Henry G. Schwarz
Academic & Professional Experience
Western Washington University (1969 – 1994): Served on the faculty, established the Center for East Asian Studies, and acted as its first director.
University of Washington (1965 – 1969): Served as a faculty member at the Russian and Far Eastern Institute.
University of the Philippines (1964 – 1965): Taught as a Fulbright Professor.
Asia University, Tokyo: Served as a visiting professor for two years.
Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Ulaanbaatar: Acted as an advisor to the Institute of Oriental and International Studies following retirement.
Image of Henry G. Schwarz
Research, Publishing & Fieldwork
Pioneered American academic research in China as the first American scholar to conduct research at the Central Nationalities Institute in Beijing (1973).
Conducted extensive annual summer field research across Beijing, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang (1973 – 1983).
Established and edited two acclaimed book series: Studies on East Asia and East Asian Research Aids and Translations.
Authored foundational texts in East Asian Studies, including Minorities of Northern China: A Survey (1984) and An Uyghur-English Dictionary (1993).
Compiled and edited Reminiscences (1983), the autobiography of Nicholas Poppe, based on extensive interviews and recordings.
Leadership & Board Affiliations
President: Mongolia Society of the United States (1998 – 2007).
Vice President: International Association for Mongol Studies (2002 – Present).
President: Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies & Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast (ASPAC).
Board Member: Pacific Area Intercollegiate Council on Asian Studies, Seattle Committee on Foreign Relations, and World Affairs Council of Western Washington.
Education & Honors
Ph.D. in Political Science (1963) & M.A. in Political Science (1958): University of Wisconsin.
B.A. in Sociology (1954): University of Wisconsin.
Order of the Polar Star (2006): Awarded Mongolia's highest honor for foreigners by the President of Mongolia for 30 years of promoting Mongolian Studies.
Honoree (1994): Recognized upon retirement by 33 global scholars with the dedicated volume, Opuscula Altaica: Essays in Honor of Henry Schwarz.
Preserving Mongolian Culture at the Edge of the Arctic
The Mongolian-Smithsonian Deer Stone Project (DSP)
