Asian American Contributions in Ann Arbor

In the last 200 years, Asian Americans have thrived in this magnificent and diverse city in academic, art, engineering, and scientific advances and in city landmarks. This list covers only a small sample of their contributions. 

1. Samuel C. C. Ting, born in 1936 in Ann Arbor, received his Ph.D. in physics in 1962 at the University of Michigan. He received the Nobel Prize in 1976, which he shared with Burton Richter, for the discovery of the J/ψ meson nuclear particle.

2. James P. Wong, born in Buffalo, NY, and a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Architecture, designed Lamp Post Plaza on E Stadium Blvd (where Trader Joe’s is located) in 1962. It was Ann Arbor’s second unenclosed shopping mall, after Arborland Center. James P. Wong designed many of Ann Arbor’s landmark buildings, including the St. Francis of Assisi Church in 1969, Westminster Presbyterian Church in 1969, and the Glazier Way United Methodist Church (currently called the Green Wood United Methodist Church) in 1975.

3. In 1969, Joseph T. A. Lee, Canadian Chinese American professor of architecture at the University of Michigan, joined attorney Arthur Carpenter and ten other Ann Arborites to form Arbor-A to revitalize the area around the Farmers Market. Professor Lee was the chief architect and planner, responsible for designing the Farmers Market and turning the vacant warehouse buildings of the Washtenaw Farm Bureau into a well-known Ann Arbor landmark, the Kerrytown Market and Shops.

4. In 1978, Cynthia Yao, who hailed from Kingston, Jamaica, initiated the idea of a hands-on museum and became the first Executive Director of the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum in 1982. She was one of the Inductees of the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2005.

5. In 1990, Lucy Alexis Liu, graduated from the University of Michigan, and is now an award winning film and television actress, director, as well as an artist.

6. In 1992, S. M. Wu Manufacturing Research Center at the University of Michigan was named in honor of Professor Shien-Ming Wu, Anderson Professor of Manufacturing Technology. The Center works with dozens of automotive and industrial manufacturers.

7. In 1993, Michigan Chinese American News (密西根新聞), a Chinese language weekly newspaper in Michigan, began publication in Ann Arbor.

8. In 1993, Dr. Theresa Chang formed Citizens for Quality Care Co. headquartered in Ann for long term care and assisted living services. 

9. In 1993, Wei and Lisa Bee founded the first Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea coffeehouse in Ann Arbor. More than 30 years later, Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea has around 40 locations across 12 states. 

10. In 1994, the Chinese American Society of Ann Arbor (CASAA) was founded.

11. In 1995, Jimmy Hsiao, a University of Michigan graduate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, founded Logic Solutions to provide a comprehensive range of technology solutions and services to businesses across the U.S. The company now has offices in Ann Arbor, Irvine, Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Taipei. 

12. In 2002, Michigan Taiwanese American Organization (MITAI) was founded to promote cultural exchange between residents of Michigan and those of Taiwan.

13. In 2006, Dr. Cheng-Yang Chang, a resident of Ann Arbor, donated $1 million in honor of his wife Shirley to be recognized in the naming of The Shirley Chang Gallery of Chinese Art in the new addition of UMMA (The University of Michigan Museum of Art). Dr. Chang also gifted more than 30 traditional Chinese paintings by his father, noted artist Ku-Nien Chang.

14. In 2010, the Nam Center for Korean Studies at U-M, the first named Korean studies center in the U.S., was established in honor of Elder Sang-Yong Nam and Mrs. Moon-Sook Nam. Elder Nam, a U-M graduate in 1966, was the founder and CEO of Nam Building Management Co. 

15. Since 2013, Grace Meng, a U-M graduate, has been the Congresswoman from New York, being the first Asian American elected to Congress from New York.

16. In 2022, the Ann Arbor District Library began receiving annual gifts of 16 award-winning art prints for the Lunar New Year from the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, through the introduction of MITAI. These gifts have helped diversify the art appreciation of library patrons.

17. In 2022, Dr. Santa Ono began his five-year term as the 15th president of the University of Michigan and its first Asian American president.

18. In 2022, Dr. Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, a retired Eastern Michigan University professor and resident of Ann Arbor, and her family members, Jiu-Fong Lo Chang and Kuei-sheng Chang, gifted the Lo Chia-Lun Calligraphy Collection of 72 important works of art from six centuries of Chinese history to UMMA. It was the single most valuable gift of art in the University of Michigan’s history.

19. In 2024, it was announced that the Song Foundation and Linh and Dug Song donated a total of $300,000 to renovate the only museum dedicated to Washtenaw County’s Black history. Dug Song is the co-founder and general manager of Duo Security, a cybersecurity provider. In 2018, Duo was acquired by Cisco for $2.35 billion, making it the largest exit ever for a Michigan-based software company. Linh Song is the second female Asian American City Council member of Ann Arbor.

20. Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is journalist, poet, and scholar based in Ann Arbor and Hawaii, focusing on issues of race, justice, culture, and Asian America. She was a 2019 Knight Arts Challenge winner receiving $25,000 for her project "Beyond Vincent Chin: Legacies in Action and Art," which addresses a key case in Asian American history and its impacts since his murder in 1982. She is a PBS NewsHour reporter on Michigan.