2010-2011 CUNY Thomas Tam Visiting Professor

By and

Paul Ong
CUNY Graduate Center
Ph.D. Program in Sociology

Fall 2010
Course: Critical Asian American Issues and Actionable Solutions
Course Syllabus: PDF

The overall goal of the course is to expose students to alternative and nontraditional styles of scholarship that is linked to real-world engagement. This course provides an opportunity to explore major issues affecting Asian American communities using an applied social science research approach, as well as the opportunity to contribute to a larger collective effort to influence the AAARI’s research agenda by identifying gaps in academic literature related to Asian American problems and solutions.

Russell C. Leong
Hunter College/CUNY
Department of English / Asian American Studies Program

Spring 2011
Course: PASSPORT READINGS: Writing on Departures & Arrivals
Course Syllabus: PDF

This impetus for this new course–designed as a hands-on workshop and seminar–originated primarily from Amitiva Kumar’s book, “Passport Photos” and “Asian Americans on War and Peace”–the first published before 9/11, and the second, right after that event. Both works offer perspectives on the immigrant experience, on racialization and on war, violence, and peace, and utilize prose, essay, and poetic approaches to articulating what it means to be living in a post 9/11 era.

“Writing on Departures & Arrivals” also refers to multiple engagements and approaches around migration, settlement, locality, citizenship or non-citizenship, gender and generation through the writing we read– together with the writing / images we create ourselves.

AAARI Seminar/Workshop (June 2, 2011)
Into East River(s): Chinese / American Artists and Asian American Poets

The CUNY Thomas Tam Visiting Professor will perform teaching, research, and guidance duties in area(s) of expertise as noted below; and share responsibility for committee and department assignments, performing administrative, supervisory, and other functions as assigned.

The Tam Visiting Professor will be based at one of the four CUNY campuses participating in the search, Brooklyn College, Hunter College, Queens College or the Graduate Center. He or she will teach one class a semester at that campus and will engage with students and faculty members during the appointment. The Tam Visiting Professor will participate in public events designed to raise the visibility of scholarship in Asian American studies. This will include working closely with the Asian American / Asian Research Institute (AAARI).

This distinctive position presents an opportunity for a leading scholar to work in New York City’s diverse and dynamic environment while also working with AAARI and CUNY faculty to develop and enrich the CUNY research agenda in Asian American studies. Visiting faculty are individuals with a primary commitment to another accredited college or university who possess advanced scholarship or professional achievement.

Author Bio

Paul Ong is Professor of Urban Planning, Social Welfare and Asian American Studies at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. Prof. Ong has done research on the labor market status of minorities and immigrants, displaced high-tech workers, work and welfare and transportation access. He is currently engaged in several projects, including studies on the effects of neighborhood economies on welfare and work, community economic development in minority communities, and the labor market for healthcare workers.

Previous research projects include studies of the impact of defense cuts on California's once-dominant aerospace industry, the impact of immigration on the employment status of young African Americans, and the influence of car ownership and subsidized housing on welfare usage. Prof. Ong was co-author of a widely reported 1994 study on Asian Pacific Americans, which challenged the popular stereotype of Asians as the country's "model minority."

In Fall 2010 and Fall 2011, Prof. Ong served as the City University of New York's Thomas Tam Visiting Professor at the CUNY Graduate Center.


Russell C. Leong is the founding editor of the CUNY FORUM and served as the Dr. Thomas Tam Visiting Professor at Hunter College/CUNY. He is the former editor of Amerasia Journal (1977-2010) at UCLA, where he also taught English and Asian American Studies. Leong, educated in Taiwan and the U.S., is the author of Phoenix Eyes and Other Stories (University of Washington Press) which received the American Book Award. See: www.russellleongwrites.com for recent work. Leong received his M.F.A. in Film and Theater from UCLA.