Asian Studies at St. Olaf began formally in 1968 as a program of course offerings about Asia; Chinese language courses were introduced in 1973, and Japanese, in 1988. In 1997, the program became the Department of Asian Studies, staffed by 10 faculty, 5 in the languages and 5 with joint appointments in other disciplines. In recent years, we have averaged more than 150 students each semester in the two languages on campus, sent more than 60 students abroad, and graduated 25-27 majors.