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 3^rd, 2024, EAS handed out five 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 the 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 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.
4. The TECO Chinese Achievement Award: Sponsored by the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office (TECO), this award recognizes the highest-achieving student in each level of EAS’s Chinese language classes.
5. The Center for Buddhist Studies - Khyentse Foundation Student Award: The Khyentse Foundation Student Award was set in 2018 at the Center for Buddhist Studies to encourage the University of Arizona graduate and undergraduate students to study Buddhism and its related subjects. Since 2001, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and a team of volunteers have been committed to providing funding for individuals and organizations seeking to make the dharma available to the world.

The following EAS students have been selected as winners of each award:

The Blair Prize in Japanese Studies

Alana Komatsu

Honorable Mention: Sam Gissler

The Hucker Founders Award

Alex Hupp

Honorable Mention: Liz Davis and Alexis Hsu

The CEAS Graduating Senior Award

Zaina Price

Honorable Mention: Faith Ash

The TECO Chinese Achievement Award

Emily Yicha Shaver, CHN 101
Ashlea Hume, CHN 102
Johnny Lamm, CHN 201
Annabelle Kara Jonatan, CHN 202
Colin Joseph Koprowski, CHN 302
Natalie Hsu, CHN 417

The Khyentse Foundation Student Award

Ven. Changzhong “Shin” Lee

Congratulations to the award winners!

The 31^st Arizona Japanese Speech Contest was held at Northern Arizona University on April 20^th and Neryanne Jinon, our JPN 202 student, received first place in her category!

There were 30 participants altogether from high schools, community colleges and universities statewide and three students from UArizona participated in the contest.

This year's theme was “Healthy Living” and Neryanne’s speech was titled “Good Form.” She shared heartfelt advice to keep “good form” in our minds when we face challenges and stress in life.

Congratulations to Neryanne and all the participants for their outstanding efforts!

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Anoop Chandola, Professor Emeritus of East Asian Studies at the University of Arizona, passed away on January 31, 2024. Further information on his life and academic contributions are documented on his Wikipedia page and the enclosed pamphlet which was prepared as part of his celebration of life ceremony held at the University of Arizona.

The Chinese Language Program held a party on February 9^th, 2024 to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. More than 80 students from Chinese language classes, TAs and instructors participated in the event. Students enjoyed a variety of activities in the LSB courtyard: Chinese calligraphy, paper cutting, singing, and riddle solving. The major activity was a fashion show of Chinese traditional clothing. 10 students volunteered as models and 2 students served as MCs; the models showcased hanfu ‘Chinese clothing’ of different dynasties as the MCs introduced each piece of clothing. Students also enjoyed a feast. Everybody had a great time. This event was sponsored by the Taiwan BEST grant and EAS. We thank all of the instructors and TAs for their hard work and their contributions. It was a great success.