Chinese-American Groups Contribute $300,000 for 150 Chinese Students at SUNY

New York City - State University of New York (SUNY) today announced several gifts to support the SUNY China 150 Fund.  SUNY China 150 provides scholarships for students from Sichuan Province, who were affected by the massive earthquake earlier this year, and is the first element of a larger initiative to create and deepen partnerships with Chinese universities and organizations.

The Association of Chinese American Physicians (ACAP), through a series of fundraisers with the Asian American Bar Association of NY, raised and has contributed $105,000 to support scholarships for these students, and worked in conjunction with the North Shore – LIJ Health System to raise another $20,000.  The Chinese American Planning Council (CPC) added a cash donation of $22,000 and solicited in-kind donations of $42,500 from Hip Hop USA and Red Packet Mobile.  Together with an earlier gift from The Related Companies of $120,000, this brings the total contributed to the SUNY China 150 Fund to more than $309,500.

SUNY Vice Chancellor Nicholas Rostow, Director of the SUNY China 150 program, said “SUNY is most appreciative of the support of the New York community for this important program.  The Chinese American community, in particular, has welcomed these students and made them feel at home, after many have lost their homes in this terrible tragedy.  The program has also generated incredible good will in China, which will reap great benefits for SUNY and the State of New York.”

Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said, in a recent speech at the Waldorf Astoria in New York,   “Thanks to the efforts of the US government and people in various sectors, 150 students from the earthquake-hit areas are now studying at the State University of New York.  I am convinced that when they return to China after finishing their studies, they will be able to better help the re-building of their homeland and will surely join in the endeavor to promote China-US friendship.”

Dr. Lisa Eng, Vice-President of the Association of Chinese-American Physicians said “Our membership donated generously to a fund to be used for earthquake relief.  When we learned what SUNY was doing, and met some of these wonderful students, we were convinced that supporting this effort would be a tremendous way to help rebuild Sichuan Province through education.  The ethnic professional societies (AABANY), and fellow healthcare colleagues (North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Queens County Medical Society) agreed, and we are pleased they joined with us in this humanitarian effort and we applaud SUNY for their vision.”

Jenny Low, Chairperson of the Board of the Chinese American Planning Council, echoed these thoughts. “We had a chance to meet 25 of these students at a fund-raising dinner we held in Queens.  They are the promise of a bright future between New York and China.  We are happy to help SUNY in its mission, and the students as they rebuild their lives”.

Further information about the SUNY China 150 project is available at the web-site www.sunychina150.org.   

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating more than 427,000 students in 7,669 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu 

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