Professor Kang Chao and Jessica Chao

This scholarship, in loving memory of Professor Kang Chao and Jessica Chao, is for students committed to their education who transfer to UC-Berkeley and major in Economics, East Asian Studies, and/or Asian-American Studies.

Born in Northern China, Kang and Jessica moved to Taiwan as teenagers in the 1940s during the peak of China’s civil war. They met as undergraduates at National Taiwan University and received their BAs in Economics in 1951. The couple married shortly after that and journeyed across the Pacific to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to begin their graduate studies in Economics.

After completing his Ph.D. in 1962, Professor Chao began his distinguished career at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and the University of California (Berkeley). In 1966 he joined the Economics Department at the University of Wisconsin (Madison) where he wrote most of his groundbreaking publications over 32 years. In the 1980s, the couple split their time between the University of Wisconsin and the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) in Taipei. Professor Chao was one of the think-tank’s founding scholars and Division Directors. See CIER’s video celebrating his many contributions. <a href =“https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTOh5ormtx0”>Click here for video

Professor Chao published over a dozen English volumes on China’s economic history in the Ming and Qing dynasties and the economic effects of land reform in Asia. He published another 34 books in Chinese about Economics, and his other passion, Redology, the academic study of Cao Xueqin’s Dream of the Red Chamber, one of China’s Four Great Classical Novels. He co-authored nine of these books with Jessica, including their award-winning book focused on the history of China’s land system.

Jessica Chao completed her M.A. in Economics at the University of Michigan and collaborated with her husband on countless publications while raising their two daughters. She shared her husband’s passion to bridge cultures and encourage a greater appreciation of Chinese culture by teaching Mandarin and the art of Chinese cooking to generations of enthusiasts.

In 1998, the writing duo retired from Madison to Northern California to be closer to their two daughters and grandchildren. The couple instilled the values of higher education and hard work in their extended family. Their UC Berkeley ties deepened with both daughters, a son-in-law, and a grandson receiving degrees from the university.

Distinguished scholars Professor Kang Chao and Jessica Chao firmly believed that higher education could transform lives and worked tirelessly to forge strong bonds between cultures across the Pacific. This scholarship honors their legacy by supporting the next generation of promising scholars to advance their vision.