During the directorships of Dr. Chu and successive directors, numerous junior research assistants and assistant research fellows received financial support from the National Science Council of the Executive Yuan, or the Institute itself, to pursue Ph. D. degrees at local or foreign universities, after which they returned to serve at the Institute. After Lin Chengyi was appointed Director of the Institute, and the Institute expanded to become the Institute of European and American Studies, there was an increase in the number of applicants seeking a position at the Institute, and the training program, being no longer necessary, was terminated. Furthermore, with the formal establishment of the Institute of American Culture, in the late 1970s, many local scholars interested in American Studies noted that our compatriots’ understanding of the United States was limited and that this situation did not serve the nation well. Therefore, they started to organize an association to engage in American Studies. On January 22, 1978, the Association of American Studies was formally set up. The founding members are from different domestic academic institutions such as Chen Chi-lu, Herbert H. P. Ma, Chu Limin, Hou Chien, Chi Pan-yuan, Chu Yen, Lin Yao-fu, Sun Tun-hsun, Chang Chung-tung, Tien Wei-hsin, and Yu Yuh-chao. Because the Institute of American Culture was relatively abundant in research manpower and resources, not only did the Institute assume a leadership position on the basis of its academic performance, but also actively invested in personnel support. The early chairmen of the Association of American Studies—Chen Chilu, Chu Yen, Sun Tun-hsun, Herbert H. P. Ma, Tien Wei-hsin, Yu Yuh-chao, and Wei Liang-tsai— were all fulltime or part-time research fellows affiliated with the Institute of American Culture at the time, and they made decisive contributions to the development of domestic American research. (left) Standing beside the IEAS Library, this commemorative stone marks the inauguration of the Center for American Studies (right) The Chinese version of the protest letter ( United Daily News , December 29, 1978, p.3) 50 Years and Beyond: The History and Prospects of the Institute of European and American Studies 7
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