Yun-Chi Yeh

Professor Emeritus, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

October 16, 1930 - October 4, 2021

Professor Yun-Chi Yeh, a 54-year resident of Little Rock, Arkansas was born in Hualien, Taiwan in 1930 to a large family which included six older sisters and one younger brother. His early years were marked by first hand struggles related to the Great Depression and World War II. He competitively tested into the National Taiwan University, the top university in Taiwan. There, he met his wife, Hsing-Wu, a fellow student in the Biochemistry Department who subsequently became the first female faculty member at the National Taiwan University medical school. After graduation, he was accepted to the highly renowned American graduate program in Biochemistry, at the University of California, San Francisco, where he received his PhD in 1964. He subsequently was a Fellow in Molecular Genetics at the University of Michigan, after which he was recruited to the medical school faculty of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock.

Dr. Yeh remained at UAMS as a Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for the remainder of a remarkable 32 year career. There, he taught several generations of medical students fundamental concepts in biochemistry while running an active NIH funded research laboratory. In the academic year 1975-1976, he served his sabbatical in the Salk Institute in San Diego in the laboratory of the Nobel Laureate, Dr. Robert Holley, conducting groundbreaking cancer research. He was a devoted mentor to many graduate students, a number of whom are now well established in academic institutions around the world. He became Professor Emeritus at the University of Arkansas in 1999.

In addition to his many scientific and scholarly accomplishments, Dr. Yeh was active in many Arkansas community building efforts, particularly in relation to international cultural and academic exchange programs. He was instrumental in working with Chancellor Dr. Harry Ward of UAMS in establishing the unique and longstanding "Sister School" relationship between UAMS and Kaohsiung Medical University of Taiwan, which remains to this day. After retirement, he continued his pursuit of new opportunities focused on cultural exchange by founding the Taiwan-United States Sister Alliance (TUSA) a not-for profit organization with a mission to encourage cultural and language exchange between excellent American and Taiwanese college students. This program has grown tremendously since 2003, and has now produced several hundred outstanding “Ambassadors” in the United States, many of whom have gone on to professional careers which were shaped fundamentally by their experiences in Taiwan.

He was proud to have actively participated in the 1992 Clinton campaign as an “Arkansas Traveler”, and was a guest to attend the subsequent Presidential Inaugurations. Among numerous recognitions in his lifetime, he received the "Distinguished Service Award" by the Hakka Council, of the Taiwan Executive Yuan in 2013 and the "Distinguished Education Service Medal Award" given and presented by the Minister of Education of Taiwan in 2015. He served as a Senior Advisor to the Hakka Affairs Council of Taiwan and as a Senior Advisor for the Overseas Taiwanese Council of Taiwan, with both councils being of importance to the people and government of Taiwan.

Dr. Yeh was married for 62 years to Hsing-Wu Yeh, his partner in all endeavors, who passed away in 2018, at age 87. He cherished his friends and extended family. He saw the best in everyone. He was kind, had a great sense of humor, always talked to strangers and was always willing to converse about updates in science or education. He loved to go fishing at Lake Maumelle and Lake Conway. He had many cameras and took photographs constantly and he also travelled widely. In addition to his wife, he was predeceased by his parents, Pu Lung Yeh and Sei Mei Lei Yeh. His immediate family survivors are two sisters, Yu-Chen Lo and Yu Kuei Yeh; a brother, Yun Pei Yeh; a son, John (Barbara Watson) and three daughters, I-Tien (Rick Lamb), Eren (Philip Wan) and Ann (Richard Scott); as well as 9 grandchildren, Jade and Jonathan Lamb, Mary and Charles Yeh, Ming and Kai Scott, and Amanda, Joshua and Jessica Wan.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to either TUSA or UAMS

A Zoom Memorial service will be held Sunday, November 14th at 8pm Eastern Standard Time Please RSVP to [email protected]

TUSA (“Dr. Yun-Chi Yeh Scholarship Fund”) using the following link https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=F9FTR6V82MJFQ or donations may be mailed to 28 Burnham Street, Belmont, MA 02478

UAMS ("Dr. Yun-Chi Yeh Fund") at 28 Burnham Street, Belmont, MA 02478.

葉雲旗教授，在阿肯色州小岩城生活了54 年，他是1930年出生於台灣花蓮縣， 來自一個有六位姊姊和一個弟弟的大家庭。他親身體驗到大蕭條和第二次世界大戰後的艱困時期。他很努力的考試進入了最競爭激烈，最好的台灣國立大學。他在學校遇見了他太太，幸梧，當時她是讀生化的學生，之後她成為第一位台灣國立大學醫學院的女教職員。葉教授在大學畢業後申請進入了非常有名的舊金山加州大學生化學系繼續就讀，並在1964年取得博士學位。他接著加入密西根大學的分子基因研究中心，此後受到邀請到小岩城的阿肯色州大學的醫學院當教授。

葉教授在生化和分子生物學從事了32年的卓越教書生涯， 在那裡他教育了好幾世代的生化系學生，同時也主持一個由國立衛生研究院補助的研究實驗室。1975-1976 年間， 他到聖地牙哥Salk Institue 在諾貝爾獎得主 Dr. Robert Holley的研究室做開創性的癌症研究。他對他的研究生們總是盡心盡力， 許多他的學生也都成為世界各地有名氣的學者。 在1999 年，他成為阿肯色州大學的榮譽終身教授。

除了許多科學和教育的成就外， 葉博士也非常活躍於建立國際文化和學術交換計畫。在和阿肯色大學醫學院院長，Dr. Harry Ward一起，主導建立了和台灣高雄醫學大學特殊的姐妹學校關係，一直持續到現在。退休後， 他繼續進行新的文化交流而建立了非營利的組織叫做台灣美國姐妹同盟，推動和鼓勵台灣學生和美國學生之間的文化和語言的交流。2003 之後，這個計畫課程增長非常巨大，成就了許多形象大使，他們在台灣的經驗給了許多職業生涯的幫助。

他是非常自豪能在1992年的克靈頓的競選總部的積極參與而成為“阿肯色旅行者”，同時也因此被邀請參加就職典禮的來賓。他一生中得到了許多的榮耀獎項，2013年台灣行政院客家委員會發的“傑出服務獎”， 2015年的台灣教育部的 “傑出教育服務人士勳章”。他是台灣客委會的高級顧問，同時也是台灣海外台灣人協會的高級顧問， 這都是對台灣政府很重要的機構。

葉博士和葉幸梧結婚62年， 他的一起奮鬥一切的夥伴，她不幸的在2018 年去世，享年87歲。他很珍視朋友們和親戚們的。總是看到所有人的最好的一面。他對人厚道而且非常幽默，也會和陌生人士談話，並且喜歡談最新的教育和科學的課題。他喜歡去Lake Maumelle茂湄拉湖和Lake Conway 康威湖釣魚。他喜歡到處旅行和照相並擁有許多相機。除了過世的太太之外，已過世的父親，葉步隴，已過世的母親，葉黎細妹，目前存在著還有兩位姊姊，葉玉桂和羅玉珍，一位弟弟葉雲培。 兒子日鴻John 媳婦Barbara Watson，女兒逸典I-Tien 女婿 Rick Lamb，女兒逸仁Eren 女婿Philip Wan溫浩正， 女兒逸倫Ann女婿Richard Scott。有九位孫子孫女， Jade Lamb 佳典和 Jonathan Lamb，Mary Yeh 葉佳幸和 Charlie Yeh葉佳鴻， Ming Scott 佳明和Kai Scott佳凱， Amanda Wan溫佳恩，Joshua Wan溫佳賢，Jessica Wan溫佳仁。

我們正在籌備網路上的追思會。請將送花的費用捐給TUSA ( Dr. Yun-Chi Yeh Scholarship Fund), 或是 UAMS（Dr. Yun-Chi Yeh Fund).

A Zoom Memorial service will be held Sunday, November 14th at 8pm Eastern Standard Time Please RSVP to [email protected]