| University of the West | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1990 |
| Type | Private |
| Religious affiliation | Fo Guang Shan |
| President | Chin-Shun Wu |
| Students | Approximately 250 full time enrollment |
| Location | Rosemead, California, USA |
| Campus | 10 acres (4 ha) |
| Colors | Burgundy/Gold |
| Nickname | UWest |
| Affiliations | Western Association of Schools and Colleges |
| Website | www.uwest.edu |
The University of the West (formerly known as Hsi Lai University, commonly known as UWest) is a university in Rosemead, California. It was founded in 1991[1] by Venerable Master Hsing Yun,[2] founder of the Taiwan-based Buddhist order Fo Guang Shan[2] and Hsi Lai Temple,[2] the North American order headquarters. The school offered its first class in spring of 1991 and therefore chooses that year as its official start date, making 2011 the date of the campus' 20th anniversary.
UWest is a private, non profit school[3] accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.[3] Although founded by a Buddhist organization, UWest is not a Buddhist college, which is a term typically used for monasteries or schools that train people for the monastic order. University of the West is an accredited undergraduate and advanced degree-granting institution.
UWest students are not required to subscribe to the Buddhist faith or practice Buddhism in any form. Indeed, UWest's undergraduate and graduate programs in Business Administration garner higher enrollment numbers than its undergraduate and graduate programs in Religious Studies.
Contents |
The school started in a small classroom in Hsi Lai Temple. In its first semester (1991) the school had only four professors and a student body of around 30 students made up of monks and nuns from the temple. Early instructors were Dr. Roger Schmidt, Dr. Dan Lusthaus, Dr. Jim Santucci (now chair of the Department of Comparative Religion at California State University, Fullerton), and Dr. Lewis Lancaster, an eminent Western scholar of Buddhism, a form UWest president and now Chair Emeritus at University of California Berkeley. Over the years, each of those original professors have returned to the UWest campus to teach or act in administrative roles (or both).
In 1996, Fo Guang Shan purchased a property at 1409 N. Walnut Grove Ave. in Rosemead, California, a multicultural suburb of the San Gabriel Valley, approximately ten miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The campus belonged to Biola University at the time and was the site of Biola's seminary school. According to Dr. Jim Chen, a UWest professor of accounting and one of the original negotiators of the property purchase, the Christian-based Biola organization was reluctant to sell the property to a Buddhist organization. After a tussle, the property was successfully purchased.
At that time, the university decided to pursue accreditation while also adding additional programs to its offerings. Undergraduate and advanced degrees in business, English, psychology, history, philosophy, Chinese language, and comparative religious studies were added. An English as a Second Language program was also established, given the international character of students attracted to the school. The degree programs in history, philosophy, Chinese language, and the bachelor of arts in Buddhist studies, are no longer offered, however they remain accredited should the university revisit them in the future.
The accreditation process took approximately 10 years to complete, with former Dean of Academic Affairs and noted Buddhist scholar Dr. Ananda Guruge steering the drive for WASC recognition. Accreditation was granted in February, 2006. Shortly thereafter a drive to attract American students to the campus was initiated. As of 2010, approximately 40% of the student body are American citizens or permanent residents.
The Board of Trustees is a nine member governing board that acts at the university's legal owner and final authority in the activities of the school. The council includes the founder of Fo Guang Shan, Hsing Yun (who acts as permanent board president), the abbot and director of Fo Guang Shan, and the abbot of Hsi Lai Temple, who serves as ex-officio members.
Dr. Chin-Shun Wu was inducted as University of the West president in July 2010. He had previously served as Vice President of National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Dr. Wu is University of the West's seventh president. The first president of UWest was Venerable Master Hsing Yun, who founded the school in 1991. Hsing Yun was followed by presidents Dr. Naichen Chen, Dr. Lewis Lancaster, Dr. Roger Schmidt, Dr. Allen Huang, and C.F. Lee.
The mission of University of the West is to
UWest currently offers degrees in the following majors:
Department of Business Administration:
Department of Religious Studies:
Department of Languages:
UWest also offers courses in Biblical Hebrew, Sanskrit, Pali, Canonical Chinese, and Tibetan. Graduate students in the Religious Studies Program are required to take 6 units from one of the languages just mentioned. Students already fluent in these languages can waive this requirement if they pass a written test.
Department of Psychology:
English as a Second Language:
Academic English Bridge Program:
Program for American Cultural Exchange (PACE):
UWest enrollment stood at just over 250 students as of the fall 2009 semester. The campus has seen a significant growth in population since accreditation in 2006. The student body is still primarily international in character, however as of fall 2010 approximately 40 percent of the student body were U.S. citizens or permanent residents, primarily from the Los Angeles area. Aside from U.S. students, the student body is made up of students from Taiwan, Tibet, India, Sri Lanka, France, Germany, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Korea, Nepal and other countries or reigions.
UWest was accredited in February, 2006, by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)[1]. The university has a membership status in the WASC. This means that the degrees and courses currently supported by the university will transfer to other universities with regional or national accreditations.
UWest is authorized by the U.S. Department of Education to disburse Federal Financial Aid. Other financial aid options include the Stafford Loan, Plus Loan, Pell Grants, Perkins Loan Program, etc. UWest also offers institutional financial aid, such as scholarships, tuition waivers and tuitionships (a form of work study) to students who qualify.
University of the West consists of three main buildings, two Residence Halls and an auditiorium on an 11-acre (4.5 ha), hilltop campus.
The lower floor of the Administration Building offers services such as Student Life, Financial Aid, Admissions, etc. The upper floor features classrooms, an Investment Lab for business students, and the offices of the president. The Administration Building underwent a major modernization from 2007 to 2010.
The three-story Education Building houses the library, Exhibition Hall, IT services, classrooms, the ESL department, professors' offices, the Student Success Center and the Extended Studies offices. The building was modernized in 2007-2008.
The Student Union building at the top of the campus hosts the cafeteria, cafe, gym, game room and student kitchen. The building was modernized from 2009-2010.
|
|||||||||||||||||