The Townsend Center is pleased to welcome Alan Tansman, Professor of Japanese in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, who will assume the directorship beginning July, 2012. Professor Tansman has served in the past as Chair of East Asian Languages and Cultures and as Director of the Center for Japanese Studies. He has played an instrumental role in establishing the Human Rights minor and serves in a key role on the editorial board of the journal Representations. We are fortunate to have his leadership come to the Townsend Center as it enters its 25th year.