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President’s Biography

Chan Young Bang was born in Korea in 1936. He graduated with honors from Yonsei University in 1963 and then moved to the United States for further studies in economics.

Having completed his Ph.D., Dr. Bang taught economics at UCLA, obtained a tenured position at the University of San Francisco in 1978, and was Executive Director of the Research Institute of Asian/Pacific Studies at USF from 1978 to 1988. He published scholarly work on economic reform of the USSR, Korean economic development, and North Korea. He also became well known for his exciting lecturing style, leading to his winning the highest teaching evaluation in the Department of Economics at the University of Colorado in 1971 and UCLA in 1974.

Dr. Bang came to Kazakhstan in 1990 to serve as Vice Chairman of the Expert Committee, in which Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan, served as Chairman. The Committee advised on economic policy and the introduction of market reforms and privatization in Kazakhstan.

Dr. Bang subsequently served as the Founding President of the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research, which was founded in Almaty in 1992 with the mission to produce qualified professionals to lead Kazakhstan’s post-Soviet economy. After an interval in South Korea, Dr. Bang returned to Kazakhstan to serve as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of KIMEP since 1997 and as its President since 2000.

Since his return to Kazakhstan, KIMEP transformed from a state institution offering three graduate degrees to a major internationally renowned institute with undergraduate and graduate degree programs in seven disciplines. Since 1998 the student population has grown by a factor of ten, while the campus has undergone massive renovation works, including the construction of a new library, academic building, and sports center.

In 2004, under Dr. Bang’s leadership, KIMEP became a private, non-profit institute, with a 40% shareholding stake held by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and a 60% stake held by Dr. Bang. KIMEP maintains complete academic independence, in accordance with its 1992 charter to provide modern education to Kazakhstan.

Dr. Bang’s vision for KIMEP has been to create one of the best, most modern universities in the world, producing the leaders and scholars to lead the development of Central Asia. KIMEP has nourished extensive connections not only with the private and public sectors of Kazakhstan, but partnerships with more than 75 top international universities around the world. This vision is publicly available in the “World Class” document.

In his spare time, Dr. Bang enjoys reading, ping-pong and spending time with his family.