Penn Receives Momentous Gift to Support Korean Studies, Neurovascular Surgery, and the Wharton School

James Joo-Jin Kim

The University of Pennsylvania today announced a $25 million gift from James Joo-Jin Kim and Agnes Kim, and the James and Agnes Kim Family Foundation, supporting a range of initiatives at Penn. The largest portion of the multifaceted commitment will create the James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies at Penn Arts & Sciences.

The gift also creates the Kim Family Neurovascular Surgery Program at Penn Medicine and the Kim Korean Studies Fund at the Joseph H. Lauder Institute for Management & International Studies, with additional support for the Dean’s Discretionary Fund at the Wharton School.
 
“James Joo-Jin Kim is an unwavering friend of Penn and a true University citizen,” said Penn Interim President Wendell Pritchett. “I am thrilled to thank the Kim family for this momentous commitment, which exemplifies Jim’s legacy as an unparalleled champion of Korean studies at Penn while offering crucial support for the Wharton School and helping to build a premier program in the vital medical field of neurovascular surgery.”

“It is with great pride that our family gives this gift to the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine,” said James Kim. “As a young immigrant arriving to the United States from Korea, the University provided me with a world-class education while instilling in me an unwavering work ethic. The knowledge and character I gained at Penn helped to pave the road to my success, and I hope this gift helps to pave that road for others.”

Building on his longstanding support, James Joo-Jin Kim endowed the James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies at Penn Arts & Sciences in 2011, putting Penn in the top echelon of universities offering programs in Korean studies. This new commitment will establish an academic center that will provide long-term support for academic and community-focused activities.  

“The newly created James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies will advance the study of Korea and its expanding role in the world, and will elevate Korean Studies at Penn and cement its prominence with our academic peers and in the larger community,” said Steven J. Fluharty, Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences and Thomas S. Gates, Jr. Professor. “Through this generous gift, we are well positioned to support excellence among our current faculty, recruit top Korean studies scholars in the future, expand opportunities for students interested in the study of Korea, and make significant contributions to the field in perpetuity.”

Click here to view the full story.

 

Arts & Sciences News

1 / 2
Francesco Agostinelli Named Janice and Julian Bers Assistant Professor in the Social Sciences

Agostinelli is an empirical microeconomist and a leading scholar in labor economics and the economics of education.

View Article >
Paula Fomby Named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Chair in the Social Sciences

Fomby’s research focuses on children’s well-being and life chances and the way these are shaped by families and social institutions, with particular attention to economic and racialized inequalities.

View Article >
Hannah Feldman Named Katherine Stein Sachs, CW’69, and Keith L. Sachs, W’67, Associate Professor of History of Art

Feldman is a leading scholar of contemporary art.

View Article >
Dorothy Roberts Named 2024 MacArthur Fellow

Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology, was honored for “exposing racial inequities embedded in social service systems and uplifting the experiences of people caught up in them.”

View Article >
Jeffrey Kallberg Named Deputy Dean of Penn Arts & Sciences

In this new role, Kallberg will provide additional management of the daily operations of the Dean's office and will represent Dean Fluharty in an official capacity when necessary.

View Article >
Douglas Jerolmack Named Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Endowed Term Professor of Earth and Environmental Science

Jerolmack is pioneering the emerging field of “Soft Earth Geophysics.”

View Article >