Take 5: Provost Eileen Fung Talks USF, Then and Now

After almost three decades on the Hilltop, Eileen Chia-Ching Fung was named provost in March. She talks about how campus has changed, a class she dreams of offering, and where she inhales the smell of books.

1. You've been at USF for 26 years. Describe what it was like when you got here, and what's been the most noticeable change.
When I arrived in 1997, I was one of few Asian American and Pacific Islander [AAPI] faculty on campus, and the first AAPI faculty member to offer a course in Asian American and Pacific Islanders literature and film. Now, not only are AAPI students one of our largest ethnic groups, but we also launched the Asian Pacific American Studies program in 2000 and received an AANAPISI [Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions] grant in 2023. It was the first Minority Serving Institution Award for USF from the U.S. Department of Education.

2. What is your impression of what today's students want?
I think our students wish to develop creative, analytical, and ethical mindsets as they learn the skills that will bring them both professional success and personal fulfillment. They want to become leaders and problem-solvers who respond to local and global issues.

3. What's currently the most popular class on campus? Why do you think that is?
Community Garden Outreach classes never have a problem filling up! Students get involved through service-learning internships in the production, use, distribution, and promotion of locally grown organic produce. Guided by faculty, they use USF produce — from the community garden on campus and from Star Route Farms, the university’s certified organic farm in Bolinas — to provide fresh vegetables and nutritious meals to students visiting the USF Food Pantry and to people in the local communities. These internships touch so many areas that matter to our students — learning about issues, getting involved and doing actual, not theoretical, work to fix them, and having a positive effect on the lives of real people.

4. What's a class that you'd love to create and teach?
I would love to teach a course called The Future of Food. What will we eat 20 years from now? My current research focuses especially on how cooking and eating are humanizing acts that tell stories about struggles, opportunities, and self-expression. I want to connect multiple aspects of food — cooking, eating, farming, production, narrativization — and in turn open conversations about topics like immigration, globalization, climate change, hunger, and public health.

5. What's your favorite place in SF?
Green Apple Books — nothing beats the scent of new and used books.