Yale Awards Richard U. Light Fellowships for Study in Asia

Twenty-one Yale students will study in East Asia this coming summer and next year, thanks to grants from the Richard U. Light Foundation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The grants have been awarded annually since 1996 to encourage the study of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese languages. Currently funded at approximately $300,000 per year, the fellowships cover all costs for a summer, a semester or a full academic year.

The following undergraduates will use their awards this summer:

– Elinor Chan, sophomore, for study in Beijing, China

– Jennifer Chang, junior, for study in Harbin, China

– Tina Chung, junior, for study in Beijing, China

– Christopher Conway, junior, for study in Harbin, China

– Alexander Han, freshman, for study in Seoul, Korea

– Alvin Lin, senior, for study in Ishikawa, Japan

– Dawn Ogawa, senior, for study in Ishikawa, Japan

– David Oh, sophomore, for study in Beijing and Harbin, China, both summer and fall semester

– Daphna Renan, sophomore, for study in Beijing, China

– Erik Robb, junior, for study in Seoul, Korea

– Ramsi Woodcock, junior, for study in Beijing, China.

The following undergraduates will begin their fellowships next fall for the 1998-99 academic year:

– Yoshiko Inoue, sophomore, for study in Beijing, China (fall semester only)

– Joseph Kuo, senior, for study in Taipei, Taiwan

– Doris Liang, sophomore, for study in Beijing, China

– Betsy Tao, senior, for study in Taipei, Taiwan

– Matthew Thompson, senior, Yokohama, Japan

– Karen Westen, sophomore, for study in Kyoto, Japan.

The following graduate and professional students have been awarded R.U. Light fellowships:

– Julius Buchanan – J.D. 1998, for study in Taipei, Taiwan, for the 1998-99 academic year

– Vincent Chen – M.A. in East Asian Studies, 1998, for study in Yokohama, Japan, for the 1998-99 academic year

– Charlene Chu – M.P.P.M. and M.A. in International Relations, anticipated 2000, for study in Beijing, China for the summer

– Geoffrey Cunnar – Ph.D. in anthropology, anticipated 2002, for study in Beijing, China for the summer and Shandong province, China, for the fall.

Richard Upjohn Light –1902-94 – was a pioneer neurosurgeon and aviator, an avid cinematographer and former president of the American Geographical Society. He earned an undergraduate degree from Yale in 1924 and an M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1928. From 1937 to 1968 he was a director of the Upjohn Company, the pharmaceuticals firm founded by his grandfather, W.E. Upjohn. Dr. Light’s connection with Yale did not end with his graduation. He served as director of the surgical laboratory at the School of Medicine, 1933-35. In 1947 he was a member of the committee that rebuilt the Yale-in-China program, now called the Yale China Association, and he served on the Yale University Council 1956-63.

The first R.U. Light Fellows were awarded in the fall of 1996 for study during spring semester 1997 in China.