Zu-yan Chen promoted to distinguished teaching professor
Zu-yan Chen, professor in the Asian and Asian American Studies Department and director of the Confucius Institute of Chinese Opera, has been promoted to distinguished teaching professor for his contributions to the educational mission of Binghamton University over the past 27 years.
Promotion to the distinguished teaching rank recognizes the mastery of teaching at the graduate, undergraduate or professional levels.
“Dr. Chen is a superb teacher whose impact has been felt well beyond the Binghamton University classroom,” wrote President Harvey Stenger in Chen’s nomination letter. “He was critical to the development of Asian and Asian American Studies from a handful of Chinese language courses to a department offering a major, minor and master’s degree.”
Chen’s students also describe his passion for teaching, calling him “magnanimous, cogent and inclusive”; “open and approachable”; and a “master of soliciting divergent ideas.”
“It’s a great honor and to me it’s a big encouragement to keep doing the best for our students and our University,” Chen said. “Our University is an intellectually challenging environment, allowing us to do our best and achieve at all levels.”
Chen came to Binghamton University in 1987, hired into the Department of German and Russian, which became the Department of German, Russian and East Asian Languages after his arrival. As additional East Asian language courses were added, the Asian and Asian American Studies Department was spun off into its own department. Establishment of the Confucius Institute of Chinese Opera five years ago, though separate from the department, further enhanced the teaching of East Asian languages at Binghamton.
A successful program builder, Chen commends his colleagues for the collaboration that has helped to grow the department. “We have many colleagues working together and it’s very exciting,” he said.