Where East and West Meet: China Institute in America Records Ready for Public

For non-Columbia affiliates, registration is required to access the Morningside campus. After registering you will receive an email with a QR code that must be presented along with a government-issued ID (your name must match exactly the name registered for the event) at either the 116th Street & Broadway or 116th Street & Amsterdam gates for entry. Please register using an unique email address (one email address per registrant) by Apr. 8 at 4:00 pm for campus access.

Names will be submitted for QR codes 1-2 days prior to the event. Registrants will receive an email from CU Guest Access with the QR code before or on the day of the event.

Speakers:

Michael Feng, private-equity investor, philanthropist, art collector, and son of Ivan Feng (Chairman, Board of the Trustees, China Institute from 1997 to 2001)

Carolyn Hsu-Balcer, designer, philanthropist, art collector, and great grand-niece of Kuo Ping-Wen (Co-founder, China Institute in 1926)

Weili Ye, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Massachusetts Boston

Yanqiu Zheng, Associate Director of Asia and Pacific Programs, St. Lawrence University; author of In Search of Admiration and Respect: Chinese Cultural Diplomacy in the United States, 1875-1974 (2024)

Opening Remarks:

Christopher J. Cronin, Associate University Librarian for Collections

Eugenia Lean, Professor, East Asian Languages and Cultures; Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Columbia University

Lien-Hang T. Nguyen, Dorothy Borg Chair in the History of the United States and East Asia, Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University

George Geh, Chief Executive Officer of China Institute in America

Presenter:

Evian Yiyun Pan, Processing Archivist of the China Institute in America Records, C.V. Starr East Asian Library

Gifted to the C.V. Starr East Asian Library in 2015, the China Institute in America records document the extensive history of this renowned organization. Founded in 1926 by American educators and Columbia faculty John Dewey and Paul Monroe, along with two renowned Chinese educators and Columbia alumni, Hu Shih and Kuo Ping-Wen, the China Institute in America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering a deeper understanding of China through programs in art, business, culture, and education. After months of processing, the China Institute in America records are now fully accessible to researchers by appointment. To celebrate this milestone, coinciding with the Institute’s upcoming centenary in 2026, the C.V. Starr East Asian Library is pleased to host this event featuring stories and perspectives on the Institute’s lasting legacy.

The event will open with remarks from leaders in WEAI, CUL, and the China Institute in America, followed by Starr Processing Archivist Evian Yiyun Pan, who will present an overview of the collection and showcase selected highlights, and a documentary film screening of Where East and West Meet (1977), produced by former president of China Institute Wan-go Weng to showcase the Institute’s history, and conclude with a panel discussion consisting of family members of the former presidents and board chairmen of China Institute who will reflect on the contributions of their relatives during key periods in the Institute’s history; and scholars who will offer academic perspectives on the Institute’s role in shaping U.S.-China relations.

This event is co-hosted by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and the C.V. Starr East Asian Library.

Registration: To attend this event in-person, please register HERE.