Tung and Rachel Liang Endowed Scholarship
| History: |
Tung Liang was born in 1930 in a village near Bao Din, He Bei, in northern China. In 1937 when Tung was just six, his father, an Army general, was sacrificed at age 39 during a fierce battle in Shanxi province against the invading Japanese. After his father's death, Tung's family escaped the war by staying in the most remote areas of China, eventually making their way to Chonqing (the war time capital). After the war ended in 1945, his family was taken to Nanking, the capital of the Republic of China, where Tung attended middle school and high school.
In 1949, Tung's family moved to Pingdong, southern Taiwan, where he graduated from Pingdong High School and passed the once-a-year highly competitive Entrance Examination to enter National Taiwan University (NTU). There he studied Agriculture Enginerring, majoring in farm engineering. At the end of his second year at NTU, Tung decided to improve his economic situation by taking the test for young men willing to work in the Korean War as U.S. Army intelligence officers. He was sent to Korea for one year and then to Tokyo, Japan, for one year. He continued on with his college life in Taipei. It was during this time that Tung met his future wife, Rachel Liang. She had earned a BA from NTU, with a major in English Language and Literature. During that time, Rachel worked as a translator and interpreter for the Retired Servicemen's Commission in Taipei. At the end of spring in 1956, Tung received his BS in Agriculture Engineering and was immediately assigned to work at Taiwan Sugar Company in the southern part of Taiwan. He worked there for one year and then went north to take part in the construction of Shimen Dam not far from Taipei. In 1957, Tung and Rachel married and his mother moved from the south to live with them.
In 1964, not long after his mother passed, Tung began to apply for assistantships to pursue his dream of earning a PhD. He was offered one to specialize in Systems Engineering by Dr. Link of the North Carolina State University's Department of Agriculture Engineering. In the years when he was teaching at NTU, he had benefited from multiple occasions to train in computer programming and he saw the potential application for agriculture science.
In the summer of 1968, the Liangs moved to Honolulu when Tung was offered a research/teaching position at the University of Hawaii. Rachel enrolled at the UH School of Library Sciences in the fall of 1968 and she graduated with a degree in Library Science in December of 1969. Rachel began working at Hamilton Library Humanities Reference Department in March of 1970.
Tung worked hard and contributed to macadamia nut harvesting, macadamia nut processing, natural resources planning, and other topics evidenced by his honors and publication in varied reputable publications. He served as a College of Tropical Agriculture and Human (CTAHR) department chair and stayed on for 12 years at Dean Keford's request. Tung retired in 2000 at age 70.
Tung was quiet man who seldom spoke unless he had something worthwhile to contribute. He was a simple man, a good husband and a responsible father. He had no hobbies, but loved to travel and see other countries. At age 80, Tung passed away on October 11, 2010 after a two-month battle with antibiotic-resistant pneumonia at Straub Medical Center. Tung was survived by his wife, two sons, and four grandchildren.
This scholarship, The Tung and Rachel Liang Endowed Scholarship, honors the lives of these two dedicated, hard-working professionals who rose above troubled times in their birth country to flourish, to become highly educated contributors in their respective professions, and to raise two highly educated and successful sons.
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| Description: |
To provide scholarsips for students enrolled at the University of Hawaii at Manoa College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) pursuing a degree in the Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering. Funds may be used for costs associated with attendance (tuition, books, fees, etc.) travel, research, and supplies. |
| Level: |
Graduate |
| High School: |
N/A |
| Residency: |
N/A |
| GPA: |
Recipient shall be selected based on merit as determined by the selection committee. |
| Enrollment Status: |
Full-time or Part-time |
| Contact Person: |
Carol Oshiro |
| Contact Department: |
Academic & Student Affairs Office |
| Contact Address: |
3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 117
Honolulu, HI 96822 |
| Contact Website: |
https://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/Students/Scholarships |
| Contact Phone: |
(808) 956-8183 |
| Contact Email: |
[email protected] |
| Application Info: |
http://www.star.hawaii.edu/scholarship |
| Press Release: |
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