The Weglyn Legacy

Born in California, Michi Nishiura Weglyn was incarcerated as a teenager during World War II with more than 112,000 people of Japanese ancestry. She was a successful costume designer and was the first Japanese American woman to achieve national prominence in this field. In 1976, she published her seminal work titled, Years of Infamy: The Untold Story of America’s Concentration Camps, the first major book on the subject written from the perspective of an internee. Additionally, she worked to give redress to internees both in this country and in South America.

Walter Weglyn fled to the United States from Holland in 1947. He established himself in the states as successful perfume chemist and married Michi in 1950. Walter was one of the few Jewish children from his hometown to survive the holocaust and empathized with Michi’s passion for redress and social justice. He served as her co-researcher of her groundbreaking book. As Michi stated, “Walter is my most exacting critic and mentor.,” Together they fought for civil rights, social justice, and social equality.

Working with then Cal Poly Pomona President Bob Suzuki and his wife Agnes, The Weglyns established The Endowed Chair of Multicultural Studies at the beginning of the 1999 Academic year. Its foundation remains a credit to Michi and Walter Weglyn who recognized the strength of a new discipline spanning diverse study areas and the ability of administrators and faculty members on this campus to contribute positively and cooperatively to its development locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.