Asia Pacific Center receives $1 million to strengthen Taiwan Studies Program

UCLA International Institute, July 22, 2019 — The UCLA Asia Pacific Center has received $1 million from the J. Yang and Family Foundation. The funds will bolster UCLA’s Taiwan Studies Program and create the J. Yang Scholarship program, which will support students at UCLA who previously attended Taiwan high schools and universities.

Beginning in 2020 and continuing through 2025, scholarships will be presented to incoming and returning undergraduate and graduate students in the UCLA College and UCLA professional schools. The awards will cover one to three years of nonresident tuition in addition to a stipend for living expenses.

“As an immigrant from Taiwan and a father of three UCLA alumni, I am delighted to create a scholarship that will support stellar young scholars from Taiwan who are pursuing an education at UCLA,” said Jackson Yang, the foundation’s president and CEO.

A previous $1 million gift from the foundation, in 2018, created two endowments at the Taiwan Studies Program.
In addition to the scholarships, the funds will support undergraduate summer research fellowships, faculty research and curriculum development, scholarly conferences, community outreach programs, workshops and roundtables featuring visiting scholars and UCLA faculty doing research on or in Taiwan.

“This generous grant will greatly strengthen our Taiwan Studies Program,” said Min Zhou, director of the Asia Pacific Center and the Walter and Shirley Wang Professor of U.S.–China Relations and Communications. “I am deeply grateful to Jackson and Julie Yang and their family for their unstinting support for U.S.–Taiwanese scholarly exchange and research.”

The Taiwan Studies Program was founded in 2014 with initial funding from the Taiwan Ministry of Education and has steadily expanded to serve as a resource center for UCLA faculty and students and the Los Angeles community.

“I commend Mr. Yang and his family for their deep commitment to higher education,” said Cindy Fan, UCLA vice provost for international studies and global engagement. “In addition to helping bring international students from diverse backgrounds to UCLA, they are enabling the Asia Pacific Center to build a top-notch program in Taiwan studies.”

The J. Yang and Family Foundation is a private 501(c) 3 charitable organization based in Torrance, California. Yang is the owner of Torrance-based Seville Classics, a manufacturer of home organization and storage products, and chairman of the board of First General Bank in Rowland Heights, California. He is a former president of the Taiwanese-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Los Angeles and a former president of the World Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce. Jackson and Julie Yang are active philanthropists, supporting organizations in the Los Angeles region and beyond.

The gift is part of the Centennial Campaign for UCLA, which is scheduled to conclude in December 2019 during UCLA’s 100th anniversary year.