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

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.”

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