James Wagner, CWRU provost, and Susan Stevens Jaros (LAW ’73), associate vice-president for University relations and development, traveled to Asia last November to visit with alumni and CWRU friends in Thailand, Taiwan, and Japan. What they discovered on their journey was a profound respect and enthusiasm for CWRU—shown not only by alumni and friends, but also by industry and government leaders. Nowhere is this demonstrated more clearly than in the generosity of those who contribute their time and resources to the University. This installment of True Blue highlights three of the many special people seen on the trip.

KAZUO INAMORI


In Japan, an important friend of CWRU’s is Kazuo Inamori, the dynamic founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera Corporation. In 1959, with an entrepreneurial spirit that was unusual in Japan, Dr. Inamori left an established company and took with him a handful of engineers to start his own ceramics business. The Kyocera Corporation has since become a major name, and diversification has made it a leading player in the communications industry.

Kazuo Inamori (standing) is joined by CWRU’s James Wagner, Anne Borchert, and Susan Jaros (seated).

In 1984, Dr. Inamori put together three independent communications services to create DDI Corporation, now the largest cellular communications operation in Japan. More importantly to CWRU, that was also the year Kazuo Inamori chose to honor the three universities in the world with the best ceramics groups. Case Western Reserve, largely because of the innovative work of ceramics professor Arthur Heuer, was one of those three. As a result, Dr. Inamori established the Kyocera Distinguished Professorship, which is still held by Prof. Heuer

CWRU is not alone in benefiting from Dr. Inamori’s generosity. He has long felt that there had to be an ethical side to one’s work—particularly for those in the sciences. He believes that engineers must create advanced technologies that will help humanity. To encourage this notion and to honor those who epitomize this philosophy, Kazuo Inamori established the Kyoto Prize, which is likened to the Nobel prizes, for engineering and technology. While in Japan, the CWRU team met with Dr. Inamori and attended the Kyoto Prize award ceremony.

The Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Japan

ARCHIE CO


During the provost’s trip, another distinguished friend was in Japan to help greet alumni: CWRU trustee Archie Co (CIT ’63).

Archie Co (left) with Shuzo and Kozue Nakamura, parents of CWRU undergrad Kunio. Mr. Nakamura is the director of World Bank Tokyo.

Mr. Co, a resident of Singapore, left Cleveland in 1963 and did not return for a visit until 1997. Mr. Co was impressed with the many changes he saw both at the University and in Cleveland. He then decided not only to reconnect with his alma mater but also to help move CWRU into a global future.

In 1998, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees and has become active not only in his own Singapore alumni group but also in the establishment of other such groups in Asia. To help promote CWRU overseas, Mr. Co established the Riuko N. & Archie G. Co Endowment Fund, a scholarship fund for international students. This fund helps the University to attract the best and brightest from overseas who do not have access to traditional funding sources.

Mr. Co’s enthusiasm for CWRU is contagious. His dedication to the school, as shown through his active volunteerism and generosity, has established him as a leading proponent of Case Western Reserve.

Bangkok

CHENG-WEN WU


“Case Western Reserve University” does not translate very easily into Chinese, but thanks to people like Cheng-Wen Wu (GRS ’69, biochemistry), that difficult name is getting around in Taiwan. Dr. Wu, the founding president of the National Health Research Institutes, is responsible for setting the national health agenda in Taiwan. Through his initiatives, the number of people in Taiwan contracting diseases such as liver cancer has been drastically reduced. He has also begun building cooperative programs domestically and internationally to address health issues that most affect people in Taiwan.

Cheng-Wen Wu, at the head of the table, presides over a meeting of the National Health Research Institutes, attended by the CWRU group.

Dr. Wu attributes much of his success to his CWRU advisor, David Goldthwait, professor emeritus of biochemistry. The professor, he says, helped him personally and professionally on many occasions. Also while he was at CWRU, Dr. Wu met his wife, Felicia Ying-Hsiueh Wu, who was getting her PhD in chemistry, which she earned in 1969. Felicia, who passed away in 1998, had a distinguished research career in the field of anti-cancer drugs.

For the provost’s visit, Dr. Wu invited respected members of the biomedical and technology sectors to meet Jim Wagner. Most of the invited guests were well aware of Case Western Reserve and were pleased to be invited to hear about the biomedical and biomedical engineering activities on campus. It is through the devotion of friends such as Dr. Wu that CWRU is becoming a familiar name in Taiwan.

For more information about the provost’s trip to Asia, see Snapshots in the Alumni Journal section of this issue.

Sponsored by CWRU’s Office of University Relations and Development, True Blue CWRU is dedicated to highlighting CWRU’s supporters and what their generosity allows the University community to achieve.

This installment of True Blue CWRU was written by Heidi Adams Cool, director of communications in the Office of Development Programs, and Anne M. Borchert, director of international alumni affairs for Asia.

For more information on development programs and alumni activities and events, visit the development and alumni affairs Web site at www.cwru.edu/development/alum2/.

Photographs by Anne M. Borchert