April 29, 2005

What: The College of Communications at California State University, Fullerton and Nguoi Viet Daily News have joined hands in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Vietnamese emigration to the United States. The Yen N. Do Scholarly Research Fund has been established in the College of Communications and will provide necessary funds for faculty to facilitate research that focuses on Vietnamese Americans and Southeast Asians in Southern California.

Who: Yen N. Do, founder and publisher of Nguoi Viet Daily News, has pledged $30,000 for the fund.

Additional: The donation will be awarded over five years, with the first $10,000 given this year. The fund supports topics of research that will benefit Vietnamese and Southeast Asians living in Southern California. There are 1,932 Vietnamese American students enrolled at Cal State Fullerton.

This pledge is significant for the College of Communications, as faculty research has been a longtime priority for Dean Rick Pullen. “Many of our faculty members have intercultural communication expertise, and this support will enable them to conduct beneficial research that may not otherwise have been possible,” said Pullen, who is working to strengthen ties and create partnerships in the Vietnamese American community.

“We focus on education, as education is one of our top priorities — as Vietnamese Americans and as a newspaper,” said Do, whose Westminster-based daily is the oldest Vietnamese-language publication in the United States. “Our hope is that the research developed with this fund will help our community and Southeast Asian communities in Southern California to grow, and not just grow, but thrive and experience more joy in learning.”

“We feel it's important for immigrants to unite with the mainstream to enhance knowledge,” he added. “And we want to help those who help the young people stretch their minds and stir their souls. I have seen that in the College of Communications, and I admire teachers who deeply inspire their students.” Moreover, Do believes that in journalism, as in academics, “we constantly seek to inform and to share, so this partnership is natural.”

He will work with his daughter, journalist Anh Do, to help select the researchers and to provide opportunities for educators. The first faculty recipients will be named this summer.

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