Helen Chu
Helen Chu (Helen Wong Chu) is a Hong Kong-born elementary school teacher and philanthropist in Los Angeles. A 1969 UCLA graduate, she took part as a student in the push for ethnic studies at UCLA, and with her husband, Morgan ChuMorgan ChuMorgan Chu is an American trial lawyer specializing in intellectual property and patent litigation, a partner and chair of the litigation group at the law firm Irell & Manella. He has handled numerous high-stakes patent cases and, with his wife Helen Chu, has made major gifts to Harvard Law School, UCLA and other institutions.Open the full entry, has made major gifts to Harvard Law School, UCLA and other institutions.
Contents8 sections
Key facts
Early Life
Helen Wong Chu was born in Hong Kong.[1]
1969UCLA Graduation and the Push for Ethnic Studies
In 1969 she and fellow University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) student Morgan Chu, whom she later married, joined protests, rallies and meetings that pushed UCLA to create some of the nation’s first ethnic studies programs.[2]
She majored in psychology and graduated in 1969.[3]
She and Morgan were among the founders of the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.[4]
From 1969: Teaching Career
After graduating from UCLA she had a long career as a public school teacher.[2]
2013Harvard and UCLA Chairs
In May 2013 she and Morgan committed $5 million to Harvard Law School to establish the Morgan and Helen Chu Dean’s Professorship, held in perpetuity by the dean.[5]
That fall Robert Teranishi became the first holder of UCLA’s Morgan and Helen Chu Endowed Chair in Asian American Studies.[6]
March 2021Public Counsel
In March 2021 she and Morgan gave $1 million to Public Counsel to endow its chief executive chair.[7]
2024–2026Major Gifts
In February 2024 she and Morgan pledged $10 million to the UCLA Institute of American Cultures. She said it would help advance “social justice causes in the decades to come.”[8]
In October 2026 the couple gave $31.4 million to Harvard Law School to endow six professorships.[9]
Philanthropy: UCLA Asian American Studies Center Chair
She and Morgan gave $2 million to create the Helen and Morgan Chu Endowed Director’s Chair at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, their third major gift to the center.[10]
Sources
- Helen and Morgan Chu | Collective Memories | AASC (opens in a new window)
- LA Times: UCLA doubles down on ethnic studies expansion amid fraught national politics (opens in a new window)
- Helen ’69 and Morgan ’71, M.A. ’72, Ph.D. ’73, Chu (opens in a new window)
- Karen Umemoto is Appointed Helen and Morgan Chu Endowed Director's Chair of the Asian American Studies Center and Professor of Urban Planning and Asian American Studies (opens in a new window)
- Morgan and Helen Chu commit $5 million to Harvard Law School (opens in a new window)
- Professor Robert Teranishi Appointed to Morgan and Helen Chu Endowed Chair in Asian American Studies (opens in a new window)
- Morgan and Helen Chu Donate $1 Million to Public Counsel (opens in a new window)
- Alumni Helen and Morgan Chu pledge $10 million to benefit UCLA Institute of American Cultures (opens in a new window)
- Harvard Law School Announces $31.4 Million Donation (opens in a new window)
- News | AASC (opens in a new window)