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Mayor Wong to speak on education, Chinese heritage issues Sept. 28

September 15, 2011
By Clark News and Media Relations

Fitchburg Mayor Lisa A. Wong (黃素芬), Massachusetts’ first female mayor of Chinese heritage and so far the United States’ second youngest Chinese-heritage mayor, will speak at Clark University about education and Chinese heritage issues, at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, in the Grace Conference Room, Higgins University Center, 950 Main St.

The event, which coincidentally will take place on Confucius’ birthday, will begin with an introduction by President David Angel (安岱伟), who will have just returned from a visit to China.

Mayor Wong is currently serving her second term as Mayor of Fitchburg. She was first elected to that office in November of 2007 at age 28 and is the first minority mayor in Fitchburg.

Mayor Wong grew up in Massachusetts and attended Boston University, where she received a dual bachelor’s degree in international relations and economics and a master’s degree in economics. She began working for the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority in 2001 and became the agency’s executive director in 2004.

Chinese Language Program director Professor Ya-chen Chen (陈雅浈) invited Mayor Wong to Clark, after interviewing her for inclusion in Chen’s forthcoming book tentatively titled “China Mary: Female Chinese-Heritage Pioneers at the Top of US Profession.”

Chen, who joined Clark faculty in 2010, began research on her “China Mary” book while Director of Asian Studies at City University of New York. “It’s wonderful that Mayor Wong will be speaking at Clark, where the famous 20th-century Chinese poet Xu Zhimo (徐志摩) studied,” Chen said. “Also, renowned City University of New York alumnus Henry Kissinger helped plan President Nixon’s first trip to China early in the ‘70s.”

This free, public event is hosted by Chinese Language Program and co-hosted by Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Asian Studies Program, and Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at Clark University.

Since its founding in 1887, Clark University (克拉克大学) in Worcester (伍斯特), Mass., has a history of challenging convention. As an innovative liberal arts college and research university, Clark’s world-class faculty leads a community of creative thinkers and passionate doers and offers a range of expertise. Clark is nationally recognized in the areas of psychology, geography, management, urban education, Holocaust and genocide studies, environmental studies, and international development and social change. Clark’s students, faculty and alumni embody the Clark motto: Challenge convention. Change our world.

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