U. focuses on Korean Studies goals

The new millennium is fast approaching, and administrators are working hard to recruit several professor in Korean Studies before the Agenda for Excellence expires and the famed ball in Times Square plunges to its ultimate fate. Administrators say they are confident of being able to appoint at least one professor by fall 1999 as part of the Agenda's goal of globalizing Penn's curriculum. And unlike so many other academic initiatives stymied by a lack of funding, money is the least of their worries. Working with a $5 million pledge, the School of Arts and Sciences is organizing a search committee for an assistant professor in Korean Studies, SAS Associate Dean for Arts and Letters Rebecca Bushnell said. Last spring, University President Judith Rodin and Korea Foundation President Joungwon Kim signed a historic five-year agreement under which SAS pledged to match the Foundation's $2.5 million contribution to promote Korean studies at Penn. A faculty committee, scheduled to begin meeting regularly this fall, will make recommendations to the Provost's office after conducting a national search, Director of the Center for East Asian Studies Cameron Hurst said. Although Hurst, a Japanese and Korean Studies professor, said the search will not be geared toward filling a position in any specific department, he conceded that "an economist couldn't offer four courses on Korean Studies each semester." SAS is intent on appointing one professor in the social sciences and another in the humanities, Bushnell said. She added that since the grant money is not awarded all at once, it is only possible to endow one professorship at a time. The first $1.5 million piece, contributed by the Foundation and SAS, is "enough to go ahead" with the first professorship, she said. While there will not be a new faculty appointment until next year, a minor in Korean Studies is likely to be approved by College faculty as early as next month, according to College Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs Kent Peterman. While not part of the Foundation grant, the interdisciplinary minor -- already approved by the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee -- will most likely be offered by the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies department and will include courses in language, political science and history, Peterman added. Currently, students interested in minoring in Korean Studies must petition their respective schools. Hurst said that the minor is long overdue, as Chinese and Japanese studies have essentially trumped Korean studies in recent years. He noted that Korea has garnered international attention in the last 20 years, spurring institutions of higher education to reconsider their offerings. Rodin's Agenda for Excellence also provides a broader justification for the minor, Peterman said. Additionally, a Korean Studies major could be a viable prospect in the future -- once Penn hires at least two full-time faculty members in the field.

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