Meet the New Chair of the NYU Shanghai Parents Council

As an NYU alumna, when I first heard that NYU was going to open a new degree-granting campus in Shanghai, I had questions of how this would affect the university’s overall educational quality, ranking, and reputation. My husband and I have spent decades supporting education and entrepreneurship in both China and the United States. Since the inception of NYU Shanghai, we were fortunate to become engaged with the new school through NYU Shanghai’s Vice Chancellor, Jeff Lehman, and Director of Development, Rime Sun. They introduced us to faculty members of the university and invited us to events hosted on campus. We quickly became part of the NYU Shanghai community. As we have come to know NYU Shanghai more deeply over these years, we have developed confidence in its future. We are happy to have witnessed the great progress that the school has made.

This fall, my daughter became a freshman at NYU Shanghai. My friends often ask me why we decided to send her to NYU Shanghai instead of the New York campus or any of the other top universities in the U.S. My answer is simple, because of our strong belief in the future of NYU Shanghai and of China.

I have seen the dedicated efforts that NYU Shanghai commits in offering international higher education, bringing in renowned professors, well-experienced university leadership, and world-class resources across multiple disciplines. Plus, NYU Shanghai’s strength is its geographic location. We believe China will prosper in the next decades and beyond, and be the leader of world economy and education.

It is my honor to have joined the NYU Shanghai Parents Council as the new Chair in September. The Parents Council bridges not only the University and parents, but the NYU community and society. While carrying on the tradition of hosting events, we will work to increase the number of members in the Council. As a parent, alumna, and long-time friend of NYU Shanghai, it is my very best wish for NYU Shanghai to grow into a distinguished and unique institution and to contribute high-quality education to the NYU global network.  

 --Charlene Tang, Parent of Class 2021