Four years ago the dream of a unique educational facility that would honor the legacy of Ruth Mulan Chu Chao began to take shape, with a beautiful gift to Harvard Business School (HBS) from James Si-Cheng Chao and family foundations. The gift funded the construction of a new educational facility and the endowment of a fellowship for students in need. On June 6, 2016, the Chao family and a delegation of dignitaries, educators, business leaders and supporters will open the door to the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center, the first building on the HBS campus to be named after a woman and also the first to be named after someone of Asian descent. The Center will be a living monument to the inspiring efforts of the late Ruth Mulan Chu Chao to build bridges and cultural exchange between East and West and between America and her native China, through education and professional alliances.
The brand new Harvard facility consists of 90,000 square feet of modern classroom, conference room and dining space, and will serve as a unique place where executives, students and teachers can convene and exchange ideas and learn, along with international leaders from a variety of sectors like business, academia and government. The Center will also be an incubator for the development of peaceful solutions to the many emerging challenges of international relations, and a catalyst for creative thinking by the thousands of international students who attend HBS’s executive programs each year.
Dr. James S.C. Chao and each of the Chao family daughters will be present at the grand opening of the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center. On hand to record this historic and joyful event will be various media from the US and China. Angela Chao, Deputy Chair of the Foremost Group and youngest of the Chao daughters, said, “When people enter the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center, our family hopes they will feel inspired by my mother’s spirit to contribute in impactful ways to improve the world. The world today and in the future needs leaders with vision and integrity to solve the increasingly complex challenges facing the global population.”