Dear Alumni and Friends,

I am very pleased to announce that Professor Gilbert Gee in the Department of Community Health Sciences (CHS) at the Fielding School of Public Health and a member of the AASC Faculty Advisory Committee is the 2018-19 recipient of the C. Doris and Toshio Hoshide Distinguished Teaching Prize in Asian American Studies at UCLA.

Professor Gee received his bachelor degree in neuroscience from Oberlin College, his doctorate in Health Policy and Management from the Johns Hopkins University, and post-doctoral training in sociology from Indiana University. His research focuses on the social determinants of health inequities of racial, ethnic, and immigrant minority populations using a multi-level and life course perspective. A primary line of his research focuses on conceptualizing and measuring racism discrimination, and in understanding how discrimination may be related to illness. He has also published more than a hundred peer-reviewed articles and book chapters broadly on the topics of stress, neighborhoods, immigration, environmental exposures, occupational health, and on Asian American populations.

Professor Gee has greatly contributed to the fields of Asian American Studies and Public Health. His research has been honored with a group Merit Award from the National Institutes of Health for the development of multicultural measures of discrimination for health surveys. In addition, he received two Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards from the Environmental Protection Agency for development of the Stress-Exposure-Disease Framework. Dr. Gee shared the Delta Omega Award for Innovative Public Health Curriculum with student leaders from the CHS Grads for Racial Justice: Amelia Fay-Berquist, Elida Ledesma, Ashley Lewis, Sarah Jane Smith, and Marisol Torres.

Dr. Gee was the past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. He has also been a guest editor for Child Development, Asian American and Pacific Islander Nexus Journal published by the Asian American Studies Center's Press, and the Asian American Journal of Psychology.

Students that nominated Dr. Gee described how they benefitted tremendously from his generous mentorship and how he is an inspirational teacher deserving of the Hoshide Award. One student wrote how courses such as the Influence of the Social and Physical Environment on Racial Health Disparities and Writing for Publication in Public Health fundamentally changed the way she thought and engaged with research. No other professor had ever taken the time to help her and her classmates deconstruct the parts of a journal, and challenge them to engage with the work critically. Through his courses, Dr. Gee taught a wealth of writing techniques. "I no longer felt inadequate in responding to reviewer comments. Dr. Gee played a central role in demystifying the research process, and gave me a voice to be a part of a world that I was never meant to be a part of, making research accessible through his teaching and mentorship," said one student.

Professor Gee best exemplifies his dedication to teaching through the mentorship of his students, in particular via his weekly lab sessions where students discuss and workshop different projects, job talks, and other aspects of professional development. "Through this weekly group, he challenges and pushes his advisees to be better thinkers and writers but more importantly, he fosters a collegial community of scholars and friends. The weekly writing group is not just a weekly writing group. It is a social support group. Some might even call it a second family," said a student. Moreover, a student illustrated how Dr. Gee fostered a "lab family" where topics discussed range from oppression, colonialism, and racism, to the Avengers, advice, and all issues related to food. She commented, "This space is where I have felt the most growth as a doctoral student." Another student expressed, "Dr. Gee modeled for us how to provide respectful and helpful critiques. Rather than telling us what we have done wrong, he leads us to the right conclusions through discerning questions and thoughtful exercises."

We commend Professor Gee for his passion to mentor the next generation of engaged scholars, his excellence in teaching, and dedication to his students. As one student expressed, "He is a mentor in every sense of the word. His honesty about academia, drive to push students to be their best selves and relentless advocacy make him a phenomenal mentor." "Education and mentorship for Dr. Gee is not about pushing 'facts' or creating more hierarchies, it is about learning to be more human, utilizing the tools of research and education to develop greater compassion and care for one another," said another student.

The late C. Doris Hoshide, Class of 1934, of Rockville, MD established the teaching prize to recognize an outstanding professor in Asian American Studies. She was a longtime supporter of Asian American Studies at her alma mater. The annual Hoshide Prize includes a one thousand dollar award.

Please join me in sincerely congratulating Professor Gilbert Gee!

Best wishes,
Karen Umemoto, AASC Director