NYU Shanghai Celebrates Naming of Dangdang Auditorium

On September 11, NYU Shanghai held an unveiling ceremony of the Dangdang Auditorium in recognition of the longstanding generosity of Peggy Yu (Yu Yu), co-founder and executive chairwoman of Dangdang.com, one of China’s biggest e-commerce platforms.

NYU President Linda G. Mills, NYU Shanghai Chancellor Tong Shijun, Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman, Provost Bei Wu, Associate Vice Chancellor Ding Shuzhe, and Dean of Business Chen Yuxin participated in the event honoring Ms. Yu’s enduring contributions to education. The event was organized by the NYU Shanghai Education Development Foundation and moderated by its chairperson Rime Sun.

In her remarks, President Mills expressed heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Yu for her generosity, highlighting her role in fostering East-West cultural exchange and global collaboration. “One of my great privileges as president of NYU is that I have the opportunity to shine a light on remarkable talent – the amazing students and faculty members in our global community of scholars. Often I shine that spotlight on our brilliant alums who carry the NYU torch. Today, I have the honor of shining that light on you – the amazing Peggy Yu.”

Chancellor Tong emphasized that the honor was more than just a gesture of gratitude. “The naming of the Dangdang Auditorium represents not only our gratitude, but also a lasting partnership between Peggy Yu and NYU Shanghai.” 

Vice Chancellor Lehman recalled Ms. Yu’s thoughtful advice to students as NYU Shanghai’s commencement speaker in 2019. “The Peggy who spoke at commencement is exactly the Peggy I know: brilliant, wise, and deeply generous. She could have focused only on herself, but she never does – she always thinks of others.”

Dean of Business Chen Yuxin highlighted how Ms. Yu’s support has strengthened the joint programs between NYU Shanghai’s Business Program and NYU Stern School of Business, making it among the top programs in China and the world.

Ms. Yu also spoke, recalling her journey growing up in a small town of Wuxi in the 1970s to receiving a scholarship to pursue an MBA at NYU Stern School of Business, a turning point in her life. After graduating, she began her career in finance in New York City before returning to China to co-found Dangdang.com, one of the country’s first and most influential e-commerce platforms. She credited her success to the education she received at NYU and underscored her commitment to giving back. 

“I am forever grateful for the education I received at Stern – the wonderful faculty, the great lectures, and most importantly, the scholarship that supported my MBA from 1990 to 1992. I would like to see more students go to NYU and NYU Shanghai, and more faculty do research in the fields they choose. To that end, I will continue my support, and I will always be at your service.”

Ms. Yu, named one of the “Top 10 Most Influential Women in Business in Asia” by the Wall Street Journal in 2006, is a longtime supporter of NYU and NYU Shanghai. At NYU Shanghai, multiple scholarships and funds supporting students and faculty have been established in her and Dangdang’s name. She is also a member of the Sir Harold Acton Society, one of NYU’s prestigious circles of benefactors.

At the event, two student beneficiaries of Ms. Yu’s philanthropy shared their stories. Dana Zinchenko ’26 shared that despite war in her hometown on the Russia-Ukraine border, dealing with family illness, and arriving in China without speaking a word of Mandarin, she thrived here as an orientation ambassador and dance troupe leader – all thanks to the Dang Dang Finish Line Achievement Scholarship Fund. She also was able to fulfill one of her dreams – performing in New York. Her story demonstrated how an education opens the door to new possibilities.

Maile Limosnero NYU ’27, currently studying away at NYU Shanghai as a recipient of the Yu Yu Student Exchange Empowerment Fund, thanked Ms. Yu for the opportunity to study and live in a city that’s “vibrant, fast-paced, and full of opportunities.” She said she planned to make the most of her time in Shanghai and witness “firsthand the history, architecture, and traditions that make this country so remarkable.”

As one of NYU Shanghai’s signature venues, the Auditorium has hosted a Turing Award winner, a MacArthur Fellow, a Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate, and world-renowned scholars since the New Bund campus opened in 2023. It will continue to serve as a landmark for intellectual exchange and academic innovation at NYU Shanghai.