Alan L. Kolata receives $450,000 commitment for research in Cambodia

Alan L. Kolata, the Bernard E. and Ellen C. Sunny Distinguished Service Professor, recently received a multi-year commitment totaling $450,000 to support his long-term research on human-environment interactions in Cambodia. The gift, generously made by University of Chicago alumnus John Yung (B.A. 1990; M.B.A. 1999) and his family, establishes the Yung Hung Ching Cambodia Community Fund. The Fund will underwrite multidisciplinary research grounded in application of integrated physical, ecological and social science methods to model the current and future livelihood possibilities of rural populations in Cambodia. The elements of Kolata’s research concerned with analyzing the nature and social impact of different forms of commercial and non-commercial credit, including microfinance loans, access to banking institutions and informal loan networks among rural Cambodians will be a particular focus of the research supported by the Fund.  

John Con-Sing Yung is Vice Chairman of the Board of The Shanghai Commercial & Savings Bank and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of AMK, a leading microfinance institution founded over 20 years ago that provides a range of responsible financial services to Cambodians from varying economic statuses, particularly low-income populations and women, to help them to achieve their financial and  household aspirations. AMK’s mission is to facilitate the emergence of a Cambodian society in which all citizens have sufficient economic and social opportunities to improve their standards of living and enable them to contribute productively towards the overall development of the country.