The Department of East Asian Studies 2023 Award Ceremony Winners

May 5, 2023

Every year, the Department of East Asian Studies hosts an award ceremony to acknowledge the EAS students for their exceptional performance and hard work during the academic year. On May 5th, 2023, EAS gave out four awards:

  1. The Blair Prize in Japanese Studies: The Blair Prize in Japanese Studies, started in 2007, is named after Barbara Bowman Blair (1925-2005). The Blair Prize was established both to honor Barbara Blair, and the academic accomplishments of U of A students, but also in the hope that the recipients will, in their own individual ways, contribute in the future to cross-cultural understanding, particularly between the nations of Japan and the United States.
  2. The Hucker Founders Award: The Hucker Founders Award is named after Professor Charles O. Hucker, who came to the University of Arizona in 1956 and established the Oriental Studies Department, the predecessor of University of Arizona’s current East Asian Studies Department and Near Eastern Studies departments. This award has been given annually since 1997 to honor a student for academic achievement in the field of Chinese.
  3. The Japan Foundation Award: The Japan Foundation Outstanding Graduating Senior Award further recognizes academic excellence at the undergraduate level in any disciplinary or interdisciplinary field of Japanese Studies.
  4. The Center for East Asian Studies Graduating Senior Award: The Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) has established this award to honor an outstanding graduating senior in East Asian Studies, especially those who have demonstrated achievement in our Korea Studies program.

The following EAS students have been selected as winners of EAS's four awards:

The Blair Prize in Japanese Studies Winners

Seneca Stine

Tori Wendell

The Hucker Founders Award Winners

Sophie Camille Olivia Michele Louis

Leighanna Pipatanangkura

The Hucker Founders Award Honorable Mentions

Rielly Puckett

Sean Tunnicliff

The Japan Foundation Award Winner

Ana Lent

The CEAS Graduating Senior Award Winner

June Speelman

Congratulations to the award winners!