The Department of Asian Languages and Literature is pleased to announce the newly created George Takahashi Endowed Fellowship in Japanese Studies. Mr. Takahashi’s generous donation of $500,000 will aid graduate students in the Japanese language and literature program for many years to come.
For Mr. Takahashi, appreciation for Japanese language teaching is deeply personal. He taught Japanese for many years at the University of California, Los Angeles, and is passionate about the importance of language learning and higher education. As a young man, he put himself through both undergraduate and graduate school. Even after graduating, he continued to innovate and think outside the box through his many inventions (including a Shiatsu massage board). He has also written books on new ways of thinking about teaching Japanese and learning English grammar.
Molly Purrington, Director of Advancement for the Humanities at the University of Washington, noted that Mr. Takahashi cares deeply about the value of education. “When Mr. Takahashi was a young man, his relatives discouraged him from attending college,” Ms. Purrington said. “Mr. Takahashi strongly disagreed with that. His donation comes from a place of warmth and caring about the future of MA and PhD graduate students.”
We are grateful to Mr. Takahashi for his forward-thinking commitment to our students.