Our Philosophy
Our Philosophy
The Primary Purpose of the Academy is to promote intercultural understanding. Accordingly, it promotes and encourages research, theory, and practice in the field of intercultural relations. The Academy also strives to disseminate to the public information regarding intercultural relations and it encourages interchanges between people with an interest in intercultural relations. The ultimate goal of the Academy is to promote world peace and prosperity through applications of academic principles and research findings to the betterment of human realities.
In furtherance of the goals, the Academy is an explicitly interdisciplinary forum which promotes and facilitates intercultural research in the areas of Psychology, Sociology, Communication, Education, Anthropology, Management, Political Science, and other areas of specialization in the social sciences and practice. It is our mission to encourage the highest quality empirical research and practice aimed at understanding the ways in which cultures interact and the results, for good or ill, of the sequae of those interactions. It is also our belief that the research done by our members can help to reduce the worst consequences of certain types of intercultural interactions that have bedeviled humankind from the beginning of recorded time.
We invite all serious scholars of intercultural relations to join with us in this important enterprise--for we can have no greater purpose as scientists than reducing and, hopefully, eliminating intercultural conflict at all levels from the individual and groups to whole societies and nations.
Our History
Our History
The Beginning of the Academy
A group of about a dozen distinguished researchers from a number of fields realized that while there was intercultural research going on in a number of disciplines, those studies rarely, if ever, crossed academic lines. Hence, they felt that while their research could benefit from other points-of-view, there was no venue where such views and approaches could be appreciated and, then, incorporated in their own work. Through the joint efforts and support of the Intercultural Communication Institute and the International Journal of Intercultural Relations, the founding group met in Portland, Oregon in the Summer of 1997.
The group (called the “Organizing Committee,” see the listing below) set about creating a viable organization that would provide a venue for senior scholars to meet and exchange ideas as well provide a mechanism to encourage students and young scholars to enter the field. From the initial 10 members, the Academy has grown to close to well over 200 Fellows, Members, and Students scattered in every continent around the world. Communication between members occurs through email, the pages of the Academy’s official journal, The International Journal of Intercultural Relations, biennial conferences, books, and other virtual modes of communications.
The Organizing Committee consisted of researchers (Stella Ting-Toomey, Rosita Albert, Dharm Bhawuk, Dan Landis, Ken Cushner, Ed Dunbar, Gary Fontaine) as well as practitioners (Michael Paige, George Renwick, Fred Casmir, Janet Bennett, Milton Bennett, Bruce LaBrack, Peggy Pusch). They came from the disciplines of Psychology (Landis, Dunbar), Education (Cushner, Paige, Pusch), Communication (Ting-Toomey, Albert, J. Bennett, M. Bennett, Casmir, Fontaine), Anthropology (LaBrack) and Management (Bhawuk). Most had reached across disciplinary lines to inform their thinking and research.
Members of the Academy, as mentioned above, are located on all the continents but, more important, the original aim of the Academy to be interdisciplinary has been realized by the observation that they come from every conceivably relevant discipline. The pages of IJIR and the presentations at the biennial conferences range far and wide across the disciplinary landscape. In truth, we are creating a new discipline that has tremendous potential to make a better world.
Officers
Officers (2017-2019) of the Academy
President
David Sam, University of Bergen, Norway
Past-President
Nan Sussman, College of Staten Island and Graduate Center, City University of New York, USA
President-Elect
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Shanghai International Studies University, PRC
Secretary
Ripley Smith, Bethel University, USA
Treasurer and Executive Director
Dan Landis, University of Hawaii, USA
Editor in Chief, IJIR
Dina Birman, University of Miami, USA
Board Members of the Academy
2015-2019:
Rosita Albert, University of Minnesota, USA
Ron Fischer, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Jane Jackson, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Jennifer Mahon, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
2017-2021
Adam Komisarof, Keio University, Japan
Janet Bennett, The Intecultural Communication Institute
Justine Dandy, Edith Cowan University, Australia
Kelly McKay-Semmler, University of South Dakota
Permanent Member of the Board
Dan Landis, University of Hawaii, USA
Standing Committee Chairs
Fellows Day
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Keio University, Japan
Dharm Bhawuk, University of Hawaii, USA
Lily Arasarathnam-Smith,
Lifetime Achievement Award
Dharm Bhawuk, University of Hawaii, USA
John W Berry
Harry Triandis
Dan Landis, University of Hawaii, USA
Early Career Award Committee
Ron Fischer, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Janet Bennett, The Intecultural Communication Institute
Shuang Liu
William B. Gudykunst Outstanding Book Award
Rosita Albert, University of Minnesota, USA
Jane Jaskson
Cookie Stephan
The Rae and Dr. Dan Landis Outstanding Dissertation Award
Katja Hanke, GESIS-Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany
Chan-Hoon Leoug (co-chair)
Jonas R Kunst
Justine Dandy, Edith Cowan University, Australia
Conference Selection Committee
Ken Cushner, Kent State University, USA
Dharm Bhawuk, University of Hawaii, USA
Jennifer Mahon, University of Nevada, Reno, USA
Scientific Committee
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (chair), Shanghai International Studies University, PRC
Jennifer Mahon (co-chair), University of Nevada, Reno, USA
Ken Cushner, Kent State University, USA
David Sam, University of Bergen, Norway
Katja Hanke, GESIS-Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany
Committee on Conference Programs
Ken Cushner, Kent State University, USA
Publications and Media Committee
Dina Birman, University of Miami, USA
Membership Committee
Adam Komisarof, Keio University, Japan
Saba Safdar, University of Guelph in Guelph, Canada
Justine Dandy, Edith Cowan University, Australia
Stefan Kammhuber (co-chair).
Mike Tucker
PhD Workshop Ad-hoc Committee
Katja Hanke (chair), GESIS-Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Mannheim, Germany
Kelly McKay-Semmler (co-chair), University of South Dakota
Jonas R Kunst,
Alexander English
Webmasters
N. Anand Chandrasekar, Center for Creative Leadership (Singapore) and University of Hawaii at Manoa (USA)
Ripley Smith, Bethel University, USA
Where available, links to personal websites or emails of an Officer, Member of the Board, or a Committee Chair are provided.
By-Laws
The By-Laws of the Academy sets the rules by which the Academy is governed. You may download copies of the By-Laws in Acrobat format by clicking on the link below.
Download By- Laws
