In Memoriam: Remembering Dr. Tianwei (Tim) Xie and Prof. Lloyd Inui
With deep sadness, AAAS announces the passing of two Professors Emeriti who shaped the department with their teaching, scholarship, activism, and service. They are deeply missed and lovingly remembered by generations of students and colleagues for their brilliance, kindness, and generosity.
Dr. Tianwei (Tim) Xie, Professor Emeritus of Chinese Studies
Professor Emeritus of Chinese Studies and former AAAS department chair Tianwei (Tim) Xie passed away on September 12, 2021.
Professor Xie received his BA in Russian Language and Literature in 1967 and MA in Linguistics in 1980, both from Shanghai Foreign Language University (now Shanghai International Studies University – SISU). He graduated from the University of Pittsburg with a Ph.D. in Foreign Language Pedagogy in 1992. He joined the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies (AAAS) at CSULB in 1999 after teaching Chinese at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of San Francisco, and the University of California at Davis. Dr. Xie retired in 2013.
After he joined AAAS, he devoted his research to (online) teaching technology and published numerous papers and book chapters on how to apply modern computer aided teaching (CAT) technology to the learning/teaching of Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL). In the process, he founded the popular website “Learning Chinese Online” that attracted millions of visitors. Upon retirement, he generously donated the website to our university and it is still managed by AAAS.
Dr. Xie was actively involved in various academic organizations and professional service. He served as the Chair of SAT in Chinese, Chair of the Chinese Language Teachers’ Association of Southern California (CLTA-SC), and the Editor of the Newsletter of Chinese Language Teachers Association. He touched lives of many in Shanghai (China), in the Bay Area and here in Southern California with his joy and enthusiasm for lifelong learning. He cherished the well-being of his students and colleagues.
Prof. Lloyd Inui, Professor Emeritus of Asian American Studies
Photo Credit: JANM
Professor Emeritus Lloyd Inui, the founding member and chair of the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies, passed away on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.
Professor Inui came to CSULB in 1965 and retired in 1992. He and his family were incarcerated during WWII in Heart Mountain, Wyoming. He came to CSULB after studying Political Science with an emphasis on Asia-U.S. relations at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He served as a faculty advisor for student activists at CSULB following the Third World Strikes of 1968-1969 at San Francisco State College and UC Berkeley. Under Professor Inui’s mentorship, students taught the first Asian American Studies course at CSULB in Fall 1969. Professor Inui served as the first director of Asian American Studies, as the first department chair of AAAS, and in numerous Japanese/Asian American community organizations. After retiring, Professor Inui volunteered for several decades at the Japanese American National Museum and continued to support AAAS, Ethnic Studies, CLA, and CSULB.
Professor Emerita Yoko Pusavat, who served as AAAS Vice Chair, undergraduate advisor, and was instrumental in creating the Japanese BA and credential programs remembered:
“Sorrowfully we are a bit emptier today for the loss of Professor Emeritus Lloyd Inui. He was a great colleague and trusted friend nearly 40 years. Now the past has become foremost significant to me.
The Department of Asian and Asian American Studies was created thanks to Professor Lloyd Inui. He laid a foundation of the Department and led to form the department which includes programs of Asian American Studies, Asian Studies, and Asian Languages. Language programs connected Asian Studies and Asian American Studies. No other higher institutes in USA had the department structured such as AAAS.
Professor Inui was the one who has made a difference to the world around him and on campus community.”
Teacher, scholar, activist, and mentor extraordinaire, Professor Inui guided and shaped Asian American Studies in academia, public education, and community practice for over 50 years, as remembered by former students and colleagues in Rafu Shimpo.
You can watch this Profile of Asian American Studies pioneer, Lloyd Inui, excerpted from the 2013 documentary, Unexpected Journeys: Remarkable Stories of Japanese in America, produced by the Japanese American National Museum.
Photo Credit: Rafu Shimpo
2015 CSULB Asian American Studies (AAS) Reunion
Photo Credit: Dr. San-Pao Li
In July 2020, Dr. San-Pao Li, Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies and Chinese Studies, drove to Professor Inui’s house the day after Governor Newsom signed the bill requiring ethnic studies requirement at the CSU. Dr. Li viewed this as a legacy of Dr. Inui’s struggle and lifelong support for Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies.