Source: The Whittier Daily News

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207%7E12026%7E2059775,00.html?search=filter

On April 2, 2004 The Whittier Daily News reported, "Venerable Master Hsing Yun announced Friday that Hsi Lai University has a new name --University of the West -- and a new mission in education and Buddhist enlightenment. Hsing Yun, founder of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist sect and Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, started the school in Rosemead in 1991. To increase enrollment and better serve the local communities, the school will increase its outreach through programs targeting Asian Americans and Buddhists in the region. To start the university on its new path, a longtime professor of Asian and Buddhist studies from UC Berkeley was appointed president of the university Feb. 1. Lewis Lancaster, Ph.D., has been charged with gaining full accreditation of the University of the West by 2006, as well as developing programs to help Asian Americans assimilate into American life while keeping their cultural heritage strong."