The summer 2014 ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Fellows Program was the sixteenth funded by the Freeman Foundation to support collaborative undergraduate research in East and Southeast Asia. Over $307,000 was allocated to thirteen faculty mentors and forty students in three teams led by a single mentor and five teams led by two mentors. They conducted research in Indonesia, Japan, The People’s Republic of China (five teams), The Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam. Among this group were two colleges never before funded through this program (Chatham University and Monmouth College) bringing the number of colleges supported through this program to 104. Counting those supported during this funding cycle, the total number of grants given during the past sixteen years is 193, and the total number of “Student-Faculty Fellows” now comes to 890.

ASIANetwork is grateful to the Freeman Foundation for its extraordinary commitment to fostering undergraduate research and providing the opportunity for college students to have a mentored, in-depth experience in Asia. We also express our appreciation to the faculty mentors, supported by their campus administrators, who lead their students to Asia each summer for these transformative experiences.

Those who have worked with this program from its inception have evidenced the growing strength of Asian Studies programs among participant colleges. This year, we received over two dozen solid grant applications, despite the narrowing of parameters for study in Asia. Proposals are becoming more sophisticated, the credentials of students and faculty are stronger, and the range and depth of research is impressive.