Study Abroad: Japanese billionaire donates $31 million to UCLA humanities research

The donation of $31 million to UCLA humanities research is the biggest gift in the program's history.

A billionaire businessman from Japan - Tadashi Yanai has donated $31 million to the UCLA College Division of Humanities. It is the biggest gift to the UCLA College Division of Humanities to date. Tadashi Yanai is the chair, CEO and president of Fast Retailing and the founder of the Uniqlo clothing brand. The donation will support the Globalizing Japanese Humanities which is an initiative created in 2014 at UCLA in alliance with Tokyo's Waseda University. In 2020, Yanai donated $25 million for this initiative.

The latest donation will help UCLA in promoting the study of language and culture, and Japanese literature.

"I am proud to support the study of Japanese humanities at UCLA and around the world because I believe in sharing and valuing the practices and artforms that shape our world. The humanities and arts make us who we are -- they enable us as humans to relate to and care for one another. I look forward to seeing how Japan Past & Present will expand and enrich this critical work," Yanai said in a statement.

Interim UCLA Chancellor Darnell Hunt said, "Yanai's gift will substantially advance the study of Japanese humanities, solidify UCLA's position as a leading center for such scholarship and contribute greatly to our global reach and impact."

"Thanks to Mr. Yanai's generosity, UCLA will continue to grow as a nexus for scholars across the world to come together to explore and exchange ideas, transcending political, linguistic and cultural boundaries," Hunt said.

Two UCLA students possibly drugged, says police

After the allegation by two UCLA students that they were drugged at different parties, the authorities continued to probe the matter. According to the University of California Police Department, one of the victims who attended three parties on October 3 developed symptoms that may not be related to alcohol. Also, a second victim attended a party on October 5 and later developed symptoms which were not from marijuana or alcohol, said the police.

Both victims received emergency treatments for their symptoms in the emergency room.

"The case was classified as off campus aggravated assault use of drugs and the locations were listed as the 500 block and the 600 block of Gayley Avenue," said the UCLA police.

UCLA interim chancellor knows university from the ground up

Darnell Hunt became the university's interim chancellor on August 1. During the introductory message to the Bruin community, he said, "The power and promise of UCLA a place where people make and remake themselves, where we give birth to ideas and nurture dreams, where we create opportunities and expand horizons."

"I came to Los Angeles to do my doctoral work at UCLA because of its proximity to the media and entertainment industries. And that was fortuitous because almost all of my work since then has touched the city in some fashion,” added Hunt.

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