We have received this sad news from Chenyang Li:
Dear friends,
I am extremely saddened to share the news that ISCP executive director and executive committee chair, Professor Jiyuan Yu passed away on 3 November 2016, after a courageous battle with cancer.
His passing is a major loss to our organization. Professor Jiyuan Yu also served as the president of ISCP in 2012-2013 and hosted the 18th International Conference on Chinese Philosophy in Buffalo, New York in 2013. He will be remembered dearly by his friends and colleagues. A panel will be organized in his honor at the upcoming 20th International Conference on Chinese Philosophy in Singapore, 4-7 July 2017.
Thank you, Jiyuan and farewell, our dear friend!
Chenyang Li
President of ISCP
Obituary
Jiyuan Yu (1964-November 3, 2016) was a moral philosopher noted for his work on virtue ethics. Yu was a long-time and highly admired Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, in Buffalo, New York, starting in 1997. Prior to his professorship, Yu completed a three-year post as a research fellow at the University of Oxford, England (1994-1997). He received his education in China at both Shandong University and Renmin University, in Italy at Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, and in Canada at the University of Guelph. His primary areas of research and teaching included Ancient Greek Philosophy (esp. Plato, Aristotle), and Ancient Chinese Philosophy (esp. Classical Confucianism).
He served on the Editorial Boards of History of Philosophy Quarterly (2002-2005), World Philosophy (2000-present), Frontiers in Philosophy (2006–present), the Chinese translation of the Complete Works of Aristotle (1988-1998), and the book series on Chinese and Comparative Philosophy (New York: Global Publications). He received the University’s Exceptional Scholar (Young Investigator) Award, as well as the College of Arts and Sciences’ Excellence in Teaching Award in 2002. He was appointed a 2003–04 Fellow at the National Humanities Center and a Humanities Institute Faculty Fellow in the spring of 2008.
I am deeply shocked and saddened. When I saw Jiyuan in March in Buffalo he was energetic and happy. It was a joy to learn from him. As Confucius said of Yan Hui: 未聞好學者也。
I feel the same as Sam. Here is an informative and moving article about Jiyuan from earlier this year:
http://www.ubspectrum.com/article/2016/04/philosopher-of-overcoming-cancer
I never met him, but I’m sad to read this. A big loss to our field.
We had some correspondence, in which he was always kind. I was surprised at how hard this news hit me.
The Buffalo Philosophy Department has posted a memorial notice with a lot of details about Jiyuan’s life and work:
http://www.buffalo.edu/cas/philosophy/faculty/in-memoriam/jiyuan-yu.html
Here’s an announcement about the upcoming memorial at Buffalo:
Professor Neil E. Williams
Chair, Department of Philosophy
and
Professor Stephen C. Dunnett
Vice Provost for International Education and
Chair, Confucius Institute Board of Advisors
Invite you to celebrate the life and legacy of
Jiyuan Yu, Ph.D. (1964-2016)
Professor of Philosophy and Director, UB Confucius Institute
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2016 – 3:00 PM
CENTER FOR THE ARTS, UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, NORTH CAMPUS
Celebration in the Screening Room
Reception to follow in the Center for the Arts Atrium
Here is a memorial website for Jiyuan (in Chinese):
http://zgxymyw.cn/html/mingxiaofengcai/201612/05-2597.html
Upcoming symposium next week at Buffalo in Jiyuan’s memory:
http://confuciusinstitute.buffalo.edu/event/chinese-and-western-philosophy-in-comparative-perspective-in-honor-of-the-late-professor-jiyuan-yu/
Another upcoming symposium at Buffalo to discuss Jiyuan’s work:
https://confuciusinstitute.buffalo.edu/event/symposium-on-chinese-philosophy-in-memory-of-jiyuan-yu/