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Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Awards
Statement |
Press Release |
Biographies |
Photos |
About the Awards
Statement STATEMENT REGARDING THE APPOINTMENT OF STEVE KANG January 18, 2007
San Francisco, California – We congratulate Sung-Mo “Steve” Kang on his appointment as Chancellor of the University of California, Merced, and applaud the UC Regents for this wise decision. Chancellor-designee Kang is one of two recipients of the Asian Pacific Fund’s new Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Awards, a $10,000 award for outstanding Asian leaders in higher education. Now in the inaugural year, the Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Awards were created by the Asian Pacific Fund to inspire more Asian Americans to aspire to leadership exemplified by the late Chang-Lin Tien, a founding member of the Asian Pacific Fund Board of Directors and chancellor of UC Berkeley from 1990 to 1997. Asian Americans are currently underrepresented at this level of academic leadership. The program also draws attention to the ways in which diverse leaders can make our universities even more competitive in a global environment. “With this award, we want to not only honor these scholars and administrators, but to inform the Asian American community of a vision and career path they might not have considered,” said Emerald Yeh, Asian Pacific Fund board member. "We are looking for future 'Dr. Tiens.'"
To download this statement, click here.
Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gail M. Kong, Asian Pacific Fund
ASIAN PACIFIC FUND ANNOUNCES INAUGURAL RECIPIENTS OF THE CHANG-LIN TIEN EDUCATION LEADERSHIP AWARDS
San Francisco – The Asian Pacific Fund presents its first annual Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Awards to two Asian Americans in recognition of their professional accomplishments and leadership qualities. The honorees are Sung-Mo “Steve” Kang, Dean of the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Belle W. Y. Wei, Dean of the College of Engineering at San Jose State University. The honorees will each receive an unrestricted grant of $10,000. The award honors the legacy of Dr. Chang-Lin Tien, the first Asian American to head a major American research university, and was created to inspire more Asian Americans to aspire to this level of leadership. The program will support the professional development and advancement of Asian American leaders in higher education, an essential resource for our country’s global competitiveness. Dr. Tien served as chancellor of UC Berkeley from 1990 to 1997. During his tenure, he strengthened undergraduate education, fostered diversity on the Berkeley campus and raised nearly $1 billion for the University of California Berkeley. Acclaimed as a teacher, scientist, administrator and a powerhouse fundraiser, Dr. Tien was admired by many students and faculty members. "Dr. Tien was a scholar and leader of the highest caliber--a true visionary. He had a unique spark that served as a catalyst to bring out the best in those around him," said Henry Yang, Chancellor of the University of California, Santa Barbara. "Throughout his career, he worked tirelessly to advance education at all levels. His legacy is a tremendous source of pride and inspiration, not only for the Asian American community, but also for all those fortunate enough to have had their lives touched by him." Sung-Mo (Steve) Kang
Belle W. Y. Wei
“The challenges of U.S. higher education in an increasingly competitive global economy are indeed daunting,” Wei said, “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.”
Asian Americans are significantly under-represented at high levels of academic leadership. According to a 2005 report by the Committee of 100 (www.committee100.org), Asian Americans hold just over 6% of all faculty positions (40,000) at American Universities, but only 1.5% of university president positions. A recent New York Times article (January 7, 2007) noted that Asian-Americans typically make up 10 to 30 percent of students at the nation’s leading colleges and universities. “With this award, we want to not only honor these scholars and administrators, but to inform the Asian American community of a vision and career path they might not have considered,” said Emerald Yeh, Asian Pacific Fund board member. “We are looking for future ‘Dr. Tiens.’” The leadership of private and public academic institutions in California was invited to submit nominations, as were representatives from national higher education organizations involved in diversity and executive searches. The nominations were reviewed by a committee of higher education leaders that made recommendations to the Asian Pacific Fund Board for final selection. Committee members included: Dr. Henry Yang, Chancellor of University of California, Santa Barbara, Dr. Bobby Fong, President of Butler University, Dr. Bob Suzuki, President Emeritus of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Leslie Tang Schilling, UC Regents, Dr. Horace Mitchell, President of California State University, Bakersfield, and Dr. David Pierpont Gardner, President Emeritus of University of California. The Asian Pacific Fund is a community foundation established in 1993 to improve the well-being of all Asians in the Bay Area. The Fund encourages Asian Americans to be involved in the community and to give back. The Fund connect donors to pressing community needs and also works with more than 80 local organizations that provide vital services to the diverse Asian American community. Since 1993, the Asian Pacific Fund has distributed nearly $3 million in grants and awards. Dr. Tien was a founding member of its Board of Directors. For more information and downloadable photos, go to http://www.asianpacificfund.org/resources/press.shtml
Board of Directors
To download this press release, click here.
Biographies Sung-Mo "Steve" Kang
In 1985, he joined the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. From August 1995 to December 2000, he served as Head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Since January 2001, he has been serving as Dean of Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He served as President of IEEE CAS Society in 1991 and was the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Very Large Scale Systems. He is a recipient of the Mac E. Van Valkenburg Award of IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (2005), Outstanding Alumnus Award in Electrical Engineering, UC Berkeley (2001), IEEE Third Millennium Medal (2000), SRC Technical Excellence Award (1999), IEEE CAS Society Golden Jubilee Medal (1999), KBS Award in Science and Technology (1998), IEEE CAS Society Technical Achievement Award (1997), Humboldt Research Award for Senior US Scientists (1996), IEEE Graduate Teaching Technical Field Award (1996), and best paper awards, including the IEEE CAS Darlington Prize Paper Award (1993). Dr. Kang is Fellow of IEEE, ACM and AAAS, a Foreign Member of National Academy of Engineering of Korea.
Belle W. Y. Wei
Dean Wei holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from UC-Berkeley and an M.S. degree in Engineering from Harvard University. Her specialty area is VLSI circuit theory and special architectures. In 2004, she received a Special Congressional Recognition in Recognition for Outstanding and Invaluable Service to the Community, and the Public Service Award from the Committee of 100, Northern California.
Photos To view and download a high-resolution image of Dr. Kang, click here. To view and download a high-resolution image of Dr. Wei, click here.
About the Awards The Chang-Lin Tien Education Leadership Awards are given annually to honor two Asian Americans with significant academic accomplishments and the potential to advance to the highest leadership levels in higher education. The purpose of the awards is to support the recognition, professional development and advancement of Asian Americans as leaders of colleges and universities. Each award recipient receives an unrestricted grant of $10,000. The Asian Pacific Fund will also sponsor a recognition program to publicize the work of the award recipient. The Fund is also working with existing education leadership programs to provide leadership development opportunities to the award recipients. This award honors the legacy of Chang-Lin Tien, the first Asian American to head a major American research university as chancellor of UC Berkeley from 1990 to 1997.
This award was created to inspire more Asian Americans to aspire to the leadership exemplified by Dr. Tien. Quality institutions of higher education are essential to our state’s future, and the California economy is increasingly intertwined with the economies of Asian nations. Asian American leaders of higher education, like Dr. Tien, bring a commitment to the excellence and many unique talents needed as well as an ability to make the vital connections we need with Asia. Institutions of higher education, particularly the public universities and colleges in California, would greatly benefit by leaders who exemplified the qualities and could come close to the accomplishments of Dr. Tien. Asian Americans are currently underrepresented at this level of academic leadership, and we believe this award will help to focus attention on individuals who may be able to serve in these positions.
To download a fact sheet on these awards, click here.
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