The government department, currently the largest department without a minority professor, recently hired David Kang, a Korean-American, as an assistant professor to teach courses on Asian politics and foreign policy.
The government department, the most popular department at the College, was singled out by the College's Affirmative Action Plan for 1994-95, released last November, as the only Arts and Sciences department that "underutilized" minorities.
But Government Department Chair Nelson Kasfir said Kang was chosen "because he's easily the best one among the applicants for the position."
Currently a visiting professor at the University of California at San Diego, Kang said he would like to return to Korea this summer and possibly do some research before coming to Dartmouth.
"I may go [to Dartmouth] in September, and if not then, most likely in January," he said in a telephone interview from San Diego, Calif.
Kang received his doctorate in political science from the University of California at Berkeley.
Kasfir said Kang will help represent one of the Asian minority communities at Dartmouth.
"We wanted someone who could teach about Japan or East Asia. He's also an expert on Korea ... It's not an area in which lots of American professors have expertise," Kasfir said.
Kasfir said the government department offers professors a good deal of autonomy in deciding new courses or perspectives they want to teach.
Kang said he will most likely teach Government 7: International Politics, and courses on Japanese and Korean politics or Asia's international relations.
Kang said he chose to come to Dartmouth because of the College's emphasis on undergraduate education and the quality of the student body.
"Every professor I spoke to said they enjoyed teaching the undergraduates," he said. "I'm really excited at the thought of getting out to teach."
Kang said he hopes to be involved with students not only the classroom, but as a part of their entire academic experience through helping students to establish a Korean language program and arranging conferences and panel discussions.
