Ji-Yeon Yuh

Candidate statement

Advocating for and building Asian American Studies has been a core commitment in my life for the past three decades. As a graduate student, I joined undergraduates in demanding the establishment of an Asian American Studies program at the University of Pennsylvania and participated in the hiring of its first two faculty members in the late 1990s. Upon receiving my doctorate in 1999, I was hired by Northwestern University to start a program there. As the first Asian American Studies faculty member at Northwestern, I have spent the past two decades building a program, demanding and receiving more faculty lines, and working with colleagues to create a strong intellectual community that nurtures undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. My own research and teaching focus on Asian American history, race and gender, Asian diaspora, and oral history. As a longtime member of EOC, I am particularly interested in increasing the visibility of the Midwest as an Asian American space. It would be an honor to serve as a regional representative and work with colleagues both inside and outside AAAS to strengthen the field and contribute to its continued growth.