December 1, 1994: Vol26n12: Getting an Edge on Pacific Rim

By LISA WILEY
News Bureau Staff
Student demand and the increasing importance of the Pacific Rim to the
economy of the United States has prompted UB to establish an Asian
Studies program. The program provides credentials, including language
proficiency, to students who wish to pursue careers in Asia.
	"All indications are that a significant number of UB graduates
will deal directly with Asia -- and particularly with the countries of
the Pacific Rim -- in the years ahead. There is probably no area of
the world more critical to the economic future of the United States
than the Pacific Rim," says Stephen C. Dunnett, UB vice provost for
international education.
	"Asia is so crucial and has so much to offer," agrees Thomas
W. Burkman, a modern Japanese historian who was appointed the
program's director this summer.
	A background in Asian studies "could be the decisive edge" for
graduates interviewing for jobs with U.S. corporations and government
agencies that require staff who are fluent in Asian languages and
knowledgeable about Asian cultures, Burkman says.
	The primary focus of the program, which has been in place for
1-1/2 years, is East Asia -- China, Japan and Korea. Southeast Asia is
a secondary focus. Two minors in Asian studies will be in place by
next fall; a proposal for a major in Asian studies is being prepared.
	As the variety of specialists and course options within Asian
studies grows, new major and minor programs will be devised.
Foundation grants are being sought to supplement university budget
resources.
	While the program is housed administratively in the Faculty of
Social Sciences, it is much broader than the traditional humanities
and social sciences, drawing from such diverse fields as management,
engineering and natural sciences.
	The program also has helped all UB undergraduates, who now
have more options to choose from to fulfill the university's recently
implemented language requirements.
In addition to Chinese, the 
	Department of Modern Languages and Literatures now offers a
full range of courses in Japanese, Korean and Arabic. Moreover, the
department's World Languages Institute offers supervised, self-study
courses in Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese.
	Korean is the newest language on the course roster, with 42
students enrolled in an introductory course this fall. A second-year
level will be introduced next fall. "Business Japanese," a third-year
course designed for those planning to conduct business in Japan, will
be added to the roster next fall, while a "Business Chinese" course is
being considered.
	The demand for these courses has soared as the number of Asian
and Asian-American students -- increasingly conscious of their
cultural heritage -- has grown at UB. Since the 1970s, a large portion
of UB's international student population has come from China, Hong
Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Indonesia. Asian students
represent more than 70 percent of the total foreign graduate-student
constituency, while 10.2 percent of the undergraduate population is
Asian-American.
	The Asian Studies program also encourages students to
participate in study abroad programs and internships, which offer an
opportunity for students to receive practical training in technology
and in the society with which they will likely be dealing in the
future. Students in management and engineering are offered the option
of internships in Japan.
	"An internship is where they really come to grips with Asia in
their professions," Burkman says.
	The university has appointed faculty members in Asian
comparative education and medieval Japanese history to help meet the
needs of the expanding program. A search is under way for a specialist
in the Japanese language -- the fastest-growing foreign language
course at UB, perhaps because of its perceived relevance to business
and technology, Burkman says.
	In addition to academic courses, the program has instituted an
"Asia At Noon" bag-lunch series for faculty and graduate students, and
will host the New York Conference on Asian Studies next September.