Jerry Kang

{{Short description|Korean-American legal scholar (born 1968)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Jerry Kang | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = | birth_place = South Korea | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | education = | alma_mater = Harvard University<br/>Harvard Law School | employer = | occupation = Legal scholar, academic administrator | political_party = | spouse = | children = | parents = | relatives = }} '''Jerry Kang''' (born 1968) is a South Korean-born American legal scholar and academic administrator. He is a Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, where he also taught Asian American Studies. Since 2015, he has served as is UCLA's first vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion.

==Early life== Kang was born in South Korea.<ref name="latimesuclaappointsfirstvicechancellor">{{cite news|last1=Gordon|first1=Larry|title=UCLA appoints first vice chancellor for diversity issues|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-ln-ucla-diversity-20150331-story.html|accessdate=March 30, 2017|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=March 31, 2015}}</ref> He graduated from Harvard University, where he earned a bachelor of arts in 1990.<ref name="uclalawjerrykang">{{cite web|title=Jerry Kang|url=http://law.ucla.edu/faculty/faculty-profiles/jerry-kang/|website=UCLA Law|accessdate=March 30, 2017}}</ref> He went on to earn a juris doctor from the Harvard Law School in 1993.<ref name="uclalawjerrykang"/> He was a supervising editor of the ''Harvard Law Review'', and he also served as Special Assistant to Harvard University's Advisory Committee on Free Speech.<ref name="uclalawjerrykang"/>

==Career== Kang joined the UCLA School of Law in 1995.<ref name="uclalawjerrykang"/> He is a founding member of the Critical Race Studies program at UCLA Law and was previously the Korea Times-Hankook Ilbo Endowed Chair for Law and Korean American Studies at UCLA.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-09 |title=Kang Nominated to National Council on the Humanities {{!}} UCLA Law |url=https://law.ucla.edu/news/kang-nominated-national-council-humanities |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=law.ucla.edu |language=en}}</ref> He teaches courses in both law and Asian American Studies, and has published research about the Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.<ref name="latimesuclaappointsfirstvicechancellor"/>

Kang was appointed as UCLA's first vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion on July 1, 2015.<ref name="latimesuclaappointsfirstvicechancellor" /> In this role, Kang was involved with growing the Discrimination Prevention office and the Title IX office. Kang also established BruinX, a think tank aimed at ensuring greater diversity in UCLA's faculty hiring. Kang stepped down from this role on June 30, 2020, following the end of his five-year term.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-09-05 |title=Jerry Kang, vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion, to step down |url=https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/vice-chancellor-jerry-kang-to-step-down |access-date=2025-08-23 |website=UCLA |language=en-us}}</ref>

Kang earned $354,900 in 2015<ref name="latimesuclaappointsfirstvicechancellor"/> and $444,234.00 in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/databases/state-pay/article229468549.html|title=State worker salary database|date=2017|work=The Sacramento Bee|access-date=2017-09-29|language=en-US|issn=0890-5738}}</ref>

On October 29, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Kang to be a member of the National Council on the Humanities within the National Endowment for the Humanities.<ref>{{cite web |title=President Biden Announced Key Nominations |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/29/president-biden-announces-key-nominations-9/ |website=White House |date=29 October 2021 |publisher=The White House |access-date=30 October 2021}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang, Jerry}} Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:South Korean emigrants to the United States Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:UCLA School of Law faculty Category:21st-century American legal scholars