The AAPI Advancement Award was created in 2022 to honor current UVA faculty members who have made significant contributions towards greater understanding and appreciation of Asian culture or Asian-American relations. The biennial award recipient is chosen by alumni through an online nomination and voting process. The faculty member who secures the highest number of votes will be presented with a special gift, accompanied by a monetary prize of $1,000. This sum will be at the faculty member’s discretion and can be utilized to further their endeavors within the Asian community. The award ceremony is part of the AAPAAN Celebration held in Spring. The presentation of the award is accompanied by a brief series of faculty talks.
2026 AAPI Advancement Award Recipient: Professor Sylvia Chong
Department of English and American Studies, Minor in Asian Pacific Studies
Professor Sylvia Chong is Associate Professor of English and American Studies and Director of the Minor in Asian Pacific American Studies. She has made extraordinary and lasting contributions to AAPI culture and community at UVA. As the founder of the Asian Pacific American Studies minor, she built the intellectual and institutional foundation for Asian American studies on Grounds, creating opportunities for generations of students to engage critically with AAPI histories, identities, and cultures. She has mentored countless Asian American undergraduate and graduate students, offering guidance, advocacy, and a sense of belonging. Her scholarship is widely recognized as groundbreaking in the field, expanding national conversations about race and representation in U.S. cultural history.
Just as importantly, Professor Chong has shown a deep and sustained commitment to UVA’s Asian American student population, as reflected in her work featured in UVA Today examining the university’s complex history with Asians and Asian Americans. She is not only a leading scholar but also a dedicated community builder whose impact on AAPI relations at UVA is profound and enduring.
2024 AAPI Advancement Award Recipient: Professor Yoon Hwa Choi
Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures & Cultures
Yoon Hwa Choi is currently Senior Lecturer of Korean and Director of Korean Language Program at UVA. She has taught both entry- and advanced-level Korean courses and, as any students who took her classes before would know, she makes Korean fun and easy to learn. She is beloved by her students for being “super approachable” for extra help (office hours, speaking practice, etc.), and they praised her dedication to the field and her willingness to meet students’ expectations and interests. As an active member of UVA’s AAPI community, she has spent the past 10 years developing the Korean language program and contributing towards the understanding and appreciation of Korean culture and Korean-American relations at the University. Among her many accomplishments, which have earned her praises from alumni in both Korea and the U.S., are the development of a guest lecture series and two language partner programs, engaging students to create a Korean community beyond the classroom, serving as a faculty representative for the Korean floor at Shea House, initiating the Korean Language Corner, and organizing reunions in Korea every summer for students.
2023 AAPI Advancement Award Recipient: Professor Bradly Reed
Corcoran Department of History
Professor Bradly Reed is an Associate Professor of History at UVA. Students who took his “Modern China” course described him as an “incredibly engaging,” “intensely knowledgeable,” and “inspiring” teacher. Former students also praised his passion for the subject that “permeates every lecture” and pushes them to care as well. His teaching and research focus on Late Imperial and Modern China, and his main specialties include Late Imperial Law and Society, Local Government and Administrative Practice, and Cultural Revolution Studies. His book Talons and Teeth, County Clerks and Runners in the Qing Dynasty has been lauded as a valuable contribution to the study of a sophisticated bureaucracy in a non-Western, nonmodern setting. He is currently researching the influence of bureaucratic administration on the judicial process during the Qing era.
2022 AAPI Advancement Award Recipient: Professor Shu-Chen Chen
Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures and Cultures
Professor Shu-Chen Chen has been teaching Chinese at UVA since 2005. She is currently an Associate Professor of Chinese. A native of Taiwan and a double Hoo, she has had extensive involvement in Chinese language instruction, serving as Director of the Chinese Summer Language Institute, as well as offering innovative courses like Professional Chinese with Community Engagement and Chinese Calligraphy. Her courses allow Chinese language students to connect with the broader University community through their interdisciplinary interests. In addition, following the zeitgeist of Jefferson’s Academical Village, she has been an active participant in events hosted by the Institute of World Languages and the Lorna Sundberg International Center, where she has encouraged students and colleagues, especially those not studying Chinese, to learn more about Chinese language, history, and culture. She is beloved and respected by her students both for her teaching and for her countless contributions to the University community.