Posted on June 2, 2020 by Wendy Frost
Don Lien, the Richard S. Liu Distinguished Chair in Business at UTSA, (right) presents Brandon Hartman, senior director of ACO and business development at UT Health San Antonio (left) with the medical masks donated by Liu Program alumni.
Alumni from the Liu’s Family Foundation U.S.-China Business Education Initiative are donating 120,000 medical masks to the UTSA College of Business in appreciation of their time at UTSA and in San Antonio.
“When I heard that the City of San Antonio had an urgent need for face masks for frontline workers, I decided to reach out to the Liu Scholars and seek their assistance,” said Don Lien , the Richard S. Liu Distinguished Chair in Business.
Philanthropist and international businessman Richard S. Liu established the Liu’s Family Foundation U.S. - China Business Education Initiative which ran from 1998-2009. The initiative provided student and faculty exchanges, executive education collaborations and joint programs between the UTSA College of Business and five of the top universities in Beijing and Shanghai.
“Eighteen years ago I benefited from the generosity of Mr. Liu and UTSA. Now is the time for me to return with practical actions. It is my honor to launch the campaign together with Liu alumni,” said Liu Scholar Max Ye .
The first shipment of 20,000 medical masks arrived in April and were given to the University Health System Foundation.
“I donated because of my wonderful memories of UTSA and San Antonio. And it is to extend my gratitude to UTSA and the Liu Program. I hope to carry forward Mr. Liu’s spirit to help those who may need help and will always do my best to do this,” said Liu Scholar Tony Long .
An alumni committee was formed to locate the suppliers, negotiate the prices and arrange for delivery. The 100,000 additional face masks were split evenly between surgical and disposable masks. In total, the gift is valued at $50,000.
“Liu Program alumni were grateful for the generous support they received from Richard Liu and cherished the time they spent at UTSA and in San Antonio,” said Lien, who led the Liu Family Foundation program. “I think this gift is an opportunity for them to show their appreciation of UTSA and the city. They naturally rallied about the idea.”
“Facing the common threat of Coronavirus, we hope our tiny help will pass on the love, which does not discriminate, just because of the nationality, the skin color, the age, etc. We hope we can work together to beat the virus, just like we have beaten the other common threats before,” said Liu Scholar Frank Liu .
— Wendy Frost
