San Francisco State University (SFSU) has named Dr. Amy Sueyoshi as the first woman dean of the College of Ethnic Studies. Sueyoshi has served in the interim role for the college since January 2018.
Dr. Amy Sueyoshi“Professor Sueyoshi has done a superlative job leading the college and reinforcing its core commitments to community engagement, social justice and educational equity,” said Dr. Jennifer Summit, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Fifty years after its historic creation, the college will enter an exciting new chapter under her bold leadership just as its founding call for relevant education becomes more imperative than ever.”
The first sexuality studies faculty member hired in the College of Ethnic Studies, Sueyoshi taught the college’s first class on the experiences of queer people of color. In her new role, she plans to advocate for academic practices that engage students by giving them opportunities in service learning through community leaderships, according to a SFSU release.
“I feel honored and privileged to serve our diverse faculty, and I understand the weight of that responsibility,” Sueyoshi said. “It’s the job of the dean’s office to create a positive work space so that faculty can feel fulfilled to empower their students.”
Sueyoshi is a passionate LGBTQIA activist and has authored two books: Queer Compulsions: Race, Nation and Sexuality in the Affairs of Yone Noguchi and Discriminating Sex: White Leisure and the Making of the American ‘Oriental’.
Sueyoshi received a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College of Columbia University and a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Los Angeles.
