Vivian Ling was named interim director of the Indiana University Chinese Flagship Program. She has agreed to lead the program for two years while a nationwide search is conducted to find a permanent director. Earlier this year the Language Flagship program of the National Security Education Program within the U.S. Department of Defense named Indiana University as the only location for its graduate studies program in Chinese.
Professor Ling was senior adviser and field director of Associated Colleges in China, a collaboration between Lawrence University, Hamilton College, and Williams College. Previously, she was on the faculty at Oberlin College in Ohio for 24 years. At Oberlin she served as a professor of East Asian studies and chaired both the East Asian studies and women’s studies departments.
Dr. Ling received a master’s degree in Asian studies from Washington University in St. Louis and a Ph.D. in Chinese language and literature from the University of Michigan.