SJSU announces the Dr. Chaote Lin Endowment for Buddhist Studies

 

In order to provide resources for the advancement and educational mission of San Jose State University, the Dr. Chaote Lin Endowment has been established in the memory of Dr. Chaote Lin.

 

From a prominent family in Taiwan, Dr. Lin came to the United States in 1953.  After earning his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan, he came to San Jose State University.  Fluent in six languages, during his 30-year tenure at SJSU he taught Japanese and French, and he created the bachelor’s degree in Japanese.  He also held a fifth-degree black belt in kendo and showed hundreds of students over the years how to perform the martial art of Japanese fencing.  Mr. Lin was an avid reader, a student of Japanese brush painting and calligraphy, and a member of San Jose Taiko.

 

The purpose of the fund is to support the Buddhist Studies by funding relevant activities in the Humanities Department (Comparative Religious Studies) and the Department of Philosophy at San Jose State University.  Disbursements will be allocated to Humanities and Philosophy on alternating years.

 

Funds sufficient to establish the endowment were generously donated by Mrs. Ginny Lin, wife of the late Dr. Chaote Lin.  Additional contributions may be made to the fund at any time.

 

On the way to establishing the Endowment, Mrs. Lin has supported activities of the kind that the Endowment is intended to support.  The first such activity was the forum “Women in Buddhism: Changing Images” in November 2004.  The second took place on April 21 at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.  Titled “Buddhism and Environmental Awareness,” it was a panel discussion featuring Reb Anderson (Senior Dharma Instructor, San Francisco Zen Center), Richard Payne (Dean, Institute of Buddhist Studies, Berkeley), and Lauren Van Ham (Executive Director, Green Sangha).