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The University of Western Australia Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Johnson marked the 50 ^th anniversary of the Faculty of Arts building and the university's ongoing commitment to research collaboration and wider engagement in the region by awarding three ‘personal chairs' in Asian Studies to senior staff. The positions highlight the significance of Australia's relationship with Indonesia, Japan and Korea.

Krishna Sen, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and internationally recognised scholar of contemporary Indonesian and media studies, has been appointed Professor of Indonesian Studies. She currently serves on a number of advisory bodies in the field, including the Steering Committee of the New Colombo Plan under Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

Professor Kent Anderson, newly appointed UWA Deputy Vice-Chancellor Community & Engagement, who has a long history in Japanese Studies has been appointed the Chair of Japanese Studies.

Mr. Gordon Flake, founding Chief Executive Officer of the Perth USAsia Centre has been appointed Professor of Korean Studies. Prior to coming to UWA, Gordon was head of the Mansfield Foundation in Washington DC for 15 years, before which he also served as Director for Research and Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute of America.

Between the three of them the appointees speak more than half a dozen Asian languages.

"The University is working to highlight and strengthen the many ways in which we are part of the region such as the establishment of the In The Zone conferences and the Perth USAsia Centre ," Professor Johnson said. "We also teach more Asian languages than the majority of universities in Australia. These new ‘personal chairs' will further build on our engagement and research with our regional partners."

Media references

Winthrop Professor Krishna Sen , (Dean, Faculty of Arts)  (+61 8)  6488 3870

David Stacey (UWA Media Manager)  (+61 8) 6488 3229 / (+61 4) 32 637 716