Sera Kwon is a rising senior at Dartmouth College who has already been recognized nationally for her talent as a future scholar. She was named one of 20 Beinecke Scholars this past April. To further the “graduate education of young men and women of exceptional promise,” Beinecke Scholars receive a $4,000 stipend in undergrad and $30,000 more for graduate studies.
With an academic interest in social movements, Kwon also is an activist at Dartmouth. She is a member of the Asian/American Students for Action, a small student organization on campus that is calling for the strengthening of existing racial and ethnic studies programs at Dartmouth, and the establishment of a formal Asian American studies program.
Kwon and other supporters of an Asian American studies department were disappointed when the college denied tenure to Dr. Aimee Bahng, then one of Dartmouth’s leading faculty members in Asian American studies. Bahng’s tenure denial was regarded by some as an inconsistent action from the university, due to a stated commitment from the college that it would prioritize bringing in more faculty in Asian American areas in future hiring cycles.
For Kwon, Bahng’s situation raises larger questions about the viability of a career in academe, particularly in ethnic studies.
“It’s pretty disheartening to me,” Kwon said. “She’s a woman of color professor and she’s so brilliant. So seeing what happened to her, it raises the question, ‘Is this a glimpse into the future for students like me?’”
The push to develop an Asian American studies program at Dartmouth is not a new one, and is one that is echoed at multiple Ivy League institutions. Alumni and students at a number of Ivy League institutions are calling on their alma maters to put the resources behind developing Asian American studies programs.
In past years, Dartmouth’s administration has toyed with the idea of institutionalizing Asian American studies. “It’s a checkered history,” said Dr. Richard Wright, professor of geography at Dartmouth. “There have been some false starts.”
