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Since its establishment in 1949, Columbia University's East Asian Institute has been a major center for research, teaching, and publishing on modern and contemporary Asia, covering China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Korean peninsula, and the countries of Southeast Asia; in recent years the scope has expanded to include Tibet and Inner Asia. The Institute is affiliated with Columbia's Schools of Business, Law, International and Public Affairs, and Arts and Sciences, bringing together over 50 full-time faculty, a diverse group of visiting scholars and professionals, and students from the United States and abroad.

As of January 2003, the East Asian Institute was renamed the Weatherhead East Asian Institute to honor the generosity of the Weatherhead Foundation.

The Institute's mission is to train new generations of Asian experts in the humanities, social sciences, and the professions and to enhance understanding of East Asia in the wider community.

Faculty and scholars at the Institute are distinguished by their interdisciplinary and multinational focus. Resources available to the Institute community include Columbia University's renowned C.V. Starr Library and the Institute's extensive ties to the business diplomatic, legal, and media communities in New York City, the nation, and abroad. The Institute is one of the leading in-service teacher training centers in the United States.

The importance of East Asian Studies at Columbia has been recognized by a wide variety of funding sources, including the U.S. Department of Education, which, since 1960, has designated Columbia as an East Asian National Resource Center and provides three percent (approximately $255,000) of the Center's annual funding needs.

Through its many programs, conferences, seminars, and publications, the Institute creates an international forum for discussion about cultural, economic, historical, and political issues involving the Asia Pacific region.

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