission, now known as the Institute for G lobal Initiatives. The Institute (lGI) provides funds 

to encourage faculty research abroad and the development of new courses with international 

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content. In the past five years, including supplemental funding from the College, internal support 

for more than 50 CHSS facu lty members involved in international studies has exceeded 

$300,000 through small grants ($5,000-$10,000). 101 also coordinates the annual "Year Of' 

program, which presents a year-long series of lectures, cultural events and forums designed to 

immerse the campus and local community in the in-depth study of another country or region. 

Recent "Year Of' countries focused on Korea, Turkey, Romania, Peru, and Ghana. 

IGI is also responsible for supporting study abroad. The B.A. in Asian Studies, which 

will deve lop study abroad programs in Korea and Japan during the grant period, will be able to 

draw on the "global fee" of $14 assessed on all students, which provides a significant pool of 

funds to assist with the expenses of those who apply to study abroad every year. 

7. Elements of the Proposed International Studies Program 

The curriculum design, the existing Asian Studies affiliated faculty, and the new faculty 

lines added to the program will substantially promote international studies, which in turn is fully 

aligned with four priorities of the KSU 2007-2012 Strategic Plan. These are: Goal 1.2 Implement 

fully the Global Learning Quality Enhancement Plan; Goal 1.8 Add degree programs that are 

strategically important to the local community, to Georgia, and to the nation at both the 

undergraduate and graduate levels; Goal 4.2 Increase student participation in study abroad 

programs by 5 percent per year; and Goal 4.3 [ncrease percentage of students participating in 

intercultural learning and understanding programs. 

Specifically, in the proposed curriculum for the major, about 60% of the major-required 

courses and upper division electives address Asian themes in various disciplines. Of note is a 

combined 6 credit hour internship and study abroad requirement. Students will have the 

opportunity to enroll in an internship either in the US or in Asia to gain hands-on experience in 

33 

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multinational corporations, government and non-profit organizations with interests in Asi a. The 

study abroad and international exchange programs in Asia, including China, India, Indonesia, 

Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, etc. will provide gateways to the students, and the faculty as 

we ll , for the first-hand understanding of Asia and empirical opportunities for the cultivation ofa 

comparative and global perspective on the understanding of international issues. Also, of the 

existing 25 faculty members affiliated with Asian Studies, more than 80% are involved with 

research on international topics and themes. We believe the new major will promote more 

scholarly dedication to international studies on Asia. 

As previously noted, the proposed Asian Studies Major is an interdisciplinary program 

housed in the newly created Interdisciplinary Studies Department that draws on KSU's 

institutional resources from various departments of the College of Humanities and Social 

Sciences, the Coles College of Business, the College of the Arts, and the Bagwell College of 

Education to provide students with a unique opportunity for a well-rounded interdisciplinary 

education on Asia. It reaches beyond the humanities and social sciences to promote comparative, 

interdisciplinary knowledge about Asia by including many professional fields, such as business 

management, education, journalism, international relations, urban and regional planning, 

international communication, and technology. The purpose of the program is to better prepare 

students for graduate schools and professional employment in an era that calls for competitive 

linguistic skills in Asian languages and the critical thinking skills in comparative and 

interdisciplinary ways of understanding Asia in the global context. 

Until last year, only one ASIA prefix course was available in the curriculum and that 

course filled to capacity. Starting in fall of2012, as a result of student demand and growing 

interest in Asian studies, the undergraduate catalog will list a total of6 ASIA prefix courses 

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(Please see course titles and descriptions in Section I B). Over the past 2 years, we have offered 

13 to 15 AsianMrelated courses (language courses excluded) each year and those courses have 

filled to capacity. Based on the success of existing courses in Asian Studies, the request for 

courses in Asian languages, and the rapidly increasing demand for expertise related to Asia in the 

private and public sectors of our region, we believe that the B.A. in Asian Studies will prove 

very popular. We anticipate 25 students to declare Asian Studies as their major during the first 

year of the program and that number to grow steadily to reach over 120 students by Year 5. 

A strong Asian language component is a distinguishing feature of the proposed program. 

Chinese, Korean, and Japanese will all be available to students for the upper level language 

requirement of the program. For all three languages, four difTerent 3000-level courses will be 

ofTered, in addition to the exiting 1000M and 2000-level courses, with an aim for IntermediateMid proficiency level on the ACTFL oral and writing proficiency scales upon finishing the 

program. Currently with two tenure-track faculty lines in Chinese, the KSU Chinese program 

demonstrates a robust growth as indicated in the student enrollment rate of a 35% increase from 

2006-2009 and 64% increase from 2009-2012, reaching 325 students in Chinese program for 

academic year 2011-2012. With our expertise in delivering a high-quality proficiency-based 

language and culture program in Chinese and experience with offering Korean and Japanese 

language courses through our Critical Language program, we propose to expand our Chinese 

program and develop comprehensive language and culture programs up to the 3000-level in both 

Korean and Japanese. We believe that the proposed additional faculty lines in Chinese, Japanese, 

and Korean will enable us to build these strong and sustainable Asian language and culture 

programs, which will become the hallmark of the proposed major program. 

~. Need for and Prospective Results of the Proposed Program 

President Obama's "100,000 Strong" Initiative, "a national effort designed to increase 

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dramatically the number and diversify the composition of American students studying in China," 

and the designation of Korean as one the of five US strategic languages is a clear indication of 

the national need and call for more Americans to learn these Asian languages. Also, the 

importance of Japanese in Asian Studies is self-evident given the long-term US-Japan foreign 

diplomatic relationship and the role that Japan plays not only in Asia, but also in world economy, 

politics and peace. Thus, KSU understands the increasing need for practitioners and decision 

makers who are well versed in approaches to and the understanding of global interconnections in 

the 21 st century. Today's Asia is "no longer simply a region where resources and human labor 

can be sourced more cheaply than elsewhere. Instead, it is a place where engineers, scientists, 

programmers, and entrepreneurs are pushing the boundaries of their professions" (Bendell and C 

Ng (2009)]. Virtually no major international issue - whether global economic recovery or 

climate change or nuclear non-proliferation can be solved without the active engagement of both 

the United States and Asian countries. The need for Americans to gain greater exposure to and 

understanding of Asia is clear. Expanding the KSU Asian Studies minor into a major program is 

a timely response to this call for urgent national need. 

Locally in the greater Atlanta metropolitan area, the need for expanded studies on Asia is 

even more conspicuous. The most populous metro area in the state of Georgia and also the ninthlargest metropolitan statistical area (MSA) in the country, Atlanta is the economic, cultural, and 

demographic center of the southern U.S. According to the 2010 census data, 4.57% of the total 

population in the metropolitan Atlanta area is Asian (257,305 people). Such a large Asian 

community justifies paying greater attention to Asia and Asian heritage languages and cultures at 

the secondary and post-secondary education levels. In addition, the metro Atlanta area is home to 

18 Fortune 500 and 24 Fortune 1000 headquarters. The economic growth and the sustainable 

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business increase with Asia in the metro area have made it necessary to develop Asian studi es 

programs at regional universities. Although other institutions of higher education in Atlanta offer 

courses in the three cultures and languages which are the basis of this proposal, KSU students 

come from a significantly different demographic than those who can afford to attend, for 

example, Georgia Tech and Emory University. If the comprehensive B.A. in Asian Studies that 

we propose we re not available at KSU, potentially thousands of qualified students in Georgia 

would be unable to major in this fidd of study. 

The proposed major program will meet the growing demand among current KSU students 

for a university education that will lead to professional careers and graduate training that demand 

an exposure to the knowledge and awareness of an economica ll y important nonwestem region of 

the world from an interdisciplinary perspective. It will contribute significantly to the growth of 

foreign language and culture education at KSU by creating new faculty lines in Japanese and 

Korean, strengthening the existing Chinese program and enriching foreign language curricula. It 

will give new meaning and purpose to all the re lated humanities and social science courses and 

programs by demonstrating how theories and perspectives are applicable in the context of 

business, management of transnational organizations, and marketing of ideas and products in 

emergent economies of Asia. It will help create a student body that is committed to life-long 

learning by participating in Asia-re lated events such as SAUPO, and prepare them to be hired for 

jobs that do not even exist today. It will make important and emerging areas of study such as the 

economy of the emergent markets, capitalist and entrepreneurial cultures of Asia, and marketing 

and innovation in Asia broadly available to students at Georgia's third largest university, a 

university that expects to grow significantly in enrollment, research capabi lities, diversity, 

community engagement and national recognition over the next decade. 

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We predict a strong likelihood that project activities will continue after the grant period 

based on analysis of past record and assessment of future needs. First, our comparative and 

interdisciplinary approach to the study of Asia-related issues, the accompanying nationally 

renowned outreach programs, and the rich extra-curriculum activities (including an annual Asian 

film Festival, Chinese New Year Celebration, interactions with Asian cultural associations, 

special brownbag lectures and perfonnances by artists and martial artists, and art exhibitions), 

have in concert led to the sustained growth of the Asian Studies minor at KSU. The rapid 

enrollment increase in Asian languages at KSU (e.g. 64% increase for Chinese from 2009 to 

2012) has demonstrated a strong demand for an expanded program in Asian Studies. 

Second, to better understand KSU student needs, the B.A. in Asian Studies task force has 

designed a Need Assessment Survey for the Asian Studies Program to be conducted in fall 20 12 

(please see appendices). Survey results will be incorporated into the final curriculum design of 

the new proposed major. The analysis will accurately measure the existing demand for 

accommodation and training in Asian Studies to meet the need of this era of globalization. 

Third, we will conduct vigorous recruitment for new enrollment, both internally and offcampus. Our promotional plans call for cross-listings on KSU web sites (e.g. at the college and 

departmental level, the Institute for Global Initiatives, the Confucius Institute); tapping into our 

well-established K-12 networks (e.g. foreign language coordinators of the major school districts 

in Georgia and also associations for specific languages, such as the Georgia Chinese Language 

Educators); frequently updated communications with our professional networks in the public and 

corporate sectors (e.g. SAUPO, the Asian consulates based in Atlanta, Georgia Department of 

Economic Development); and an innovative social media campaign using our growing number 

of students and alumni as the catalysts. 

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Fourth, given the rapid enrollment growth (over 5% on average for the past fifteen years) 

that KSU has experienced and the continued projected growth for the next ten years, we expect 

the pool of candidates for the B.A. in Asian Studies will grow for the foreseeable future. 

The proposed program will be able to build on existing, nationally renowned outreach 

programs. KSU Asian Studies program already organizes the largest Asia Business Conference 

in Southern USA: the Symposium on Asia·USA Partnership Opportunities (SAUPO, website: 

htlp://www.kennesaw.ed u/saupo). As an interdisciplinary conference, SAUPO presents a global 

platform of five·way dialogue among business leaders, scholars, diplomats, policymakers, and 

non-profit practitioners. It highlights partnership opportunities between North America and 

important Asian countries, specifically China, India, Japan and Korea. The inaugural 2011 

SAUPO conference held in Atlanta was a resounding success with over 300 attendees. In March 

2012, KSU Asian Studies Program received recognition for its "Leadership and Commitment" 

by the Atlanta Host Committee for the "White House Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders 

Southeast Regional Action Summit." We plan to hold the SAUPO conference in Atlanta every 

two years. The planning for the April 2013 SAUPO conference is well under way and promises 

to have an even greater global outreach. 

The Asian Studies minor program also organizes SAUPO Workshops for the local 

community. The fall 2011 SAUPO workshop featured several important speakers from business 

area and academia as well. Focusing on "The Future of the Global Economy: The Role of China 

and India," the workshop attracted an audience of over 250 people, including KSU faculty, staff, 

students, and community members. 

Finally, dissemination to academic audiences will be possible because of strong support 

for faculty to attend professional conferences in their disciplines as speakers, panel moderators, 

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and discussants. Every full-time faculty member in the College may request $2,000 for travel and 

registration to present papers at academic gatherings. All key personnel on the project team have 

made excellent use of these funds and will be encouraged to so do during the grant period. 

110) Competitive Preference Priority 1 J 

This proposal satisfies the Competitive Preference Priority I. In 1984, the University System of 

Georgia (USG) adopted the College Preparatory Curriculum (CPC) policy and implemented it in 

fall 1988. The policy requires the completion of the CPC for regular admission to any USG 

school. "Provisional admission" (partial attainment of requirements) was discontinued in 2001. 

This admission policy applies to all first-year KSU applicants who graduated high school within 

the last five years and have not attended college: they must meet the minimum requirements for 

CPC, which include two years of study in foreign language in the same language. 

Ill) Competitive Preference Priority 2 

This proposal satisfies the Competitive Preference Priority 2. Currently, to meet the need for 

instruction in less commonly taught languages which are not offered through the regular 

curriculum, KSU offers the Critical Languages Program. All basic language courses emphasize 

speaking and aural comprehension at the elementary and intennediate levels while a writing 

component is incorporated at the advanced level; generally, the Critical Language Program 

covers only 1000 and 2000 level instruction. Languages offered vary from year to year 

depending upon demand, including Arabic, Hebrew, Russian, and Swahili. The proposed BA in 

Asian Studies will expand language instruction in three priority languages at advanced leve ls 

(3000-4000 sequences): Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. 

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