Student Pioneers at IU: Profiles of Early Asian and AAPI Students
This portion of the exhibit shows biographies, photographs, and publications relating to early Asian students at IU.
Eung Tyun Cho
Eung Tyun Cho, born circa 1897, entered Indiana University in 1925 in pursuit of his PhD in Physics. To support himself financially during his student years, he did housework, mowed lawns, and did janitorial work and other odd jobs. In addition to his technological research, he published a manual for Korean teachers of spoken English and for students who were learning the English language.
After completing his studies at IU, Cho wished to return to Korea in order to be a scientific educator to young students like himself. At the time Cho was one of only 12 men in Korea to have a PhD. Even with his impressive credentials, some Korean authorities frowned upon his work, calling it a “waste of time”, which kept him from his dream of teaching. Additionally, he was not able to find the resources needed to pursue his research. He remarked, “I am a man without a country.”
Taking a break from his educational and scientific interests, Cho served in the military and civil governments during and after World War II. He eventually was appointed vice minister of the Korean Ministry of Communications. Finally, in 1964, Eung Tyun Cho became the new president of Dongguk Engineering College in Seoul, Korea, realizing his dream of becoming an educator.
Biography adapted from Hollins, Briana. “Heart and Seoul: Early Korean Students at Indiana University.” March 16, 2022.
https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/2022/03/16/heart-and-seoul/
Konigapogu Joseph Devadanam
Dr. Konigapogu Joseph “Joe” Devadanam came to the US from India in 1928. He was the first Indian student to graduate from Indiana University, earning a BA in 1930. He then went on to receive an MS from Northwestern University in 1936 and a PhD in Animal Husbandry from the University of Minnesota in 1938. At some point he became a veterinarian as well. After his studies, he returned to Hyderabad and worked his way up to the position of Assistant Director of Animal Husbandry of the state government. His expertise was in animal husbandry, in particular cattle breeding. In the late 1940s/early 1950s he returned to the US for further study at Texas A&M University, where he worked on cross-breeding Indian Brahman cattle with western breeds.
Biography researched and written by Gwendolyn Kirk, South and Southeast Asian Studies Librarian, 2024.
Showin Wetzen Hsu
Showin Wetzen Hsu, the first Chinese student to graduate from Indiana University, earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History in 1909. He initially studied at the University of California but transferred to the University of Illinois after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake disrupted his studies. In 1908, he moved to IU to specialize in Political Science, International Law, and Diplomacy and work with professors he admired. After graduation, he returned to China, serving in various government roles including Secretary of Education. He played a significant part in China's transition from imperial to republican rule and was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of China in 1912. Despite his career in China, Hsu maintained a strong connection with IU, corresponding with President William Lowe Bryan and donating money to support various IU causes. His legacy at IU paved the way for other Chinese students; within the next decade more than 10 additional Chinese students had enrolled, and as of 2023 more than 1,000 Chinese students are enrolled at IU Bloomington.
Biography adapted from Martin, Katie. “China Remixed: Showin Wetzen Hsu, BA 1909.” April 12, 2017. https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/2017/04/12/china-remixed-showin-wetzen-hsu-ba-1909/
Ya-Hui Hsu
Ya-Hui Hsu was the first Chinese woman to graduate from IU with her J.D. in 1937. Hsu came to IU with three men from her cohort at the Comparative Law School of China, including her cousin. However, as the only woman, she dealt with numerous curious stares from American students. A 1935 Indianapolis Star article highlights the Chinese students’ experience at IU and describes Hsu’s clothing as “what the Americans call Chinese costume and what the Chinese call an American outfit.” We have yet to confirm this from historical sources, but Hsu may have been the daughter of IU’s first Chinese graduate, Showin Wetzen Hsu.
Biography adapted from Indiana University Archives, “Ya Hu Hsu…” Facebook, March 20, 2017, https://www.facebook.com/IUBArchives/photos/ya-hu-hsu-was-the-first-chinese-woman-to-graduate-from-iu-with-her-jd-in-1937-hs/1379695368749689/.
Vibulpenn Jayapani
One of the first Asian students in the Library Science program, Vibulpenn Jayapani attended IU for the Master of Library Science program in 1957. Prior to her time in Indiana, Jayapani married and had a child in 1952. She attended college at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Jayapani returned home to Thailand to be closer to her family after studying in the MLS program. While working at Chulalongkorn University, she earned high honors. Jayapani is still alive, living in Thailand and enjoying her life as a great-grandmother.
Biography from: Larson, Anna. “Uncovering Our History: A Look at Some of Our First MLS Graduates.” Luddy Department of Information & Library Science Blog. 2023. https://blogs.iu.edu/ilsnewsletter/newsletters/2022-2023-newsletter-full-view/2022-2023-newsletter/uncovering-our-history-a-look-at-some-of-our-first-mls-graduates/
Masuji Miyakawa
Born in 1870 in Fukushima, Japan, Masuji Miyakawa came to America in his early twenties for schooling, earning degrees from George Washington (LL.M.) and University of Illinois (D.C.L.) before obtaining his LL.B. in 1905 from IU Bloomington, becoming the Law School’s first Asian-American graduate. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in Bloomington and was the first Japanese American admitted to the bar in the U.S. Following his time at IU, Miyakawa excelled as a lawyer, scholar, journalist, and advocate for Japanese immigrants' rights, residing in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. He secured Japanese children's rights to attend San Francisco public schools in 1906 and defended the first case under the American-Japanese extradition treaty. Miyakawa also served as an editor at the American Bar Association and authored books on law and Japanese culture. In recognition for his contributions, he received numerous honorary degrees. Sadly, Miyakawa died from tuberculosis in 1916 at just 45. He was posthumously inducted into the Indiana University School of Law’s Academy of Law Alumni Fellows in 2006.
Biography adapted from:
2016 Robinson, Greg. "Masuji Miyakawa, first Issei attorney." In The great unknown: Japanese American sketches, pp. 153-157. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.
"Masuji Miyakawa" (1870). Maurer Notable Alumni. 22.
https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/notablealumni/22
Takekuma Okada
Takekuma Okada was born on February 26, 1866. He completed his initial education at Tokyo Senmon Gakko (later Waseda University), before coming to Indiana University for further studies. During this period IU was actively working on exchanges with foreign countries, similarly the Meiji government was sending talented young people to Europe and America to study Western culture and technology. After studying briefly at Ohio State University, he came to Bloomington to study at IU. He received a BA in 1890 and an MA in 1891, becoming IU’s first Asian student and its first international student to earn a graduate degree. Upon returning to Japan, he taught at Waseda University for some years until he was appointed General Secretary of the Yokohama City Chamber of Commerce and Industry. During the IU Baseball team’s 1922 tour of Japan, organized by Waseda University, Okada and another IU alumnus, Paul Isobe, showed the team around Tokyo. Sadly, he is thought to have died during the Great Kantо̄ Earthquake of 1923.
Biography adapted from IUAA Japan Chapter. 2023. “History - インディアナ大学 日本同窓会（1964年創設）の50年以上の歴史をご紹介します.” インディアナ大学日本同窓会 公式サイト | IUAA Japan Chapter. September 26, 2023. https://iuajapan.net/history/.