趙錫成與女兒小蘭(美國勞工部前部長)，父女檔同獲交大名譽博士學位
（新竹訊）國立交通大學11月17日舉行趙錫成先生及趙小蘭女士「
吳妍華校長表示，趙錫成博士是上海交通大學航海系校友，
趙博士於事業外，與夫人朱木蘭女士共同投入慈善與教育活動，
其對社會長期的貢獻使其獲獎無數。曾被紐約聯合國列入「
1958年交大在新竹復校，趙博士也為主要的推動校友，
趙小蘭博士為美國聯邦勞動部前部長，
2001年，趙博士接受美國布希總統提名，擔任聯邦勞動部部長，
趙小蘭女士的努力、成就與貢獻，獲得全球肯定。至今，
吳妍華校長表示，交大授予名譽博士學位給趙氏父女，
趙小蘭博士也於致詞時表示，
她也表示家族已經很少共同出席公共場合，
Honorary Doctorate Award Ceremony for
Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao and The Honorable Elaine L. Chao
First Father and Daughter Awarded Honorary Doctorate Degrees simultaneously
by National Chiao Tung University
National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) held the honorary doctorate award ceremony for the awardees Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao, Chairman, Foremost Group, and The Honorable Elaine L. Chao, Chair of the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Foundation, on November 17, 2014. This is the first time for NCTU to award honorary doctorate degrees to both father and daughter. After the ceremony, Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao, his eldest daughter The Honorable Elaine L. Chao and his youngest daughter Ms Angela Chao, (Deputy Chairman, Foremost Group, Harvard University 1996, Harvard Business School 2001) each addressed a speech, titled “My Gratitude to The Chinese Education and The Opportunities in America”, “Cultural Differences Between Chinese and The West”, and “The Bridge that Connects Chinese and Western Cultures” respectively.
Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao is an alumnus from the Department of Navigation at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. After graduation, he worked in the maritime industry and soon became one of the youngest sea captain of that time. In 1958, he became one of the youngest persons to achieve the highest score ever, breaking all records, on the national Master Mariner Examination. In 1964, he founded Foremost Group and is both the Chairman and CEO of the company that has now become a much respected internationally shipping, trading and finance enterprise.
Throughout their lives, Dr. Chao and his wife, Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, devoted themselves to a variety of charity work and educational activities. In 1984, they established the Mulan Educational Foundation to provide scholarships to students in the U.S. and China to access higher education and at the same time promote U.S.-China cultural exchanges. After his wife passed away on August 2, 2007, Dr. Chao continued to dedicate himself to philanthropic work. In 2012, he and his family foundation donated USD 40 million to Harvard University and Harvard Business School. The donation provides for the construction of the Executive Education center, The Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center, which was named after Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao to commemorate her life and legacy. This is the first building on campus named after a person with a Chinese surname and the first building named after a woman. In addition, the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao and James Si-Cheng Chao Family Fellowship was also established to provide scholarships to students of Chinese heritage anywhere in the world.
Dr. Chao has received numerous academic, professional and civic awards throughout his career and is a recipient of many prestigious civic awards. He was inducted in to the International Hall of Fame at the United Nations in New York. Other awards include the Ellis Island award for outstanding contributions as an immigrant in America (with his daughter, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao), and the Horatio Alger Award from the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans at the U. S. Supreme Court. In addition, Dr. Chao was honored as an Outstanding American by Choice by the U.S.Department of Homeland Security. He has also been recognized by the Asian-American community for his many contributions.He received the Outstanding Life Achievement Award from the New York Community Times, and the Lifetime Legacy Award from the International Leadership Foundation. Sing Tao Daily newspaper awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award, and the New York State Asian Job Service Employer Committee honored him with an Outstanding Achievement Award. The Museum of Chinese in America gave its inaugural award of Lifetime Achievement and Contribution to Dr. Chao and his family. Chinese American Academic & Professionals Society (CAAPS) presented to him with the Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1958, National Chiao Tung University was re-established in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao was amongst the spearhead of the establishment and visited the university many times. From 1988 to 1999, he was the Chairman of Chiao Tung University Alumni Association of America and the Chiao Tung University Alumni Association Foundation. During this period, he was committed to the exchange of the five NCTUs in China and Taiwan. Because of his hard work and selfless dedication, he has become a role model in the NCTU community.
The Honorable Elaine L. Chao is the 24th United States Secretary of Labor who served from 2001-2009. She is the first Asian Pacific American woman as well as the Chinese American to be appointed to the President's cabinet in American history. After receiving her MBA from Harvard Business School, she was a banker in Citibank, selected as a White House Fellow, and became vice president of Bank of America in San Francisco. Subsequently, Ms. Chao became Deputy Administrator of the Maritime Administration in the US Department of Transportation, Chairwoman of the Federal Maritime Commission, and Deputy Secretary of Transportation, the first Asian American and the first woman ever to assume these positions. During her tenure as Deputy Secretary of Transportation, she was involved with the management of several significant crises including the Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing, the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the 1989 Loma Prieta California earthquake. She was also responsible for the marine transportation scheduling during the Gulf War. Through these events, she showed her great capacity for crisis management. In addition, she had been the director of the American Peace Corps, and the president and CEO of United Way of America. During her presidency, she was credited with restoring credibility and public trust back to the organization after it had been tarnished with financial misdeeds. During her tenure as Secretary of Labor, the U.S. Department of Labor achieved record results in protecting the health, safety, wages, and retirement security of the nation’s workforce. She was also the longest serving Secretary of Labor since World War II.
The singularly unique, historic achievements and contributions of Secretary Chao has been globally recognized. So far, Chao has received 34 honorary doctorate degrees. She is the recipient of innumerable awards, including Harvard Graduate School of Business Alumni Achievement Award, the national Immigrant Youth Achievement Award. She was also named one of Six Outstanding Women and one of Ten Outstanding Young Women of America. She attributes her success to her parents’ dedication and sacrifice for the family, their emphasis on education and her rich bicultural background.
Yan-Hwa Wu, the University President of NCTU, expresses that it is an honor to award honorary doctorate degrees to Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao and Dr. Elaine Chao. Their legacy of humbleness and helpfulness will be passed on as a role model to all the members in the NCTU community.
留言