Asian Alumni Reflect and Reconnect at Summit

Hundreds of alumni returned to campus this weekend to engage in a series of planned conversations and build connections with fellow alumni and affiliates during the second Harvard Asian Alumni Summit, the first such meeting since 2010.

The summit, which featured prominent speakers and panelists of Asian descent affiliated with the University, was organized by the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance.

Jim Y. Kim, president of the World Bank and an alumnus of the Medical School and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, opened the summit with an address that received a standing ovation. He recounted the experience of growing up as a Korean-American,  being elected the president of Dartmouth College, and subsequently heading the World Bank.

“There is no question that my friendships here, the classes I took here, and the people I met here had an absolutely unequivocal impact on my thinking that there’s nothing that I or a team of us couldn’t do,” Kim  said, referring to his years at Harvard.

Kim also urged the U.S. government to devote more resources to improving the quality of the educational  system and learn from Asian countries such as South Korea.

“Of all the countries I’ve visited, we are not at the top ranks in terms of being serious and reflective about what our education system is producing,” he said. “The countries that get health care and education right will have a huge advantage in the future.”

During a separate address on Saturday, Senior Fellow of the Harvard Corporation William F. Lee ’72 remarked on how diversity at Harvard has increased dramatically since the University’s founding.

“I’m quite sure that the Puritans who organized the Harvard Corporation back then didn’t [foresee] the little Chinese Senior Fellow who is shorter that the woman President,” Lee said.  “But that’s what we have today. It’s sign of great progress.”

Lee also highlighted the significance of the $350 million gift from alumnus Gerald L. Chan to the School of Public Health that was announced in September.  He added that, during the ceremony celebrating the donation, his mother and Chan’s connected for the first time and found out that they, “grew up on the same street in Shanghai.”

The summit also featured two best-selling authors, Sheryl WuDunn, an alumna of the Business School, and Amy L. Chua ’84. The former shared insights on social inequality and the latter on achievement and success as applied to immigrant families.

Sheryl WuDunn, Pulitzer Prize winner and wife of Nicholas D. Kristof '81-'82, speaks at the Harvard Asian American Alumni Summit on Saturday evening. By Y. Kit Wu

Some Asian American alumni on hand—especially those whose children are currently attending Harvard—expressed disappointment with the administration’s response to a recent death threat that was emailed to several hundred affiliates, many of whom were women of Asian descent. The email included seemingly racist language, referring to its intended recipients as “slit-eyes.” An email sent by H4A leaders to the organization’s mailing list said some alumni parents characterized the reaction with  “a lack of urgency and sensitivity.”

“We urge University officials to strongly condemn these racist attacks, to explain what their investigation has shown and why the threats are not credible, and to take action to bring the perpetrator to justice,” the email read.

The weekend-long summit comes two weeks after the Harvard Black Alumni Society and Harvard Alumni Association hosted a similar summit for black alumni.

—Staff Writer Zara Zhang can be reached at zara.zhang@thecrimson.com.