This collection of records document the institutional history of the Center for US-China Arts Exchange, established in 1978. Under the directorship of professor and renowned composer Chou Wen-chung, the Center is a not-for-profit organization that connected arts professionals from the US and China through a spectrum of curated programs, conferences, and research trips. Bulk dated between 1977 and 2003, materials in this collection consist of correspondence, reports, photographs, printed materials, as well as audiovisual items. The collection serves as important material evidence that help to tell the recent history of cultural communications among individuals and organizations across the Pacific.

The collection was originally housed in several filing cabinets in and near Miwa Kai's office space in Kent Hall, which she shared with Wm. Theodore de Bary. Kai kept well-organized files, and most of her original file names have been retained. In addition to the papers she collected and created through the course of her work and personal life, she also inherited papers created by Howard P. Linton and Ryusaku Tsunoda, which she incorporated into her own files and enhanced with supplementary material and her own hand-written notes.

The collection consists of published works and writings, including drafts, articles and reprints, drafts for "Halls of the Ancestors", field notes and research, lectures, papers presented and miscellaneous reports as well as correspondence and reports from his travels.

The Tharchin Collection consists primarily of correspondence, publications and drafts, photographs, daybooks and financial accounts, and autobiographical materials. The geographic coverage of the collection spans both sides of the Himalayas, in particular, the activities of intellectuals, officials, missionaries, and other historical figures in India, Sikkim, and Tibet.

This collection of records document the professional and personal life of Wm. Theodore de Bary (1919-2017), the renowned scholar, educator, and university administrator who studied and served over decades at Columbia University. Types of files in this collection range from administrative files, correspondences, manuscripts, references, photographs, and audio-visual materials. The available materials showcase the different roles that de Bary had held in researching and scholarship-building, teaching, and administering.