Reardon-Anderson first visited and developed an interest in
China in 1966, when he taught
English in
Hong Kong through the Williams in Hong Kong program. He also served as the director of the Committee on Scholarly Communication with the People's Republic of China of the
National Academies from 1990 to 1992, in which he oversaw a joint project between Western and Chinese scientists on the
grassland ecosystem in China. In 2005, Reardon-Anderson became the founding dean of Georgetown's
branch campus in Qatar, serving from 2005 to 2009 and subsequently returning in 2016. During his tenure as dean, he led the joint efforts with the
Qatar Foundation to protect migrant worker safety and welfare. He was also the interim Dean of the School of Foreign Service from 2013 to 2015. Following his death, the
School of Foreign Service in Qatar, where Reardon-Anderson served as the founding chair, named
its library after him. Additionally, Georgetown University created the James Reardon-Anderson Medal, which is awarded to the graduating student with the strongest commitment to Reardon-Anderson's signature course,
Map of the Modern World. The inaugural recipient was Kiernan Christ, a long-time teaching assistant for the Map course. == Personal life ==