Helen and Morgan Chu Endowed Director's Chair

Helen and Morgan ChuUCLA alumni Morgan and Helen Chu have pledged $2 million to establish The Helen and Morgan Chu Endowed Director's Chair of the Asian American Studies Center.

 

This gift, the largest on record for ethnic studies at UCLA, will endow the Center directorship and provide funding towards the Center's research initiatives, programs, and areas of greatest need. The generosity of the Chus is a testament to their commitment that dates back to their days as students when they helped found the Center.

 

"We are honored to continue our support of the Asian American Studies Center," commented Helen and Morgan Chu, "and hope that our gift will build upon the excellence of ethnic studies at UCLA and further advance the impact of research and activities to the benefit of our society and world."

 

The Helen and Morgan Chu Endowed Director's Chair of the Asian American Studies Center is the third major gift from the Chus, extending their support, which includes an undergraduate student prize and the Morgan and Helen Chu Endowed Chair in Asian American Studies, a term chair currently occupied by Professor Robert Teranishi in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.

 

"The visionary philanthropy of Helen and Morgan Chu has been and continues to be foundational for the Center and for ethnic studies at UCLA," said Vice Provost David K. Yoo. "We are immensely grateful that this current gift builds on decades of their support that will help us for many years to come."

 

A leading intellectual property attorney, Morgan Chu is a recipient of the UCLA Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the university. He received a B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from UCLA, a M.S.L. from Yale, and a J.D. from Harvard. He has been named one of the "Top Ten Trial Lawyers" in the nation. Helen Chu served for many years as an elementary school teacher and, with her husband, has been involved in numerous philanthropic endeavors.

 

The Asian American Studies Center, established in 1969, is one of four ethnic studies centers at UCLA that are housed in the Institute of American Cultures. As an organized research unit of the University of California, the Asian American Studies Center has nearly 60 faculty affiliates from across the entire university engaged in local, national, and international research programs that involve students and community-based partners. The latest Chu gift joins eleven other distinguished endowed professorships and endowed research programs at the Center.