Trena Gillette Memorial Lecture Series
An annual lecture focusing on Korea and Asian Studies.
Trena Gillette (1965-1993) was a student at Portland State University in the late 1980s-early 1990s, who majored in International Studies, focusing on East Asia. In April 1993, after a 13-month battle with cancer, Trena passed away at the age of 27, just two months shy of her anticipated graduation in June. While she did not live to participate in her graduation, in June 1993, she was awarded PSU’s first posthumous degree.
In 1994, the family and friends of Trena Gillette established the Trena Gillette Memorial Endowment Fund to support Korean Studies at PSU. In 1998, the decision was made to dedicate this fund to support an annual lecture series focusing on Korea and Asia, in honor of Trena.
The Annual Trena Gillette Memorial Lecture honors Trena’s enthusiasm for learning, her pursuit of education, and her keen interest in Korean and Asian Studies. Through the generous gift made possible by Trena’s family, friends and others, Trena’s legacy continues to enrich the PSU and Portland community through this annual lecture highlighting Korean and Asian culture.
| Date | Title / Topic | Invited Lecturer |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Constructing a National History of Korea: One for the 20th Century, another for the 21st | Dr. Mark Peterson, Brigham Young University |
| 2009 | North Korea as History and Policy | Dr. Carter Eckert, Harvard University |
| 2008 | Chinese Conceptions of ‘Right’: From Mencius to Mao – and Now | Dr. Elizabeth Perry, Harvard University |
| 2005 | The Future of Asian Americans in the U.S. | Senator Paul Shin, Washington State Senate |
| 2004 | Art of the Goryeo Period | Dr. KumJa Paik Kim, Curator of Korean Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco |
| 2003 | The Centennial of Korean Immigration to the United States (1903-2003) | Dr. Wayne Patterson, St. Norbert College |
| 2002 | Changes in the Lifestyles of Korean Women as an Index of Social Progress | Dr. In-Ho Lee, President of the Korea Foundation |
| 2001 | Politics and Nation in Korean Popular Culture | Dr. Michael Robinson, Indiana University |
| 2000 | Gods, Shamans and the IMF: Contemporary Encounters with the Korean Spirit World | Dr. Laurel Kendall, Curator of the Asian Ethnographic Collections for the American Museum of Natural History |
| 1999 | From Confucianism to Christianity: the Transformation of Korean Religion | Dr. Donald Baker, University of British COlumbia |
| 1998 | Korean Studies: The Gulf between the American View and the Korean View | Dr. Mark Peterson, Brigham Young University |