The UCLA Asia Pacific Center (APC) hosted its ninth UCLA-National Taiwan Normal University (UCLA-NTNU) Annual Taiwan Studies Initiative Conference, “Tongues of Taiwan: Culture and Identity between Languages and Empires,” on May 29–30, 2026 (inperson). The key theme was to explore how linguistic practice has shaped cultural identity across Taiwan's past and present. Thirteen scholars from linguistics, literature, history, and media studies presented their research in the two-day international event, which investigated how Taiwan's multilingual landscape has been affected by successive empires and how it has continued to evolve.
The new academic chairs include both existing institute faculty and professors from other disciplinary departments at UCLA.
The International Institute welcomes friends and new colleagues as center directors in the 2026–27 academic year.
"But whether Netanyahu leaves politics this week or years down the road, his national security vision will outlast him. He has had catastrophic success in crushing domestic support for Palestinian national aspirations and gaining mainstream backing for a permanent war footing to confront Iran," writes Senior Fellow Dalia Dassa Kaye in Foreign Affairs. Read the full article here.
Edited by Dr. Hui-shu Lee (UCLA Art History), this volume presents the most up-to-date English-language collection of essays on Taiwan's modernist art movement and its place within global modernism. The volume examines Taiwan's artistic development from the Japanese colonial era through the postwar period to the present, highlighting the island's unique geopolitical and cultural position. Featuring contributions from leading scholars of Taiwan, China, and Asian modern contemporary art history, the book creates space for dialogue between academic scholarship and artistic practice.
The MOU envisions the two parties working together on a range of academic activities.
Deanna Placa has been awarded a yearlong Newman Civic Fellowship for the 2026–27 academic year. Fellows are nominated by their president or chancellor based on their potential for public leadership and their work with communities.
UCLA became an official member of the General Assembly of the Hemispheric University Consortium (HUC) at its annual meeting held at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia, August 30–September 1, 2026. The consortium brings together universities from across the Americas to advance collaboration in research, education and innovation.
Award recipients reflect the breadth and depth of global engagement at UCLA.
A doctor and medical anthropologist, Sandesara works as a clinician, researcher and professor at UCLA. As of July, he became academic chair of the International Institute's global health program, where he has been a faculty member since 2023.
A diplomatic discussion with Kristjan Prikk, Estonia's Ambassador to the US.
The author of 12 books and editor of three volumes of academic research, Richard M. Eaton has made signal contributions to the field of Islamic studies.
The UCLA Global Development Lab, a Bruin student association, celebrated its 11th anniversary at an end-of-the-year event in May. Presentations of international/community development projects developed by GDL members for its Project Incubator competition were the focus of the evening.
The honor marks the second time the UCLA historian has received the rigorous Gordon K. and Sybil Lewis Book Award for her work.
