A pair of immigrant businessmen announced Monday that they would give $1 million to a community college campus near Orange County's Little Saigon, a gift experts say underscores the growing level of philanthropy in the Vietnamese community.
The campus, near Westminster City Hall and a statue that honors American and South Vietnamese soldiers, will be named for benefactors restaurateur Chieu Le and developer Frank Jao.
Some observers see the donation to Coastline Community College as a sign of a maturing in Orange County's Vietnamese community, which was formed by refuges in the 1970s at the end of the Vietnam War.
The Vietnamese have a record of helping in emergencies, such as Hurricane Katrina and last year's devastating Indian Ocean tsunami. But individual acts of philanthropy on such a large scale are still considered relatively rare, said Thu-huong Nguyen-vo, an assistant professor at UCLA's Department of Asian American Studies.
"We haven't had a long time to accumulate enough wealth in the United States in order to do a lot of philanthropic work," said Nguyen-vo. "We're not a rich community, but cumulatively, it has been huge."
Others believe the college donation is the beginning of a greater philanthropic effort in Little Saigon, home to the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam.
"As the community establishes itself in the United States, the leadership becomes more philanthropic," said Jeffrey H. Brody, a Cal State Fullerton professor who teaches about the Vietnamese American experience. Le and Jao "are spearheading that effort."
The Le-Jao Center will open next month. The donation will help fund a variety of programs, from biotechnology to English-as-a-second-language courses. The $11-million facility, financed and operated by Coastline, will include 21 classrooms, three computer labs and a science lab.
"They are role models, not only for our students, many of whom are immigrants themselves starting new lives here, but also for those who understand what it means to pay forward after they have made it," said Ding-Jo H. Currie, president of Coastline.
Coastline offers classes throughout Orange County in rented offices, industrial parks and several small satellite campuses. Many classes are aimed at fundamental vocational training, an educational staple that intrigued Le and Jao.
Jao, who has prospered as a developer, took real estate classes through Coastline. Le, who owns a restaurant chain, started as a catering truck employee in San Jose.
