University of Louisville Magazine

FALL 2013

The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.

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A C R O S S C A M P U S COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SC IENC ES BENEFACTRESS BACKS BELIEF IN EDUCATION "I'M DOING THIS ONE TO HONOR MY HUSBAND BECAUSE HE WAS INTERESTED IN SCIENCE" Helen Lang's commitment to improving education runs deep. In addition to a $500,000 gift creating the Calvin and Helen Lang Distinguished Chair in Asian Studies in 2008, Lang recently contributed a quarter of the $400,000 needed to upgrade chemistry teaching laboratories. "I'm doing this one to honor my husband because he was interested in science," said Lang, whose late husband, Calvin, was a biochemistry professor and an associate in pharmacology and toxicology. "First things f rst — unless students have the proper equipment, they won't get the right start," she said. "The labs need to be updated." But it's Lang's steadfast belief in a broad-based educational experience that drives her commitment to UofL. "Education is obviously the core of our existence," she said. "As individuals and citizens of our civilization in this 21st century, it is truly our obligation to help and fulf ll those educational needs of our children and adults to the best of our ability." Those needs inspired the 2008 gift, which created the chair occupied by professor Shiping Hua, but her interest doesn't end there. Lang has continued to help that program, which also offers an annual, public symposium named for the couple. Other College of Arts and Sciences students beneft, too. Sellersburg, Ind., junior Joseph Hess has reaped the educational rewards of her generosity f rsthand, receiving Lang's student-travel award toward his current year of study at Shandong University in Jinan, China. Hess said he especially looked forward to taking Eastern philosophy courses — and what better place to do it than in the province that produced Confucius and now is a Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism center. "Travel is one way of learning," Lang said. "That's what we need — ambassadors of good will — and students are good ones to do that." VISION | To achieve our vision, we are committed to improving the quality, depth and breadth of arts and sciences academic programs across the college's three divisions and gaining a Phi Beta Kappa chapter as a marker of our academic excellence. F A L L U O F L M A G A Z I N E | 51

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