Professor retires after 35 years
Campus Times
May 17, 2002
John L. Jang, professor of government and global studies, will retire
at the end of this semester. Jang, who gave his services to ULV for 35 years,
feels it is time to move aside and to allow room for "new blood."
Besides his work as a teacher, Jang started the Model United Nations program
at ULV, which recently traveled to New York.
All good things must come to an end. But sometimes the end is just the
beginning and for Professor of Government and Global Studies John Jang,
this could very well be true.
Jang, who has worked at the University of La Verne for 35 years, will
not be returning for his 36th. He has chosen this year to be his last at
ULV so he can retire.
A native of China, Jang has used his Chinese heritage and American experiences
to urge understanding between Americans and the Chinese throughout the years.
He has worked with sister cities in America, as well as and China, to improve
relationships between them.
Although he has no siblings in China, he makes it a point to travel
there about three to six times a year.
"Well, I like to travel. That's why I'm in international studies,"
he said.
After retirement, Jang plans to continue his mission of working to improve
relationships between American cities and their cities in China. He has
already done this for Riverside and plans on doing this for Ontario.
By conducting seminars in China about the U.S. and U.S./ China relations,
he hopes to achieve this. These seminars will also include the topic of
international trade.
He has already held lectures and seminars in the United States about
understanding the Chinese. He believes one of the biggest mistakes a person
can make is to not understand another culture. For example, Jang feels that
during the Vietnam War the United States sent young soldiers into the country
without knowing much about the culture. Jang wants to change this.
"I try to introduce the Asian cultures to the American people.
What better way to do it than through the vehicle of teaching," he
said.
And so he arrived at ULV. He began here in 1967 and since then has made
quite a bit of changes in the university community as well as outside.
In 1969 Jang began a program for short-term off-campus field studies.
Prior to this, he said, the school only allowed one-day field trips.
One example of this, is the trip to Hawaii that took place this past
January interterm.
Professor of business administration and economics Ahmed Ispahani appreciates
the work Jang has done for ULV.
"Dr. John Jang has been one of the finest professors of the university,"
he said. "We go back about 35 years. He is a very distinguished historian.
ULV has been very fortunate."
He also added that Jang has brought many important people to speak at
the university.
Ispahani also admires the work Jang has done for the U.S. and China.
"He's very well respected in China," he said.
Ispahani explained that when he went with Jang to China, the major of
Jiang Men drove them to the airport.
Ispahani also admires the fact that Jang has an interest in both America
and China. According to Ispahani, there are often people who take interest
in one or the other.
He explained that China is an important country, especially now that
it is part of the World Trade Organization. In fact, it now has the second
largest economy.
Senior political science major Bernard Corpus, who took a class on Chinese
Commununism with Jang, also appreciates his diverse perspective.
"He gives very informative lectures," Corpus said. "He
taught me a lot about a subject I wasn't familiar with."
