The Alumni Associations of the University of California will host a special discussion on UC’s growing role in the international sphere on Monday (June 11) when Gretchen Kalonji, UC’s director of international strategy development, speaks at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong.

Kalonji will present “Realizing the Power and Promise of 10 on the World Stage: New Approaches to International Strategy Development in the UC,” an examination of the University’s key international partnerships with China, India, Mexico and Canada as well as a look ahead at future collaborations that UC and its 10 campuses are developing.

Kalonji will also talk about the unique scope and scale of the UC system, its innovative organizational structures and the University’s strong track record on contributing to local economic development.

The University also announced the establishment of the University of California Foundation Limited in Hong Kong. The foundation will make it possible for Hong Kong residents to provide financial support to UC while receiving favorable tax treatment in Hong Kong. The foundation will also enhance the University’s ability to support and provide programs, projects, and initiatives between UC and universities in Hong Kong and China.

The foundation has been certified by Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Department as a recognized charitable organization under the tax rules of Hong Kong providing full deductibility in Hong Kong for donations received benefiting the University.

One of the first donations made for the Hong Kong Foundation is a generous gift from William E. (Chip) Connor and his family that will establish an endowed chair in cardiothoracic transplantation surgery at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine.

The Connor chair will provide leadership to ongoing surgical research in heart and lung transplantation for both adult and pediatric patients with end-stage heart and lung diseases, as well as to define the mechanisms of the body’s immune responses to transplanted organs. Chronic rejection in heart and lung transplantation will be a primary focus, including research in cardiac allograft vasculopathy and reperfusion injury in heart and lung transplantation.

Currently, UC has about 3,000 Chinese nationals enrolled as students on its campuses. For the 2006-07 academic year, 113 UC students participated in the Education Abroad Program at Hong Kong universities, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and the University of Hong Kong.

For more information about the University of California Foundation Limited or to make a donation, please write to University of California Foundation Limited, Level 3, Three Pacific Place, One Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong.

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