Our Team

Larry Au

Academic Coordinator AY 2025-2026

Larry Au is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at The City College of New York (CUNY). His research explores the politics of expertise in science, technology, and medicine, as well as patient experiences with chronic and complex conditions. His book, Dreams of Global Science: The Transnational Politics of Chinese Biomedical Innovation (forthcoming with Columbia University Press), examines how geopolitics shapes science in China.

Juan Acevedo

Program Coordinator

Juan Acevedo is a PhD candidate in political science at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), and serves as Program Coordinator for the China at CUNY initiative. He holds a master’s degree in international relations from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Wuhan, China.

As part of the team that designed the China at CUNY program, Juan took the lead in structuring the graduate fellowships to meet the diverse academic and professional needs of CUNY graduate students interested in incorporating China-related content into their teaching and research. Since the program’s launch, he has facilitated group meetings, curated resources, and advised fellows on developing course materials and pedagogical strategies tailored to CUNY’s classrooms.

Ke Li

Board Member

Ke Li is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the John Jay College, part of the City University of New York. Her research focuses on law and society, power and inequality, gender relationships and politics in non-democratic contexts. After receiving a joint Ph.D. in sociology and criminal justice at Indiana University, Bloomington, Li published journal articles as well as an award-winning book, Marriage Unbound: State Law, Power, and Inequality in Contemporary China (Stanford University Press 2022).

Jennifer Holdaway

Consultant

Jennifer Holdaway is an affiliated fellow of the International Institute of Asian Studies of the University of Leiden and former China Representative of the Social Science Research Council. She is an alumna of the CUNY Graduate Center and a consultant to the CUNY China Initiative.

Phil Kasinitz

Board Member

Presidential Professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center

John Torpey

Project Director

John Torpey is Presidential Professor of Sociology and History at the Graduate Center, CUNY and director of the Ralph Bunche Institute

Van Tran

Board Member

Van Tran is Professor of Sociology at the Graduate Center, CUNY.