$1 MILLION GIFT WILL ENHANCE ENGLISH LITERATURE PROGRAM AND  TAIWAN RESOURCE CENTER

Taiwanese businessman Albert Wang and his family have committed $1 million to enhance The George Washington University's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences' English literature program and make permanent a special collection housed at Gelman Library focused specifically on the study of Taiwan.

"Education is an important foundation for a successful and rewarding life," said Wang, whose father was a high school teacher in Taiwan. "It is an investment that I am privileged to make."

Wang, whose two daughters currently attend GW, is the founder of Ever Rite Corporation, a manufacturer of women's and children's shoes for the American, European, and Asian markets.

The Wang Endowed Fund in English Literature and Literary Studies will support an annual series of lectures by prominent authors and scholars of English literature and literary studies. The Wang Visiting Professorship in Contemporary English Literature will fund a visiting professorship in contemporary English literature.

The Wang Taiwan Resource Center Endowed Fund will support GW's Taiwan Resource Center, which was founded in 2004. This new investment will create a variety of initiatives including both curatorial work and expansion of the special collection.

For more information, read the GW press release.

 

Square 54 from Eye Street

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON SQUARE 54

Construction has begun on Square 54, at 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, adjacent to the Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro!  (View photos from the Square 54 Ground Breaking). Pictured at right is a rendering of the design for the Eye Street side of the project between 22nd and 23rd Streets. For weekly updates on construction activities and other campus developments information, visit the GW Neighborhood website.

 

Mike Freedman will lead the new GW Global Media Institute

GW ESTABLISHES GLOBAL MEDIA INSTITUTE

GW President Steven Knapp has tapped Vice President for Communications Michael Freedman to lead the university’s new Global Media Institute. Freedman, the multi-award winning former general manager of CBS Radio Network News and managing editor for the Broadcast Division of United Press International, has been named executive director of the institute and a professor of media and public affairs.

The George Washington University Global Media Institute will serve as the focal point for research on journalism and the media in the 21st century, as well as GW's broadcast productions and partnerships and new media endeavors. Through GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs, the institute also will offer fellowships and professional development, special seminars and symposia for GW students and faculty, and student internship and enrichment opportunities in the United States and abroad.

“By launching this important new institute, GW will be in a position to study the transformation currently underway across the worlds of print and broadcast media,” said Knapp. “The institute will also forge new partnerships for media programming and combine ongoing broadcast projects within a single entity. I can think of no better person than Mike Freedman, given his rich background both in broadcast journalism and in higher education, to lead this effort.”

For more information, read the GW press release.