This past year the Department of Asian Languages and Literature was the beneficiary of an act of extraordinary generosity on the part of two caring members of Seattle’s Japanese American community. Takashi and Lili Hori have established an endowment in the Department in support of Japanese language and literature. The explicit purpose of the Lili and Takashi Hori Endowment for Japanese Language and Literature is to enhance the ability of the Department to “recognize and reward faculty members in the Japanese Program for outstanding academic achievement or exemplary work with students.”
The funds generated by this endowment will support the research, conference participation, travel, and academic development of faculty members in Japanese language and literature. Prof. Ted Mack, coordinator of the Japanese program, has noted, "This is really an exceptional gift that Mr. and Mrs. Hori have given to the Department. Because of cutbacks in travel support and the like, it has become very difficult for faculty in Japanese to get to training workshops and academic conferences. This new endowment will help enormously in supporting the careers of our faculty in Japanese." AL&L owes a debt of gratitude to the Horis for their thoughtfulness and generosity in establishing this endowment, which can only serve to enhance the effectiveness and productivity of AL&L’s already strong program in Japanese.
Takashi Hori graduated from the University of Washington in 1940 with a degree in business. The Horis' daughter, Susan, and son, Robert, are also UW alumni.