Wanted: new professor

As a student who has been involved in the Asian American Curricular Transformation project, I feel it is important for that the search for a new tenure track professor of Asian American Literature be as student-friendly and transparent as possible. Therefore, I would like to share with you a letter that some of my fellow students and I recently wrote to the search committee.

With the start of the fall semester, many of us are looking forward to an exciting and promising new school year. Because of strong student interest and cooperative interaction with faculty and administrators, the first ever tenure-track position for a professor of Asian American Literature was created. Now that this historic first step has been taken, we hope that student voices will continue to be heard throughout the ensuing steps of the selection process.

We also hope that this search will prove to be a collaborative and transparent process in which student opinions will not only be heard, but will also be given weight.

In addition, we hope that input from Professor Ruth Hsiao will be taken into account. Although we are aware that it has been unprecedented for a part-time, non-tenured professor who teaches one course at Tufts to be a member of a search committee, Professor Hsiao is the only Asian American Literature professor on our campus; therefore, her feedback is of great value.

Because this position was gained through student initiative, student input at every step of the search and selection process is crucial. We would like to stress that while the Asian American Center is a valuable resource for many students, Asian American Curriculum Transformation (AACT) is not affiliated with the center; both organizations serve a unique and separate function at Tufts.

Since AACT was the central force behind collecting student input and creating this position, the members of AACT would be more than willing to contact those students who signed our petition, and we have already begun keeping meticulous records of student comments concerning their views on Asian American Studies. As students of English and American studies, as well as many other disciplines, we are very excited and interested in this position and believe that our input is invaluable. Additionally, we can offer particular access to students of all racial backgrounds who have shown previous interest in Asian American Studies courses.

We are also happy to inform you that several members of AACT have gained national attention for their efforts and have been invited to attend the Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education (APAHE) conference to be held at Columbia University in November. There, they will be presenting a seminar on "Student Struggles for APA Studies."

We would like to schedule a meeting with members of the committee to discuss the specifics of the search process, such as criteria for potential candidates, how the recruitment process will be carried out, and how student input will be channeled. Our hope is that whoever is selected for this position will be made fully aware that he or she will be expected to help build up Asian American Studies at Tufts in the future. We would also like to thank members of the faculty and administration who have taken the time to listen to and accommodate student concerns, and in return, we hope that we will be of great help to the committee.



The members of the search committee are: Committee Head _ Carol Flynn (English/American Studies), Elizabeth Ammons (English/American Studies), Francie Chew (Biology/American Studies), Lee Edelman (English/American Studies), and Jean Wu (American Studies).



Pamela Chu is a senior majoring in Clinical Psychology and serves as the AACT Student Liaison. Members of AACT also contributed to this viewpoint.