Ways to Give to UCLA Humanities
A Word from Alexandra Minna Stern, Dean of Humanities
As the UCLA College of Letters and Science — the academic heart of campus — begins its second century, I am energized by the ways in which the humanities leads us to come together in thought-provoking dialogue, teach and celebrate language, build understanding and empathy, and power critical and interdisciplinary thinking.
To these ends, some of my key priorities are:
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Bolstering our already outstanding programs in global languages, one of UCLA’s signature strengths, and ensuring all students are able to take courses in a wide range of languages.
Our students engage with language classes not only to fulfill their undergraduate language requirements, but also to enrich understanding, hone skills as heritage speakers and gain language proficiency that can power their research. The Division of Humanities is committed to continuing to serve as the hub for language teaching and learning at UCLA — including for some of the least-commonly taught languages.
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Ensuring the division is well-positioned to continue recruiting and retaining the brightest graduate students.
Our graduate students are essential to our academic community, maintaining a world-class education for undergraduates and helping faculty propel their research.
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Working to strengthen programs in novel interdisciplinary fields such as digital and health humanities.
The No. 1 minor in the UCLA College, Digital Humanities combines the traditional strengths of a liberal arts education with a rich understanding of the tools, methods and theoretical issues central to this emerging field. Student interest in Health Humanities is also high, leading to the creation of a minor that will launch in fall 2026. This minor will not only help students understand the complexities of what it means to navigate the world in a human body, but also to use that knowledge to create tangible, positive impacts for individuals and communities.
Support generations of Bruins to come
When you make a gift to the Division of Humanities, whether during your lifetime or in your estate plan, you make a sustained investment in world-class education with humanity and heart at the center. No matter how you choose to give, your philanthropy helps you build a powerful personal legacy while supporting humanities scholars and scholarship.
You may choose from a variety of flexible gift arrangements and assets to accomplish your philanthropic, financial and tax goals for yourself, your heirs and other loved ones. Whether you are a Bruin by degree, taught or worked at UCLA, have a family member who attended or simply have an affinity for the vibrant, tight-knit Bruin community, a gift to the Division of Humanities can facilitate your transformational impact on our undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and broader humanities community, both now and in the future.
Giving options to make your impact include:
Other gift types include appreciated securities, corporate matching gifts, gifts from donor advised funds and pledges. To learn more about these ways to give or discuss any of the options above, please contact:
Donor Spotlights
Explore how uCLA Humanities fits into your story.
Discover how some of our enthusiastic and dedicated donors have integrated the humanities into their life stories and envisioned it as part of their lasting legacies.
“Planned giving is providing us with exciting opportunities to help shape the future of the Humanities Division. We appreciate the energy and commitment of leadership and staff at both division and department levels and enjoy working as a team toward common purpose. Our work together gives us energy and adds value to our lives.
We believe that our support will strengthen the capacity of UCLA to provide students with a world-class academic program. It is deeply satisfying to us that our efforts to give back will help ensure that UCLA remains one of the nation’s top public universities! Go Bruins!”
Tom Bye M.A. ’72, Ph.D. ’76 and David Bohne
David Bohne (left) and Tom Bye have most recently given to establish the Thomas Bye and David Bohne Term Chair in Linguistics and the Thomas J. Bye Linguistics Laboratory Program. Their support aims to advance research within the department and bridge theoretical linguistics and practical problems of language use in everyday life.
“To have established 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, both in the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, is a dream fulfilled.
It is important to us that there be at least one university with a permanent faculty chair specifically devoted to Korean Buddhism in the United States. UCLA is the ideal place for this chair since the university has played such an important role in developing Korean and Buddhist studies as robust academic fields.
With this gift, we are proud to have permanently established the field of Korean Buddhist studies in the U.S. We are also very pleased to enable the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures to recruit and train the next generation of scholars in Buddhist studies through our graduate fellowship.”
Robert E. and Christina L. Buswell
Robert taught in Asian Languages and Cultures for 36 years and Christina also has a scholarly background rooted in Korean studies. The Chinul Endowed Chair is named in honor of Puril Pojo Chinul (1158-1210), the most influential monk in Korean Buddhist history.
