Gift Will Create Program for Visiting Fellows, Fund PhD Students

SIPA will use a gift from Zhe (Zach) He, an alumnus of Columbia College and member of SIPA’s 70th Anniversary Honorary Committee, to create a program for visiting fellows in health policy and to support students in SIPA’s PhD program in sustainable development.

The December 2016 gift was made in memory of Dr. Clyde Wu, the late cardiologist and former University trustee who graduated from Columbia’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. As the longest-serving chairman of the University’s Health Sciences Committee, Wu played a critical role in fortifying Columbia’s place among world leaders in medical research and health education. The Clyde and Helen Wu Center for Molecular Cardiology at Columbia University Medical Center, which recognizes the previous philanthropic contributions by Dr. and Mrs. Wu, continues to advance research and education in the field. Wu’s enduring influence is further reflected in the various programs he steered and many students he mentored.

The newly established Clyde Wu Visiting Fellows Program will bring to the School each year two or more scholars, practitioners, policymakers, or other professionals with expertise in health policy in areas of particular relevance to China and the United States. Wu Visiting Fellows will be in residence for two to four weeks each year; they will contribute to dialogue on health policy issues and enjoy access to faculty, classes, events, and other resources at SIPA and Columbia. The program will be administered by SIPA’s Center on Development Economics and Policy with input from Dean Merit E. Janow and others.

The new Clyde Wu Student Fellowship Fund is an endowment fund that will support one student per year in SIPA’s PhD program in sustainable development. Fellowships will be awarded to students who have demonstrated a commitment to health, well-being, and public policy issues that is consistent with Dr. Wu’s legacy.

“SIPA is grateful to Zach He for this generous gift to support our students and programs,” said Dean Merit E. Janow. “The presence of visiting Wu Fellows will enrich the discussion of health policy and related issues among SIPA faculty, scholars, and students, while the Wu Fellowships will help us recruit promising students into our PhD program in sustainable development and encourage others to pursue health- and policy-related studies.”

“I’m pleased to make this gift in memory of my mentor, Dr. Clyde Wu,” said He. “Clyde deeply cared about promoting medical research, advancing healthcare policy studies, and supporting education of the next generation. Whether in the United States and China, or elsewhere around the globe, public policy plays an important part in upholding the society's healthcare system and more broadly people's well-being. I think Clyde would be pleased to know that SIPA shares his vision and provides current and future policy leaders with a platform for development."