UC Berkeley’s Anthropology Department recently opened the newly refurbished and endowed Constance Chiang Pan Anthropology Reading Room (CCPARR), made possible by a transformative gift from Anthropology and Economics Alumna Constance Chiang Pan.
The reading room is a vibrant new space for anthropology students and the entire anthropology community on campus, providing a welcoming and comfortable environment for individual and group study, as well as a dedicated place for anthropology student-led initiatives and hosting student groups.
The gift not only allowed for the reading room’s complete refurbishment, but also established a long-lasting endowment to ensure the Constance Chiang Pan Anthropology Reading Room remains a central hub for students for years to come.
"I hope with the refurbishments, the CCPARR will be an inviting and enhanced environment for anthropology students and students across the Berkeley Social Sciences,” Chiang Pan said. “Not only a place to study and access reference materials, but also a dynamic gathering place for collaborative group projects."
The reading room houses an invaluable collection of historical anthropological volumes, a selection of emeriti books and the UC Berkeley Folklore Archive, making it a unique and essential part of the student experience for those studying anthropology at Cal.
"The CCPARR will be part of our students' daily experiences by creating a lasting space where they can study, learn and connect with each other and our faculty," Anthropology Chair Sabrina Agarwal said. "What is more, this is a unique opportunity to create a welcoming and vibrant hub for Social Sciences students, and, in so doing, to broaden students’ horizons by exposing them to the discipline of anthropology.”
The space now includes a state-of-the-art conference room for remote global collaborations, an advanced AV system to host visiting speakers and an innovation learning studio for small-group student learning, Agarwal said. The department also retained 20,000 of the rare and valuable volumes previously held in the Anthropology Library.
“It speaks to the history and the legacy of that space in terms of a circulating library, and taking the best of that and still making it into something new, vibrant, relevant and central to the department,” Agarwal said.
The new infrastructure of the space also allows for the creation of innovative installations showcasing faculty and student work. There is currently a mini exhibit on display created by Anthropology Professor Laurie Wilkie and honors thesis student Blake Palmer that examines the materialization of the Chinese diaspora in the mid-20th century through the restaurant wares of the FS Louie company.
This gift reflects Chiang Pan’s deep commitment to Berkeley Anthropology, which also includes her establishment of the Constance Chiang Pan Undergraduate Scholarship in Anthropology. The scholarship was set up three years ago to support undergraduate anthropology majors through financial aid.
“I hope the Constance Chiang Pan Anthropology Reading Room and the Constance Chiang Pan Undergraduate Anthropology Scholarship reflect alumni engagement with Cal in support of the inspiring students studying at UC Berkeley. Go Bears!” Chiang Pan said.
The grand opening of the Constance Chiang Pan Anthropology Reading Room was celebrated recently with Chiang Pan (‘86) and her husband, Steven Pan (‘86), along with her friends and family, anthropology alumni, Social Sciences Dean Raka Ray, Chancellor Rich Lyons and former Chancellor Carol Christ.
