Jane Chu, former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts
Jane Chu, former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, will deliver the ninth annual Sternberg Family Lecture in Public Scholarship, “Leadership in Ambiguity: A Celebration of Immigrant Stories,” at The City College of New York on Wednesday, March 15 at 4 p.m. in CCNY’s Great Hall.
During her four-year tenure at the NEA (2014-18), Chu traveled to all 50 U.S. states and four countries, making more than 400 site visits to meet with artists and arts leaders, government and civic leaders, philanthropists, and the general public. Under her leadership, the NEA awarded $430 million to support the arts in 16,000 communities, covering all 50 states and in every Congressional District.
Prior to heading the NEA, Chu oversaw a $413 million campaign to build and open the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Mo., for which she served as the founding president and CEO.
A practicing visual artist, Chu is currently also a Leader-in-Residence at CCNY’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.
The daughter of Chinese immigrants, Chu received bachelor’s degrees in piano performance and music education from Ouachita Baptist University, a master’s degree in piano pedagogy from Southern Methodist University, an associate’s degree in visual arts from Nebraska Wesleyan University, a master’s degree in business administration from Rockhurst University, and a doctorate in philanthropic studies from Indiana University. She also holds six honorary doctoral degrees.
This event is free and open to the public. Click here to register.
About the Sternberg Family Lecture in Public Scholarship
Seymour (Sy) Sternberg ’65, ’10 (hon.) and Laurie Sternberg established the Sternberg Family Lecture in Public Scholarship in 2014 to foster conversations about relevant public and policy related discussions.
About the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership
Established in April 2013, the Colin Powell School is home to the social science departments at CCNY as well as the core leadership development and public service programs of the College. With almost 4,000 students, and graduating the most CCNY students annually, the Colin Powell School’s mission is to transform the nation’s most diverse student body into tomorrow’s global leaders. Half of our students are immigrants; most come from lower income backgrounds. More than seventy percent are first-generation college students, and eighty percent are people of color. The Colin Powell School and City College remain among the most effective engines of economic and social mobility in the United States. The School is led by a faculty dedicated to the highest standards of research and to the university’s democratic and public obligations. Read more about the Colin Powell School.
About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.