A new director has been appointed to head Harvard’s Chinese Language Program—to the surprise of many members of the program.

On May 1, members of the Chinese Language Program received an e-mail from East Asian Languages and Civilizations Department (EALC) Chair Peter K. Bol informing them that Baozhang He—who had served as the program’s director for five years—was no longer in charge of the program and announcing the appointment of an acting director, Preceptor Aimin Li.

A few weeks later, He resigned from the Faculty.

Faculty in EALC questioned He’s abrupt departure from the program and the Faculty.

“It was a dramatic change. We don’t have a reason why,” said Yu Feng, a Chinese language drill instructor.

Bol said that “He had his own reasons for withdrawing” but would not specify further.

Former director He would not comment on the reason for his departure.

Bol said the nature of language programs lends itself to internal confusion and conflict. “Tensions do appear in language programs,” Bol said. “You’ve got to constantly work with other people, and there’s incredible pressure and demands on the teachers.”

—Staff writer Sarah M. Seltzer can be reached at sseltzer@fas.harvard.edu.