Noted Berkeley Professor Joins Pacific Rim Program at UCSD

Chalmers Johnson, an internationally recognized expert on East Asia, has joined the faculty of the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at UC San Diego, adding to the new school’s already strong academic reputation.

Johnson comes to UCSD after 26 years at UC Berkeley, where he held the prestigious Walter and Elise Haas Professor of Asian Studies chair and headed the Center for Chinese Studies and the Department of Political Studies. Johnson also received his doctoral degree from Berkeley.

“We are just incredibly fortunate to have Johnson come here,” Peter Gourevich, dean of the school, said. “Harvard tried to get him and failed. The whole community, inside and outside the university, will benefit.”

Johnson has written numerous books and articles on East Asian political economy, revolution and social movements. He also reported on the Chinese and Japanese press for 15 years for the PBS network.

The graduate school opened in September and is the first such school in the UC system and the only one in the United States to emphasize the Pacific Rim area.