In a ceremony on November 9, UCLA celebrated the establishment of a new $2M endowed chair in social justice named for Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. in recognition of his contributions to social justice and equity. Professor Manisha Shah, a scholar whose work focuses on issues of healthy equity in the developing world, has been named the inaugural chairholder of the Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., Chair in Social Justice.
The gift, made by philanthropists Meyer and Renee Luskin, is in honor of Chancellor Gilliam’s 29-year career at UCLA, where he served for seven years as dean of UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and was the University of California’s first Associate Vice Chancellor for Community Partnerships. Gilliam was awarded the 2015 Upton Sinclair Award by the Liberty Hill Foundation for his renowned work advancing civic engagement and commitment to issues of equity.
In a ceremony including UCLA administrators, faculty, staff, and students, foundation heads, and current and former advisory board members, Gilliam said: “I am extremely humbled and honored that the Luskins have created an endowed professorship in my name. It’s particularly meaningful to me, as it is tied to social justice and equity… these are issues I’ve spent my entire professional and personal life working on and I continue to do so today. Through their tremendous generosity, faculty and students will be able to work on these important issues critical to our democracy.”
