Fletcher to Establish Endowed Faculty Chair in Korean Studies

(c) 2003 Reprinted from the Korea Times
November 18, 2003

The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University will establish an endowed faculty chair and program in Korean studies as early as in September next year, according to the head of the United States' oldest graduate school of international affairs.

"I will hopefully establish an endowed faculty chair and program in Korean studies in another year or two," Stephen W. Bosworth, dean of the Fletcher School, said in an interview with The Korea Times.

Asked if Fletcher will be able to launch the Korean studies program in September next year, he said, "That would be lovely if we can, but it all depends on the success of our fundraising.".
"We are working hard to create a chair of Korean studies and we have received support so far from the Korea Foundation and, very importantly, from the Kim Foo Foundation.".

He pointed out that the two foundations are generous in their support and they believe that it's important to Korea to have this kind of presence in a major U.S. university like Tufts.

The endowed chair and program will be fully established when the school raises $3 million. To date, the Fletcher School has received commitments for some $1.7 million.

"We need to raise some more money in order to put the chair on a permanent footing," he added. "I'm quite confident that over time, we will be able to raise additional money. Obviously, if the Korean economy strengthens, the opportunities to raise money here will increase.".

He hinted that Fletcher will complete their fundraising in the near future, saying the Korean economy is recovering from its low point and that sometime next year, there will be a strong economic recovery.

The Fletcher School has made serious efforts to establish an endowed faculty chair and program in Korean studies for the past few years, in a bid to provide deeper and broader knowledge about Korea and Northeast Asia. Fletcher is the oldest school of international affairs in the U.S., and is devoted exclusively to graduate studies in international relations.

"One of my goals as dean is to increase Fletcher's academic and programmatic offerings on Northeast Asia, as this region is becoming increasingly influential in global affairs," said Bosworth, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea from 1997 to 2001.

"The chair and program we seek to create would give us the ability to enrich the studies of our non-Korean students who hope to learn more broadly about Northeast Asia," he stressed. "We expect that ultimately the Fletcher School will distinguish itself by offering a constellation of faculty posts pertaining to Northeast Asia, including security, history and business.".

He pointed out that an endowed hair in the study of Korea's international relations will help the Fletcher School to provide the kind of comparative perspective on global problems that have become a hallmark of the "Fletcher experience.".

The following are excerpts from the interview:

Question: How many Korean students are at the Fletcher School?.

Answer: We've had many students from Korea. Many of them are from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the prime ministers' office and several from the Ministry of Defense, including some military officials. We have several students from Korea in the two-year program, and we have this year four new students from Korea. Probably, we have 10 to 15 Koreans in our school.

Q: What is the motive and background of creating an endowed faculty chair and program in Korean studies?.

A: The faculty chair and program will enable us to hire someone permanently who will teach about Korea and teach about Korea's role in Northeast Asia, as well as potentially teach about Korean business and Korea's position in the globalized world economy.

Q: What is your goal and purpose of establishing the faculty chair and program in Korean studies?.

A: To give both greater depth and breadth to our curriculum. To ensure that our students, our graduates, have the opportunities to learn about Korea's position in Northeast Asia and learn about Korea's economic position. Now, temporarily, we have someone who teaches about Korea. But in order to build that into our curriculum on a permanent basis, it's important we have an endowed chair. Also if there is sufficient amount of money in endowment, then we could sponsoring conferences about Korea.

Q: How many and what kinds of courses will you offer through the faculty chair and program in Korean studies?.

A: We would offer one course each semester, two courses per year, and probably offer one course at the undergraduate level at Tufts University. We are a graduate school but still a part of Tufts University. So one of those courses would probably be made available at the undergraduate level. That could be a course in Korean history, policy or whatever. And then, Fletcher would offer more specialized courses.

Q: Do you have any plan to form a partnership with a Korean university for a chair in Korean studies

A: We have discussions under way with major Korean universities about possible joint activities. For example, one of the things might be to take one or two students a year from these universities. In return, we would send six or eight Fletcher School students over the summer and
they would have sort of a study tour here in Korea. That's just one of the possibilities. I will be pursuing those discussions over the next year.

Q: What are the student entrance requirements for the proposed Korean studies program?.

A: Same as they are now. We prefer people obviously with very good English skill and our American students have to know a second language. We prefer people who are older than our undergraduate students. The average age of students entering Fletcher is 27.