Gifts/Grants

$1.2 million from Kachigian family trust establishes lectureship in Armenian studies

The UCLA Division of Humanities has received a $1.2 million bequest from the estate of siblings George and Alice Kachigian to support the Armenian studies program in the department of Near Eastern languages and cultures. As part of the gift, the department created the Kachigian Family Lectureship in Armenian Language and Culture. The inaugural holder of the lectureship will be Hagop Kouloujian, a UCLA scholar and instructor who specializes in Western Armenian, a language that since the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century has been spoken almost exclusively by people in the diaspora. Kouloujian was instrumental in having it…

Clark Library receives centuries-old rare books from longtime donor

A new donation of 40 historical texts from Paul Chrzanowski further bolsters an already remarkable collection of early English texts at UCLA’s William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. The newly added items — including a 17th-century parchment with the seal of Queen Elizabeth I and a handwritten manuscript describing precious metals and gems — have been prepared for use by scholars as part of the library’s Paul Chrzanowski Collection. “This donation reflects the broader interests and learning needs of English readers at the time,” Chrzanowski said. A physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, Chrzanowski began donating rare books…

Department of Asian Languages & Cultures receives $3.7 million in gift commitments

The UCLA Department of Asian Languages & Cultures has received $3.7 million in gift commitments from distinguished professor of Buddhist studies Robert E. Buswell Jr. and his wife, Christina Lee Buswell, a translator of Korean religious scriptures. The couple’s gift commitments created the Chinul Endowed Chair in Korean Buddhist Studies—the first permanent endowed chair in Korean Buddhism outside of Korea—and the Robert E. and Christina L. Buswell Fellowship in Buddhist Studies in support of graduate students in the department. The endowments will be funded as a blended gift with a portion paid over five years and the balance as a…

Gift to UCLA’S Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies bolsters field of Moroccan Jewish studies

The UCLA Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies has received a pledge of $100,000 from its Moroccan academic partner, the Université Internationale de Rabat (UIR) to support Arabic translation projects pertaining to Moroccan Jewish studies. Moroccan Jewish studies is an emerging field that focuses on the history of Sephardic Jewish communities in Morocco. Following the final expulsion of Jews in 1492 and Moriscos (converted Muslims) in 1609 from the Iberian Peninsula, many went on to establish Sephardic communities in North Africa and the Ottoman Empire. Although there is considerable academic literature and studies about Sephardic communities of the Ottoman…

Department of Art History establishes Diane C. Brouillette Graduate Fellowship

The UCLA Department of Art History has established the Diane C. Brouillette Graduate Fellowship in Art History, thanks to a $250,000 tribute gift in memory of the late UCLA alumna Diane Brouillette. The gift qualified for an additional $125,000 in matching funds from the UCLA Humanities Centennial Matching Gift Fund. The fellowship will help fund tuition, travel costs and research awards for Ph.D. students of French Medieval Art and Architecture, and reflects Diane’s lifelong passions for medieval art history and French culture. Department Chair Miwon Kwon, said, “The Brouillette Fellowship will leave a lasting legacy by providing crucial support for…