Akiko Kawano Jones 川野朗子, Teaching Professor Emeritus of Japanese Language and Culture in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, has been teaching at BGSU since 1983. She has taught Japanese Language and Culture-Beginning through Third Year, including independent courses. She has also taught “Japanese Business Language” and “Tea Ceremony and Culture.” She was director of the Asian Studies Program from July 2005 through June 2019. Although she retired in May of 2021, she still enjoys teaching at BGSU and working on Japan Outreach, such as Japanese-American Business Professionals Meetings called “Nakama,” the Cherry Blossom Festival, etc. She also continues to be the advisor for the Japanese Club, which she founded in 1983. Her academic interest includes Study Abroad in Japan. She has been offering “Summer Study in Japan” every year since 2002. She is coordinator of “Peace Seminar in Hiroshima” and has taken students to Hiroshima every other year since 2006. Among the honors and awards she has received: Faculty Senate Lifetime Achievement Award, Master Teacher of the Year at BGSU, Commendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, 2013 Teacher of the Year Award from the American Association of Teachers of Japanese, and Outstanding College Foreign Language Instructor Award from OH Foreign Language Association.

Bradford Clark is a Professor in the Department of Theatre and Film, where he is a production designer and teaches courses in scenic design, animation history, and Asian theatre. He received a B.A. in theatre from the University of California, Santa Cruz and an M.F.A. in theatre from the University of Minnesota, Mankato. He also served as a design studio intern at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre. Prof. Clark studied the making of traditional shadow puppets and masks in Bali, Indonesia, and puppet making and performance in Japan. He has traveled throughout Asia to observe and document puppet and theatre performances, and was part of a research group that documented performances by both traditional and contemporary companies and performers throughout China. In addition to directing and designing puppet theatre productions, he has written articles on Asian puppet theatre, including performances at the Putul Yatra: A Celebration of Indian Puppetry. He also recently published a survey of puppet museums in Japan.

Christopher J. Frey is Associate Professor in the School of Counseling, Higher Education, Leadership and Foundations, and affiliated faculty in Asian Studies since joining BGSU in 2007. Frey earned degrees in History and in Political Science with a focus on Russian/Soviet Studies (B.A., 1994), Comparative Education (M.S., 2003), East Asian Studies (M.A., 2006), and History, Philosophy and Policy Studies in Education (Ph.D., 2007), all from Indiana University-Bloomington. Dr. Frey lived in Japan for five years and has traveled widely around Asia and the world. His research and teaching focus on international, cross-cultural, and Indigenous education policy, practice, and history in and between Japan and the United States. He taught on the Navajo Nation and in Gifu Prefecture, and held visiting research positions at Hokkaido University and Keio University in Tokyo. For several years he has helped lead the annual Navajo Nation Trip from BGSU. His research has appeared in Comparative Education Review, Journal of Curriculum Studies, Journal of Adolescence, and in several edited volumes. Frey served as Historian of the Comparative and International Education Society (2015-2018), and Chair of the BGSU Faculty Senate (2020-2022). He has taught both the introductory ASIA 1800 and capstone ASIA 4800 courses in Asian Studies.

Dr. Franziska Schultz is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Dr. Schultz’s research and teaching focuses on International Relations in Asia, specifically between Japan and its neighbors, and the interaction of political and economic exchange. Before joining BGSU, Dr. Schultz has served as Research Associate and Lecturer at the University of Tuebingen (2014-2016), Adjunct Professor at Temple University, Japan Campus (2019-2021), and Lecturer at Rikkyô University, Japan (2019-2021).

Hyeyoung Bang is a Professor in the School of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Policy at BGSU where she teaches Educational Psychology, Human Growth & Development, and Cross-Cultural Human Development and Learning. Her undergraduate degree is in Elementary Education from Busan National University of Education, S. Korea, where she also taught Elementary School children for 15 years. She obtained two master’s degrees in Education (Bukyung National University, S. Korea and University Of New England, Australia) and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (Oklahoma State University). Her main research focus concerns the cross-cultural development of wisdom and self-development, and related topics such as resilience, empathy and prosocial behavior, motivation, spirituality, and religion. She also researches acculturation issues among international students and faculty, and refugee and immigrants about their acculturation stresses and impact on schooling. She utilizes quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and Q methodology in her research. Cross-national research projects have included Self, Motivation, and Virtue, focusing on human motivation to live a virtuous life (Canada and South Korea), supported by the Templeton Religion Trust.

Hyungsuk Choo is an associate professor in Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management in the College of Education and Human Development. Her research focuses on exploring the applicability of service marketing principles and social-psychology theory in the context of small-scale service hospitality/tourism services and identifying the sustainability theory and practice from visitors’ perspectives. She has done research work with a variety of organizations and agencies in the U.S. and some Asian countries, as well as individual rural communities. She has published this work in many academic journals, including the top-tier publications in tourism studies. She has also presented papers at national and international conferences.

Kristen Rudisill is the Professor in the Department of Popular Culture. She's been teaching graduate and undergraduate students at BGSU since 2007. Her courses center around global and international popular culture, religion, Bollywood, storytelling, and romance novels. She is the author of Honeymoon Couples and Jurassic Babies: Identity and Play in Chennai’s Post-Independence Sabha Theater (SUNY, 2022). In addition to her extensive work on Tamil theater, she has also published widely on popular Indian dance and literature. She is starting to publish her English translations of Tamil dramas. Dr. Rudisill has been the recipient of two Fulbright Fellowships as well as a grant from the American Institute of Sri Lankan Studies. Her current book project is tentatively titled The Rise of Gaana Dance: Competitions, Cinema, and Global Tamil Identity and includes research she has conducted in India, Toronto, London, and Sri Lanka.

Dr. Man Zhang is a full professor in the Schmidthorst College of Business at BGSU. Dr. Zhang received her Ph.D. in business administration at Washington State University in 2005. She joined the faculty at Bowling Green State University in 2005 as an assistant professor in the College of Business Administration. During her time at BGSU, Dr. Man Zhang’s primary teaching responsibilities have been with International Business courses for both undergraduate and graduate students. (e.g., she teaches international business, global strategy and international management courses). In addition, she advises approximately 50 undergraduate international business majors per year. She is also the coordinator of the international business programs. Dr. Zhang’s research goals are to contribute to the current literature in International Business (IB) by extending and building theories that are relevant to practice in these fields. Her current research interests focus on the impact of institutional environment on international entrepreneurial capability of SMEs in emerging markets. Her publications have appeared in outlets such as Journal of Business Research, Multinational Business Review, Information Systems Journal, International Business Review, Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Journal of Global Information Management, American Journal of Business, Innovative Marketing, Journal of Technology Research, Journal of Asia Business Studies, Journal of Global Marketing and Journal of International Business and Economics. Dr. Zhang is also active in professional organizations at the state and national levels. She has been involved with AIB-Midwest (Academy of International Business-Midwest Chapter) since 2008. She served in different executive positions in this chapter, including secretary, program chair, and president of AIB-Midwest. She currently serves as an Executive Officer at MBAA-International (Midwest Business Administration Association-International) and is also a founding member of AIBRP (Association of International Business Research and Practice).

Rebecca L. Skinner Green is an associate professor in art history and has taught at BGSU since 1996. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Western Art and World Art, as well as courses on African, Oceanic, Mesoamerican, Indian & Southeast Asian, and Chinese & Japanese arts and cultures. She has also led two study-abroad courses to Ghana, West Africa and Bali, Indonesia. In 2021, Skinner Green was awarded the College of Arts & Sciences Diversity Award.Dr. Skinner Green’s research focuses on traditional and contemporary art and culture in Africa, with specialization on Madagascar, where she studies the elaborate relationships between ancestors, funerary practices, divination, gender roles, and traditional and contemporary art. Her research is also expanding into art and culture in the Caribbean, with primary focus on Trinidad and Tobago. Her work has been sponsored by a Social Science Research Council fellowship, a Foreign Language Area Studies grant, a Fulbright fellowship, two Fulbright-Hays fellowships, and an American Association of University Women fellowship. It has been the subject for articles, books, edited volumes, curated exhibitions, conference papers, and keynote presentations. She is currently writing two books – one on foundational contemporary artists in Trinidad and Tobago, and another on traditional arts associated with funerary practices in highland Madagascar. She is also working on projects on contemporary Malagasy art, as well as the use of public community art in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.

Ryoko Okamura is an associate professor in the Department of World Languages and Cultures and a director of the Japanese Program. She teaches all levels of Japanese language and courses on Japanese literature, films, culture, and society. Dr. Okamura’s research focuses on cultural studies with emphasis on immigration/migration and experience of women and ethnic minorities in the context of East Asia and the U.S. relations. She has published articles on Japanese immigrant women (Issei women), Japanese women's motherhood and patriotism, and experience of zainichi Koreans. Her recent publication focuses on the institutionalized ethnic discrimination against North Korea affiliated schools (Chōsen gakkō) in Japan. Currently, she is working on a book project on Issei women's experience, highlighting the concept of ryōsai kenbo (good wife, wise mother) ideal and contributions of Issei women to the Japanese immigrant community from transnational perspective.