The Eastern Michigan University Foundation announced on July 20 that former EMU history and philosophy faculty member Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, Ph.D. contributed three significant gifts to Give Rise: The Campaign for Eastern Michigan University.
The gifts include a $500,000 endowment for the Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Center for Civic Education, $200,000 for the Expendable Fund for the Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Center for Civic Education, and $300,000 for the Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Endowment for Supporting Language Study Abroad (“Upshur Flight Fund”).
Upshur studied history and anthropology in graduate school at the University of Michigan, earning the school’s Rackham Predoctoral Fellowship and receiving the Barbour Scholarship for graduate work. She became a part-time lecturer at EMU, and after completing her Ph.D. in 1972, she became a full-time faculty member until her retirement in 2006.
At EMU, Upshur was a dedicated professor who valued international education, according to a news release. Her main focus was Chinese history, political science, anthropology, art and Mesoamerican culture.
“It is impossible to overstate Professor Upshur’s contributions to EMU as a dedicated teacher and productive, influential scholar during her many years as a faculty member,” EMU President James Smith said in a statement. “The impact of her generosity is equally impossible to overstate. Civic education and language study are increasingly important competencies for our students, today and into the future, and these transformative gifts will ensure that the University’s footprint will continue to be significant.”
Peter Higgins, EMU’s head of history and philosophy, said that the Upshur Center will provide continued support for investigating effective approaches within civic education.
“We could not be more excited to begin the Center’s work, or more grateful to Dr. Upshur. The skills and knowledge required for democratic citizenship, which are central to the Department of History & Philosophy’s programs, are increasingly vital,” Higgins said.
