UNC Asheville Professor Receives Sasakawa Fellowship
to Study Modern Japan

Dr. Charles McKnight

Charles McKnight, UNC Asheville associate professor of music, was recently awarded a $5,500 Sasakawa Fellowship from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). Only 20 fellowships were awarded nationwide. McKnight will use the fellowship to attend a one-month intensive summer institute on the study of modern Japan at San Diego State University.

McKnight, who joined UNC Asheville’s music department in 1995, holds a doctorate from Cornell University and a master’s degree from Yale University.

The summer institute is a multi-disciplinary program designed for faculty who wish to incorporate information about Japan into the courses they teach. The institute involves intensive seminars, lectures, readings, films and cultural activities related to Japanese history, culture, literature, government, business, language and education.

The Sasakawa Fellowships and the Institute on Incorporating Japanese Studies Into the Undergraduate Curriculum are made possible by an endowment from the Nippon Foundation. They are managed by AASCU, an association of more than 400 public institutions of higher education across the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Media Contacts:

• Merianne Epstein, UNCA Public Information Director, 828/251-6676
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526