CEAS Leadership Transition
The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the University of Kansas announces a transition in leadership. Akiko Takeyama officially stepped down from her role as Director of CEAS after a five-year term at the end of June. In mid-August, CEAS welcomed Hyunjin Seo of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications as its new Director.
Recognizing Akiko Takeyama’s Leadership
During her five-year term as Director, Takeyama provided dedicated and innovative leadership to CEAS and to East Asian Studies at KU.
“I had the very good fortune to be able to work closely with Akiko on a number of initiatives over the course of her directorship, and I was consistently impressed, as I imagine you all were, by her deep and unwavering commitment to the Center and to East Asian Studies at KU, her enthusiastic support of language and area studies faculty and students, and her energy, leadership, innovative spirit, creativity, and positive outlook,” said Megan Greene, Professor of History, Associate Vice Provost for International and Global Engagement, and CEAS member.
Takeyama served CEAS and KU’s community of East Asianists in an uncountable number of ways, from successful grant writing to creative and interesting programming, to overseeing an array of new kinds of outreach, including effective and successful outreach to the Kansas business community.
In addition, she effectively shepherded CEAS through a very rough patch when Title VI funding was suddenly terminated a year ago, and even in spite of that crisis, she has left the Center in a very strong position. Greene especially recognized and thanked Takeyama for going above and beyond in continuing to work on grant proposals for CEAS even after her term as Director had formally expired and her sabbatical had begun, including this summer’s very challenging CAANN proposal.
“I am enormously grateful to Akiko for her service, as I’m certain you all are as well, and I wish her the very best for the future and the various new and ongoing projects she is now engaging in,” Greene said.
Welcoming Hyunjin Seo as Director of CEAS
In mid-August, CEAS welcomed Hyunjin Seo of the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications as its new Director. Seo is University Distinguished Professor, Director of the KU Center for Digital Inclusion, and Oscar Stauffer Professor of Journalism. Her research focuses on identifying emerging properties of networked communication and understanding their implications for social change, collective action, and civic engagement.
Her research and teaching are both influenced by her professional experience in journalism and strategic communication in both South Korea and the United States. She previously served as a foreign affairs correspondent in South Korea, covering events such as the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear issues and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit talks.
Among other things, she has published on North Korean media and society, U.S.-North Korean relations, and freedom of the press in both North and South Korea. She has also served as a consultant for U.S.- and Korea-based nongovernmental organizations regarding their social media strategies and relations with the international press. “We are very fortunate that she is willing to take on the important role of guiding CEAS into the future,” Greene said. “I hope you will all join me in welcoming her!”
CEAS looks forward to continuing its work in support of East Asian Studies at KU under Seo’s leadership.