The USCET Advisory Council convened in December to review the organization’s progress, engage in strategic planning, and discuss opportunities ahead in 2026.

A message from USCET's executive director:

As 2025 draws to a close, we want to thank you for your ongoing support and share some reflections on what has been an unprecedented and extraordinary year for USCET. 

At the start of this year, we faced an existential crisis with the loss of funding from the State Department. Today, thanks to support from old friends and new partners, we have not just survived but are reinvigorated in our work and our mission. 

In 2025, we engaged over 1,150 audience members across our various events. In April of this year, we launched China Connections, our new DC-based program series, which welcomed new audiences on both sides of the Pacific. We have also reengaged our longstanding community of academic institution partners through the 18th Asian Studies Network conference, the first session of which we held online earlier this month. We extended our geographic reach by launching programming in New York City with our Asian American Authors Series. We built partnerships with over 15 organizations through co-organized events, and a USCET-sponsored Expert Working Group just returned from travel to China where we explored new possibilities for our mission in supporting U.S. academic research and fieldwork in China. Two new additions to our team, Managing Director Ryan McElveen and Program Associate Rebecca Jin, and three cohorts of deeply motivated interns, have been instrumental in making this work a success. 

While 2025 has certainly been busy, we look ahead to 2026 with renewed commitment. As the conditions for educational exchange remain challenging, our work to facilitate understanding, support students and scholars, and maintain connections between our two countries is under pressure. As you consider your year-end giving, we hope you will include USCET in your plans. Your support will help us continue this momentum and ensure we can sustain this work in the year ahead. 

From all of us at USCET, we wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy New Year. Thank you for being part of our community, and we look forward to seeing you online or in-person in 2026.

Best,

Rosie Levine



Announcements



USCET welcomes new Advisory Council Member Ted Dean

We are pleased to welcome Ted Dean to the USCET Advisory Council. Ted is a partner at DGA–Albright Stonebridge Group, where he co-leads the firm’s China practice.

Program highlights

The USCET delegation meets with U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue.

Expert Working Group: “Investing in Deeper American Knowledge about China

In early December, a USCET delegation led by Working Group leaders David M. Lampton, Madelyn Ross, and Rosie Levine traveled to China to explore new areas of collaboration and identify next steps to strengthen pathways for fieldwork and in-country study for Americans.