Ka Zeng, director of international and global studies, and the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences recently announced the appointment of Kelly Hammond as the associate director of international and global studies. Hammond will help coordinate the program and offer administrative support to the director.

The International and Global Studies Program is one of the largest in Fulbright College. It serves a diverse group of undergraduates and prepares students for a variety of careers in fields such as international business, government, education, diplomatic work and graduate school.

Zeng said, "Hammond brings to the program a combination of deep historical knowledge and unique insights into international programs, which I am sure will help to greatly expand opportunities for our students."

Hammond is an associate professor in the Department of History. History Department Chair Laurence Hare said, "My colleagues and I in the Department of History are pleased to see Dr. Hammond take on this new role in international and global studies. She brings a great deal of expertise on Asian and global history, and she has a strong record of supporting student success."

She joined the History Department in 2015 after receiving her Ph.D. in East Asian history from Georgetown University. Her first book, China's Muslims and Japan's Empire: Centering Islam in World War II (UNC Press, 2020), tackles issues of wartime ethnopolitics in East Asia. She is currently working on two new book projects that expand on the themes covered in her first book. One project is tentatively called Islam and Politics in the East Asian Cold War. The second project is a biography of a Chinese Muslim general named Bai Chongxi. Hammond spent three weeks at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University this past summer working with Bai's personal papers. Hammond also serves as the associate editor for Modern China at the Journal of Asian Studies (Duke University Press) and is on the editorial board of Twentieth-Century China (Johns Hopkins University Press).

In Fulbright College, Hammond teaches a wide variety of courses about modern East Asia. Hammond said, "I'm passionate about bridging my own research with the needs and interests of our students. I look forward to bringing vibrant programing about contemporary global events to the University of Arkansas and working with faculty across campus to develop the International and Global Studies Program."

She is also committed to connecting with the community beyond academia. She is part of the Public Intellectual Program run by the National Committee on US-China Relations. Her public-facing work has been published by news and policy outlets like ChinaFile, CNN, The Caravan, The Center for Strategic and International Studies, The Conversation, NewLines, and she appears regularly on podcasts. Through her ongoing outreach, Hammond hopes to help connect students with the broader community of scholars working on topics concerning Asia and international studies.

In the spring, Hammond will teach a new course that she is currently designing with the support of a grant from the Stanton Foundation. In "Nuclear Asia: From Hiroshima to Fukushima," students will learn about the legacies of nuclear detonations, nuclear proliferation, nuclear security and nuclear power throughout Asia.

All of this leaves Hammond well situated to help Zeng develop and run the International and Global Studies Program. Hammond noted that, "This is a strong undergraduate program that attracts globally minded students. It is our job as administrators to ensure that the needs of our students are being met and that we offer programming that aligns with student interests."