Committee to address IU’s WWII-era Japanese American student ban

In July 2020, President Michael A. McRobbie issued a statement of regret on behalf of the university for its ban on admissions for Japanese-American students during World War II. Former IU student and bicentennial intern Eric Langowski worked closely with University Historian James Capshew to bring visibility to this unfortunate moment in IU’s history. McRobbie directed the IU Bloomington campus to appoint a committee to plan an event that will describe the exclusion and internment of Japanese Americans during WWII which will specifically address IU’s failure to admit 12 Japanese American students during this period.

Ruth N. Halls Associate Professor Karen Inouye, Chair of the Department of American Studies, is Chairing the committee, which also includes:

• Nick Cullather, Professor of History and International Studies Karen Inouye, Ruth Halls Associate Professor of History and Chair of American Studies
• James Nakagawa, Ruth N. Halls Distinguished Professor, Photography; Director, Center for Integrative Photographic Studies
• Lisa Doi, graduate student, Department of American Studies
• Eric Langowski, IU Alumnus
• Ashlyn Nelson, Associate Professor, Paul O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs
• Dina Okamoto, Professor of Sociology, Director of the Center for Research on Race and Ethnicity
• Scott O’Bryan, Associate Professor of History and Chair of East Asian Languages and Cultures Department