The Rock Orient Foundation donates 100k masks to CCNY

The Rock Orient Foundation, led and chaired by Steven C. Rockefeller Jr., a fifth-generation member of the Rockefeller Family, donated 100,000 masks to The City College of New York that will be used to support the CCNY community and neighborhood during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
 
CCNY alumnus Daxi Li ’85, who got his Ph.D. in physics, helped establish the charity organization and initiated the donation with Ngee-Pong Chang, professor of physics at CCNY. Li attended City College with a full scholarship under the CCNY-China Exchange Program, which began under former CCNY Provost Harry Lustig. 

“There is an old Chinese saying: a drop of water given in need shall be returned with a burst of spring,” said Li, who actively promotes the Global Cultural Exchange Program and works with alumni from the China U.S. Entrance Application program, an initiative of Nobel Laureate TD Lee, Columbia University. “I will never forget the help and the education I received from CCNY; I want to do my best to give my humble contribution to CCNY, especially during this difficult time of a pandemic.” 

Lustig, who was born in Vienna, Austria, escaped with his immediate family from Hitler's Europe on the last passenger vessel to leave Naples, Italy and journeyed to New York City where he attended public school and City College. He was drafted at age 18, and after the war pursued a career in academics eventually returning to City College where he helped develop the Physics Department and the CUNY School of Medicine, formerly the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education.

The Rock Orient Foundation seeks to provide solutions to the challenges of world public health and education. They also support the evolvement of public health, promotion of global education and culture communication, development of human society and enhancement of technological development.  

The foundation also donated masks to Harvard University, Yale University and Saint Joseph’s University. To learn more about the Rock Orient Foundation, please click here.

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. 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 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.

Ashley Arocho
p: 212.650.6460
e: aarocho@ccny.cuny.edu   
View CCNY Media Kit.