Release date: March 11, 2008

Emory Senior Named Luce Scholar

Emory University senior Anne Marie Gan is one of 18 Americans selected as a 2008-2009 Luce Scholar for a year of hands-on experience and work in Asia, and the fourth Emory student selected for the highly competitive scholarship since 2000. The Luce Scholars program provides stipends and internships for scholars to live and work in Asia for one year, and immerse themselves in Asian culture.

Gan is a senior art history and Italian major from Dallas, and an active member of the Emory Scholars program as the recipient of the full tuition Charles and Anne Duncan Scholarship. She is a volunteer docent for the university's Michael C. Carlos Museum and founder of the Art History Club at Emory. She has served as a freshman advisor and was a participant in Emory's Transforming Community Project, an ongoing examination of the history of and current issues around race at Emory and in society. Gan has completed two art conservation internships. In Asia, Gan plans to work in an art conservation setting, such as a lab or field site, in which conservators of different nationalities work together.

"I expect that my work in Asia will draw heavily upon my past experience in the American method of objects conservation but I hope to also acquaint myself with other approaches while in this international setting," says Gan, who is awaiting her placement. "I am so grateful to the Luce Foundation for giving me this amazing opportunity. I am also thankful for all of the support I've received from family, friends and mentors at Emory who enabled me to win the scholarship."

The Asian Foundation, which provides support for the Luce Scholars, arranges placements based on the scholar's specific interests and qualifications. Founded in 1974, the purpose of the Luce Scholars is to increase awareness of Asia among future leaders in American society. Luce Scholar candidates are nominated by 67 colleges and universities.

"To be chosen as a Luce Scholar, you have to be the best of the best—and that really is Anne Marie. The Foundation recognized, as we did, that with her substantive internships in conservancy, she’s ready to step into a job placement working to protect priceless museum pieces in Asia," says Dee McGraw, director of Emory's National Scholarships and Fellowships Program. "Having been born in the United States, with Thai heritage, Anne Marie literally embodies the Luce Foundation’s goals. The experience will greatly influence her future work and broaden her professional relationships, just as it is intended."

Luce Scholars have backgrounds in many fields, including medicine, the arts, business, law, science, environmental studies and journalism. Placements can be made in the following countries in East and Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, China and Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Gan is the daughter of Paulus and Vanthaya Gan of Dallas. She is a graduate of the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science at the University of North Texas, and she also attended at the Talented and Gifted Magnet School in Dallas.

Emory University (www.emory.edu) is one of the nation’s leading private research universities and a member of the Association of American Universities. Known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities, Emory is ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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