Major investment strengthens UMMA’s leadership in Chinese ceramics, Asian art scholarship

Building on a long legacy of giving to the University of Michigan Museum of Art, longtime university supporter and alumnus William C. Weese has endowed only the second curatorial position in the museum’s history with a gift of $2 million.

The William C. Weese M.D. Curator of Asian Art represents a major advance in the museum’s long-term intellectual and cultural impact. The endowment secures the museum’s leadership in Asian art, and advances the university’s position as a premier destination for the study and public presentation of Chinese ceramics.

“Establishing dedicated support for Asian art is my way of helping ensure that the museum’s commitment remains strong—in perpetuity—for students, scholars and visitors for generations to come,” Weese said. “During the 40 years that it has taken to accrue the collection, I have been the temporary caretaker. I am especially excited that it will now have a permanent home at UMMA.”

Weese’s support and gifts of art to UMMA now total more than $10 million. Endowing a curatorial position is one of the most powerful ways to shape what a museum can do—both now and in the future, said Christina Olsen, UMMA director.

“Dr. Weese’s extraordinary generosity ensures that Asian art, and Chinese ceramics in particular, will remain a vital and visible part of UMMA’s identity,” she said. “It allows us to deepen scholarship, expand our collection and bring these works into meaningful dialogue with students, faculty and the public for generations to come.”

A defining commitment to Asian art

Weese is a 1965 alumnus of U-M’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts. His latest gift builds on a series of contributions that have established UMMA as a center for the collection and study of Asian art. His 2020 promised gift of more than 1,000 works of Chinese ceramics—spanning from 1500 BCE through the Qing dynasty (1644-1912)—introduced one of the most significant collections of its kind to a university museum.

In 2021, he also established the Weese Program for Ceramic Arts, focused on developing, promoting and implementing the study of Chinese ceramics. With his late wife, Lynn, he established the William C. Weese M.D. and Lynn Wetherbee Weese Internship in Asian Art Fund in 2017, supporting student internship opportunities at UMMA and encouraging students to explore museum careers while studying Asian art.

“As an undergraduate at U-M, I discovered how a great public university can open the world to its students—through ideas, through people and through encounters with art that stay with you for a lifetime,” Weese said. “My love of Chinese ceramics has only deepened over the years; I’m continually moved by their beauty, technical brilliance and the culture and history they carry. It’s important to me that UMMA not only cares for these works but uses them to spark study, teaching and wonder.”

Building a lasting legacy

UMMA’s collection spans centuries, geographies and media, with Asian art playing a vital role in telling global histories through objects made for daily life, devotion, power, exchange and aesthetic innovation. The newly endowed curatorship ensures this work continues to grow—supporting acquisitions, scholarship and interpretation that connect Asian art to contemporary questions and diverse audiences.

In addition to the endowed position, Weese also has committed his collection of Chinese ceramics to UMMA as a planned gift. UMMA intends to present the collection through regular gallery rotations and special exhibitions and anticipates that the works will be utilized in teaching, learning and research. UMMA will continue to expand access to the collection through exhibitions, coursework and partnerships, as well as through its online collections platform myUMMA, where objects are presented with curatorial insight and interpretive context.

Look to Michigan

Weese’s endowment aligns with and advances U-M’s Look to Michigan campaign by investing in enduring resources that expand scholarship, strengthen student experiences and increase public impact. By establishing a named curatorial position, Weese’s commitment elevates UMMA’s ability to steward and interpret Asian art for the campus and wider community.

“I’m deeply gratified that Dr. Weese has chosen to name this curatorial position in support of Asian art at UMMA,” Olsen said. “His sustained and generous giving has been truly pivotal helping us bring these works into meaningful dialogue with students, faculty and our broader community. This investment supports ambitious exhibitions and scholarship today, and it builds the foundation for Asian art at UMMA for generations to come.”

The curatorial position is currently held by Natsu Oyobe, whose work has helped define UMMA’s growing reputation in Asian art. Recent exhibitions such as “Clay as Soft Power: Shigaraki Ware in Postwar America and Japan,” which traced the role of Shigaraki ware ceramics in strengthening Japan’s cultural relevance in the United States, and “Copies and Invention In East Asia,” an exploration of imitation and innovation across centuries, exemplify her approach connecting historical objects to global histories, cross-cultural exchange and contemporary discourse.

Written by Christopher Ankney, UMMA