Faculty/Department

UCLA receives $25 million from Uniqlo founder for Japanese literature and culture studies

UCLA has received a $25 million gift from Tadashi Yanai, the chair, president and CEO of Japan-based Fast Retailing and founder of clothing company Uniqlo. The funds will endow the Tadashi Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities, which will bolster UCLA’s status as a leading center for the study of Japanese literature, language and culture. The gift is the largest from an individual donor in the history of the UCLA College’s humanities division. A previous donation of $2.5 million from Yanai in 2014 created the Yanai Initiative, a collaboration between UCLA and Waseda University, one of Japan’s most prestigious universities….

UCLA French and Francophone professor named one of 2019’s 100 most influential Africans

Alain Mabanckou, literature professor in the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies, has been named one of 2019’s 100 most influential Africans by leading politics and culture magazine, “New African.” A renowned novelist, poet and professor, Mabanckou is recognized for his contributions to the global literary scene. Known for his novels and non-fiction writing depicting the experience of contemporary Africa and the African diaspora in France, he is among the most recognized writers of Franco African contemporary literature. His most recent novel, “Black Moses,” winner of the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award, follows the story of an orphan navigating his way through…

Linguistic Society of America elects Professor Nina Hyams as 2020 fellow

The Linguistic Society of America (LSA) has selected professor Nina Hyams to be a fellow for its 2020 cohort. Since the early ’80s, Hyams has been a member of the LSA, an organization dedicated to fostering a community of linguistic professionals. The LSA aims to further advance the study of linguistics and promote public education, outreach, and advocacy by supporting its members’ research efforts. LSA Fellows are nominated and chosen by committee voting based on the merit of their contributions to the field of linguistics. Outside of her teaching as a distinguished professor in the UCLA Department of Linguistics, Hyams…

International Association of Egyptologists elects director of Cotsen Institute as president

Willeke Wendrich, director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, has been elected to serve as President of the International Association of Egyptologists (IAE) for the next four years. The IAE is a global organization of scholars and non-scholars alike who contribute to the field and study of Egyptology. Dr. Chris Naunton, the outgoing President, announced Wendrich as his successor at the 12th International Congress of Egyptologists (ICE), which met from Nov. 3–8 in Giza, Egypt. Held every four years, ICE is a unique opportunity for Egyptologists and others in the field from around the world to read and…

Theresa and Henry Biggs endow chair in Linguistics to honor Prof. Bruce Hayes

UCLA Department of Linguistics celebrated the appointment of professor Bruce Hayes to the newly established Theresa McShane Biggs and Henry P. Biggs Centennial Term Chair in Linguistics. The department held an installation ceremony and reception on October 30 in the California Nanosystems Institute. UCLA Dean of Humanities David Schaberg and Professor Patricia Keating, who is the current department chair, gave opening remarks. The Biggses endowed the new faculty chair, which was supplemented by the UCLA Centennial fundraising campaign. The Biggs Chair will fund both graduate and research support for Hayes. “It will be helpful to my individual area within the…

Teaching with teddy bears: Lecturer uses stuffed animals to engage classes

Every day, professors look for new ways to encourage active participation in their classes. Quyen Di Chuc Bui takes a unique approach. When teaching his introductory Vietnamese courses, the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures lecturer hands out stuffed animals to his students as a way of motivating and rewarding them for their work. After a Twitter video of his teaching method went viral with over 7.7 million views and counting, Chuc Bui found himself in the spotlight. In the viral Twitter video, Chuc Bui counts more than five stuffed animals that he plans to hand out to students…

UCLA professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Héctor Calderón, wins award for latest book

Héctor Calderón, a UCLA professor of Spanish American, Mexican, and Chicana/o literature and cultures, was awarded first place for Best Academic Themed Book at the 21st Annual International Latino Book Awards on Sept. 21. “The Aztlán Mexican Studies Reader, 1974­-2016,” (UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, 2018) which was edited and is introduced by Professor Calderón, is made up of a series of 16 essays that explore the connection and impact Chicana/o studies have on understanding the cultural and political history of Mexico. The essays, three of which were commissioned specifically for the reader, discuss topics ranging from Mexican arts…

Asian languages and cultures professor recognized as distinguished alumna

Shu-mei Shih, professor of Asian languages and cultures, has received a distinguished alumnae award from her alma mater, National Taiwan Normal University. Shih was recognized for her influential work in Sinophone studies. The award recognizes lifetime scholarly, artistic or professional achievement, as well as contribution to the university and to the society. At the same time, Shih was appointed an honorary chair professor in the department of Taiwan languages, literature and culture at National Taiwan Normal University for a term of two years. She will lead collaborative research activities with the UCLA-NTNU Taiwan Studies Initiative that she directs at UCLA’s…

Associate Professor of English and Chicana/o Studies Marissa Lopez receives a Chancellor’s Award for Community-Engaged Research

The inaugural Chancellor’s Award for Community-Engaged Research, which is supported by the Chancellor’s office and the UCLA Center for Community Learning, has allocated six $10,000 research grants to develop new undergraduate research courses.In each course, students will carry out research activities in partnership with local community organizations. The course will advance their professor’s research goals and also benefit the communities that the partners serve.The inaugural 2019-2020 cohort and the courses they will develop are: Maylei Blackwell, associate professor of Chicana and Chicano studies. In her course, Blackwell plans to use community archives and oral histories to map the Latin American indigenous…

Simone King, Korean Studies Major, Graduates From UCLA at 82

By: Megan Reusche Simone King graduated from UCLA in June 2019 at the age of 82 with a bachelor’s degree in Korean Studies. Achieving this life goal was no easy feat, and there are numerous life events and milestones that led Simone to become the individual she is today. After witnessing both World War II and the Korean War, running over 10 marathons and so much more, these life experiences enabled her to exhibit tremendous strength and use it as a life tool. “A lot of people don’t live through two wars, and this experience has given me the strength…