My Professional Journey and History of the Chinese Program at Puget Sound
1986–1989: Founding the Chinese Program
The Chinese Program at the University of Puget Sound began in 1986 when I was hired as an adjunct instructor to launch Chinese language instruction on campus. At the time, the Asian Studies Program already had an established and popular Japanese language program, founded in 1982 by July Tyson. The Chinese curriculum initially consisted of two sections of Chinese 101–102, but strong student interest quickly led to expansion with the addition of Chinese 201–202 in 1987–88. I was appointed full-time in 1988-89 and became the longtime non-tenure-track faculty member who helped shape and lead the Chinese Program for four decades. From the outset, I envisioned Chinese language study not simply as language acquisition, but as an interdisciplinary and intercultural educational experience integrating language, culture, history, literature, media, and global awareness.
1989–2005: Building the Curriculum Through Collaboration and Innovation
Housed within the Department of Foreign Languages, the Chinese curriculum grew steadily with the support of both language faculty colleagues and the Asian Studies Program. Leadership and collegial support from colleagues including Jacqueline Martin, Esperanza Gurza, Michel Rocchi, and David Tinsley were crucial during the program’s formative years. Equally important were the strong collaborations, guidance, and mentorship provided by Asian Studies colleagues including Suzanne Barnett, Robert Albertson, Bill Colby, Norm Heimgartner, and Karl Fields.
In 1989, I collaborated with the University of Massachusetts Amherst Taiwan summer program to establish study abroad opportunities for Puget Sound students at Tunghai University. Serving as faculty liaison, I coordinated recruitment, advising, orientation, and academic integration of the program into the Chinese curriculum.
During the 1990s and early 2000s, the Chinese Program steadily expanded in enrollment, visibility, and curricular offerings. I developed advanced thematic courses including:
- Across the Strait: Cultures of China and Taiwan,
- Greater China: Commerce and the Media,
- From Bamboo Grove to Cyberspace: Chinese Literary Texts Now and Then.
At the same time, the program cultivated a vibrant co-curricular environment through the Foreign Language House Program. Partnerships with local Chinese and Taiwanese communities, along with film series, cultural events, and field trips, further enriched students’ cultural learning and community engagement beyond the classroom.
I also became quite involved in instructional technology, developing multimedia course websites, online learning tools, digitized audio and video materials, and interactive assignments before such methods became common in language teaching. My main course website, launched in 2000 and still in use today, along with the later Chinese4Ucourse blog, supported both classroom and independent learning while helping students build language proficiency, cultural knowledge, and digital literacy. I had opportunities later to share my passion in technology-enhanced pedagogy with others at national conference presentations and publications.
During this period, I collaborated with Prof. Shou-hsin Teng on the textbook Taiwan Today: An Intermediate Course, which was adopted nationally and internationally by numerous institutions.
2005–2009: Program Expansion and Statewide Leadership
As enrollments continued to grow, the Chinese Program expanded staffing and curriculum. Elizabeth Chen joined the program and collaborated closely with me in team-teaching, curriculum redesign, oral communication labs, and development of new upper-division courses.
New courses added during this period included:
- Chinese 230: Grammar and Articulation,
- Chinese 250: Culture and Communication,
- Chinese 260: Advanced Oral Expressions.
In 2007, Chinese 201–202 at Puget Sound was recognized by the College Board as one of the nation’s AP Chinese Best Practices programs.
An important milestone came in 2008 with the realignment of the Asian language programs from the Department of Foreign Languages into the Asian Studies Program. The transition reflected the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of Chinese and Japanese studies and created new opportunities for curricular growth and collaboration within Asian Studies.
The realignment also led to the development of a new Chinese Language and Culture major, replacing the earlier Foreign Languages and International Affairs (FLIA) major with a Chinese concentration. In 2010, the program graduated its first Chinese Language and Culture major.
I also became involved in Chinese language education across Washington State. In 2005, I helped establish the Chinese Language Teachers Network (CLTN), working with colleagues including Greg Youtz and Adam Ross to create statewide professional networking and teacher development opportunities for Chinese language educators.
In 2006, I joined the Chinese Language Core Team of Washington State and helped develop initiatives supporting schools interested in starting Chinese programs. CLTN later evolved into the Chinese Language Teachers Association-Washington (CLTA-WA), formally established in 2009 through planning led by me and colleagues.
During this same period, I became increasingly involved with the College Board AP Chinese Language and Culture Examination. Beginning as an AP Reader, I later served as a Scoring Leader, Question Leader, and consultant working directly with chief readers, Educational Testing Service (ETS), and experienced Chinese language educators from across the United States. My work included AP scoring leadership, development of testing materials, participation in ETS Summer Writers Workshops, and collaboration on curriculum and assessment standards for AP Chinese.
At the same time, I continued presenting nationally on Chinese pedagogy, instructional technology, AP Chinese standards, and teacher training through American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), CLTA, the Chinese Innovation Forum, and statewide workshops and conferences.
2006–Present: Taiwan Programs and International Partnerships
A major milestone came when my proposal to establish a direct institutional affiliation between University of Puget Sound and Tunghai University became a reality. The UPS/Tunghai Summer Program launched in 2006 and continues today as one of the university’s signature international opportunities for intensive language and cultural immersion in Taiwan.
International partnerships expanded further in 2023 through Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) signed with Wenzao Ursuline University of Languages and in 2024 with National Dong Hwa University. The Wenzao exchange now brings students from Taiwan to Puget Sound each fall while sending Puget Sound students to Taiwan each spring.
In January 2024, I led the 2023–24 Intercultural Engagement Program in Taiwan, a faculty development initiative involving ten selected faculty members from a wide range of disciplines across the university. The program introduced participants to Taiwan’s higher education system, society, history, and culture while fostering new academic and institutional connections. Many participating faculty members later developed ongoing collaborations and Taiwan-related initiatives in their own teaching and professional work.
2010s: Community Engagement, Experiential Learning, and Program Growth
Throughout the 2010s, the Chinese Program evolved into a broader center for intercultural engagement, public humanities, and Asian American community-building.
In 2015, the continued success and steady growth of the Chinese Program led to the establishment of a tenure-track position in Chinese. Mengjun Li joined the program that year, strengthening instructional continuity, student mentoring, and support for the expanding curriculum.
I also developed experiential learning opportunities that connected classroom learning with community engagement and public humanities work. In 2016, I spearheaded a large-scale experiential project involving more than 40 Puget Sound students volunteering at the Tacoma Moon Festival while learning about Tacoma’s Chinese American history and reconciliation efforts. Students and interns also became actively involved in the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation’s annual Walk for Reconciliation Against Racism, helping organize events, participate in community outreach, and volunteer in activities promoting racial justice and intercultural understanding. These community-based initiatives became a defining strength of the Chinese Program and fostered strong collaborations with local schools, community organizations, and Chinese and Taiwanese communities throughout the region.
Over time, the program also developed a number of popular student-centered co-curricular activities, including the Chinese Cultural Engagement Community (CCEC), Mahjong Club, and Tea Club, which helped build community, encourage intercultural exchange, and sustain student engagement beyond the classroom.
Throughout this period, I continued my long-standing service with the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation (CRPF), serving as the Secretary on the Board of Directors, supervisng the admin team, organizing cultural events, maintaining public outreach efforts, and helping support Tacoma’s reconciliation work related to the 1885 Chinese expulsion.
I also worked closely with:
- the Tacoma Taichung Sister City Committee,
- the Tacoma Fuzhou Sister City Committee,
- the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO),
- the Confucius Institute of the State of Washington (CIWA).
2020–Present: Inclusive Teaching, AAPI Advocacy, and Community Building
The most recent phase of my professional journey reflected my continued adaptation to changing student needs, post-pandemic teaching realities, and the growing importance of mentorship, inclusion, and community engagement. In my 2023 evaluation statement, I described my work as centered on “building a supportive community and giving space to each student to grow and reach their potential.” It remains one of the core values that has shaped both my teaching and my sense of purpose as an educator.
During this period, I expanded outreach programming for Asian Studies and collaborated closely with AAPI students on campus-wide events and mentoring initiatives. I helped establish a recurring Empowering Asian Americansforum (wee, at least for two years) in partnership with the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation and community leaders, creating space for dialogue on Asian American identity, anti-Asian racism, leadership, and civic engagement.
I also strengthened the program’s Taiwan initiatives through collaboration with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), implementation of the Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TOCFL) at Puget Sound, and continued development of Taiwan-focused programming such as Taiwan Week. In the post-COVID years, the program also began collaborating with the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program, through which Puget Sound welcomed its first FLTA from Taiwan in 2021–22 and has continued hosting Taiwanese FLTAs through the present.
My commitment to experiential learning also led to paid student internships with the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation, further connecting students with public humanities, Asian American history, and community engagement work.
At the same time, I continued mentoring students for nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships, helping support applications for Fulbright, Critical Language Scholarship, Freeman, Boren, and other international study opportunities.
This period also brought important recognition of my impact as a teacher and mentor. I was selected as the 2022 Academic Convocation faculty speaker and received the ASUPS Outstanding Faculty Award, recognizing my long-standing commitment to student-centered teaching, mentorship, and community-building. Here is my Convocation Speech, The Power of Savoring: What the Tortoise Knows.
Legacy, International Engagement, and Continuing Vision
Over four decades, I managed to help transform Chinese language study at Puget Sound from a small introductory offering into a nationally recognized, globally connected, and community-engaged program.
Among the accomplishments I values most are mentoring generations of students in language study, study abroad, scholarships, fellowships, and professional growth, while connecting language education with community engagement, public humanities, and cross-cultural understanding.
In recent years, my work has increasingly focused on internationalizing the campus not only by sending students abroad, but also by “bringing Asia to campus” through exchange partnerships, faculty initiatives, cultural programming, and experiential learning opportunities involving international students, Fulbright scholars, teaching assistants, and community partners. This vision helped inspire new partnerships and exchanges, including the successful launch of the 2025 Summer Academy initiative, which hosted students and teachers from China’s Qingdao Baishan School for an 11-day immersive experiential learning workshop and camp at Puget Sound.
The history and development of the Chinese Program at Puget Sound are closely intertwined with my own professional journey as an educator, mentor, and community leader. I hope my continuing efforts will inspire others to commit themselves to global learning and intercultural understanding, while also helping strengthen connections within their own communities and with the wider world.
