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Biographies
2006
Dr. Sung-Mo "Steve" Kang
2008
Dr. Norman C. Tien
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HOME > SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS > TIEN EDUCATION LEADERSHIP AWARDS > BIOGRAPHIES
Dr. Belle W. Y. Wei
[Note: The following biography was prepared at the time of the awards ceremony and may not be current.] When asked why she decided not to pursue an engineering career in a promising Silicon Valley start-up, Belle Wei speaks glowingly of Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher. He is considered one of the greatest thinkers, Wei says, and he was a teacher, too. Wei is also a teacher, and dean of the College of Engineering at San Jose State University. Though with her credentials, she could certainly distinguish herself in the technological business world, she sees her chosen field as honorable and respectable. Despite the 2,000 years separating them, Wei says Confucius and his ideas on effectiveness and idealism form the core of her ethic and inspire her to prepare young people for a 21st-century world. “The challenges of U.S. higher education in an increasingly competitive global economy are indeed daunting,” Wei said. But despite its difficulties, she remains determined to encourage her students to act as thoughtful global citizens, and appreciate and respect other cultures. If the last five years are any indicator, she is succeeding. Wei was appointed dean of the College of Engineering at San José State in May 2002. Under her leadership, the College developed a new vision to empower students to better the world through innovation, to put cutting-edge engineering to work and improve people’s quality of life. To this aim, Wei launched the Global Technology Initiative (GTI), which allows the College’s top students to complete a fully-sponsored Asian Study Tour. GTI has sent 75 students overseas in the last three years to visit universities and global technology companies, as well as the factories of such Silicon Valley giants as Cisco, Intel and HP. “Our students have a thorough transformation in outlook and perspective,” Wei said. “They witnessed first-hand how fast China’s cities and industries have developed, and how competitive Chinese workers and students are.” Wei says that time spent in places like China, Taiwan and India, gives students a taste of their future and reiterates the importance of preparing for international collaboration and competition. Wei herself was born and raised in Taiwan, and believes that the GTI Asian Study Tour shows students how global our world has become, not just in terms of politics and economics, but in terms of engineering, as well. “[Dean Wei] conceived the GTI program, championed it and raised funds from business leaders to establish an endowment to support it,” said Carmen Sigler, San Jose State University provost. “While many higher education leaders talked about the need to prepare students to perform effectively in a global knowledge-based economy, most of what takes place is conversation, not real action. Dean Wei is a shining example of what could happen but rarely does.” Wei also has extensive experience in the classroom and began teaching in 1982 as an instructor at UC Berkeley. After a brief stint at Stanford, she joined the electrical engineering faculty at San Jose State University in 1987, and she has been there ever since. She was promoted to full professor in short order and became chair of the electrical engineering department in 1998. As a result of all the time spent in classrooms talking to students, Wei is a vocal advocate of interdisciplinary learning. She established an engineering minor so students in arts, business and the social sciences could more easily see the connections between engineering and their own specialties. She also encourages engineering students to take classes in other fields, and pushed for a business minor specifically for engineering students. All these initiatives increase the employability of all students and bridge the cultural divide between technical and business worlds, Sigler said. Wei has excelled by other measures too. During her tenure, the College achieved a 133 percent increase in externally-funded grants and contract awards. In 2004, Wei received a Special Congressional Recognition for Outstanding and Invaluable Service to the Community, and the Public Service Award from the Committee of 100. She is the Chair of Vision New America, an organization founded to promote the civic participation of underrepresented ethnic groups, and Wei has been on its Board since 2001. In addition, she has published dozens of articles in professional journals, including ones on how to build more energy efficient wireless networks, for example. All these accolades and accomplishments aside, Wei says that her greatest happiness is impacting the lives of young people. Even though changing roles from professor to dean was challenging, she maintains that her aim remains the same: delivering concrete results to students. The nature of the work shifted teaching to partnering with industry professionals and connecting to alumni, she said, but she feels she can better spread ideas and open opportunities as dean. “Asian Americans’ bicultural background provides an ability to bridge east and west and prepare young people to address the critical issues that impact us all,” said Wei. “My philosophy is that I want all students to have the opportunity to have fulfilled lives.” Wei’s leadership certainly helps explain why Silicon Valley firms employ more graduates from San Jose State than from any other university in the nation. San Jose State University is the oldest public institution of higher education on the West Coast, and the California State University system is the largest university in the United States. Wei has dedicated her talents to a leading state university system where her hard work has far-reaching implications. Though Confucius’ reputation and the scope of his influence is hard to compete with, Dean Wei’s impact on her students and on higher education will undoubtedly have long-lasting effects.
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