Gi-Wook Shin appointed to be new Center director for three-year term

It is with great pleasure that I announce that Professor Gi-Wook Shin will assume the directorship of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center commencing September 1, 2005. Gi-Wook is well qualified to assume this role and to provide APARC with the same kind of leadership he has brought to the Korean Studies Program.

When Professor Shin left UCLA four years ago to come to Stanford, he left the largest Korean studies program in the nation. It must have been quite a gamble for him to come here since there was little by way of Korean studies at Stanford. With true entrepreneurial spirit, Professor Shin has built an impressive and dynamic Korean studies program at SIIS. It hosts luncheon seminars, workshops, and conferences, and has sponsored many Korean scholars, government officials, and business leaders who spend time at Stanford as visiting scholars. It also supports an active research program spearheaded by two postdoctoral research fellows and two Pantech professional fellows. Stanford is steadily becoming a world-class center for contemporary Korean studies.

I have great confidence that Gi-Wook will continue his outstanding work in his new role as the director of Shorenstein APARC. Gi-Wook's strong leadership will prove invaluable in the years to come as the Institute grows and as the International Initiative unfolds. Please join me in congratulating and supporting Gi-Wook in his new role.

Best regards,

Coit. D. Blacker, Director, Stanford Institute for International Studies