DR. 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, Ark., 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 nine grandchildren, Jade and Jonathan Lamb, Mary and Charles Yeh, Ming and Kai Scott, and Amanda, Joshua and Jessica Wan.

A virtual (Zoom) memorial service is planned for a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the TUSA (“Dr. Yun-Chi Yeh Scholarship Fund”) or UAMS (“Dr. Yun-Chi Yeh Fund”) at 28 Burnham Street, Belmont, Mass, 02478.

Online condolences may be left at www.griffinleggetthealeyroth.com.