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| • PBI Events, Fall 2009 • | |
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| November 20 | |
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Trash for Cash: Making a Killing and Making a Living on Garbage |
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| December 8 | |
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Video Screenings by PBI Summer Tour Grant Winners |
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| More events and details. | |
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Frank Gibney: 1924-2006
Frank B. Gibney,
the late founder and president of Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona
College, spent most of his life attempting to bridge the gap between
Americans and the countries and cultures of East Asia. He died on
April 9, 2006 at his home in Santa Barbara, at the age of 81. Gibney first visited Asia as a lieutenant in U.S. Naval Intelligence stationed in Japan during World War II and returned to Japan in 1949 as Time-Life's bureau chief, rising to prominence covering the Korean War. He remained in Asia where he did extensive reporting in Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia.
Gibney later served as an editor of Time, a senior features editor of Newsweek and an editorial writer for Life magazine. After joining the Encyclopedia Britannica in 1966, he spent 10 years in charge of Britannica’s business and editorial operations in East Asia. He founded and edited the Japanese-language Britannica (completed in 1975) and later editions of the encyclopedia in Chinese and Korean.
A prolific writer, Gibney was the author of 11 books from Five Gentlemen of Japan (1953) to Korea’s Quiet Revolution (1992) and The Battle for Okinawa (1995). His major work, The Pacific Century (1992) was the capstone of the award-winning PBS television series of that name, where he served as chief editor. The program aired in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, as well as the U.S. He was also a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post, most recently writing about Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in September 2005.
Active in public service, Gibney served as a chief consultant to the House of Representatives Committee on Space and Aeronautics, a White House speechwriter for President Johnson, and a vice chairman of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission.
In 1976, the Japanese government awarded Gibney the Order of the Rising Sun, Third Class, for his work in cultural affairs. The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Second Class, followed a few years later.
Fluent in Japanese, Professor Gibney co-founded the Pacific Basin Institute in 1979 to further understanding, on both sides of the Pacific, of the tremendous importance of their relationship and their shared responsibilities. In 1997, the Institute moved to Pomona College, where its unique Asia/Pacific film archive, production facilities and public events play an important role in the life and academic activities of the college and community.
View a list of Frank Gibney's books.
