Attention, class: Introducing . Professor Kumar?
Kal Penn, famous for playing the fast-food-chasing, pot-smoking slacker Kumar in the 2004 film Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, is slated to teach two undergraduate courses in the University's Asian American Studies Program during the spring 2008 semester.
Grace Kao, director of Asian American Studies, announced Penn's upcoming visiting-professorship at a Saturday-evening banquet celebrating the program's 10th anniversary.
Penn could not attend the banquet because he is busy promoting his movie, The Namesake, but he sent along a video clip offering his congratulations to the program.
"I'm looking forward to teaching my two classes at Penn," he said.
Penn will teach one lecture course, tentatively titled "Images of Asian Americans in the Media," and a seminar, "Contemporary American Teen Films." Each course will be cross-listed with Cinema Studies.
Kao will oversee Penn's classes to ensure a smooth transition from actor to academic.
After giving a speech at the University for Asian Pacific American Heritage Week, Penn "actually took the initiative" to return, Kao said, noting that the actor contacted her to express interest in a more extensive position.
Kao acknowledged that a movie star is an unconventional choice for an adjunct professor but said Penn's experiences make him uniquely qualified to teach.
Penn, who is of Indian descent, is one of the nation's leading Asian American actors, known for starring in films that address ethnic identity.
Although Harold and Kumar was ostensibly a light-hearted comedy, some critics praised the way it dealt with Asian American stereotypes. Penn's latest film, The Namesake, has likewise garnered acclaim for its portrayal of the immigrant experience.
But, bringing the actor to campus was, logistically, no easy task.
"The administrative question is always, 'How much is this going to cost?'" said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Dennis DeTurck.
Kao would not reveal how much more it cost to hire Penn versus the average adjunct professor, but he said that the Asian American Studies Program contributed a significant portion of its yearly budget, as did the Cinema Studies department contributed funding.
Penn is "really doing this because he wants to. He's not going to get rich doing this," Kao added.
The ASAM Program is relatively small, and students and administrators say that Penn's arrival could increase its prominence.
"Kal Penn coming to Penn for a semester is going to be huge for the ASAM program," College sophomore Rahima Dosani wrote in an e-mail.
Dosani, an Asian American Studies minor who serves on the program's undergraduate advisory board, added that this amplified visibility could be exactly what the program needs to grow.
DeTurck agreed, saying that Penn's visit "will raise the visibility of the program beyond the Asian American community."
