Frank H. Wu (1967 – )

“Over the years, the world opened up. It has become a dizzying kaleidoscope of cultural fragments, arranged and rearranged without plan or order”

– Frank H. Wu, Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White

Civil Rights Activist and Writer

Frank H. Wu is a professor, writer, and civil rights activist. Wu’s parents migrated to the U.S. from Taiwan and his father worked and lived in Detroit, Michigan. His notable works include Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White and his op-ed article “Why Vincent Chin Matters” in The New York Times. In the op-ed Wu mentioned that “The Vincent Chin murder is why I became “Asian-American””. 

Wu is the first Asian American Dean at Wayne State University Law School, was a visiting professor at Michigan, and an adjunct professor at Columbia. He was also the Chancellor and Dean of the UC Hastings Law, and was William L. Prosser Distinguished Professor at UC Hastings Law until 2020. He is currently President at Queens College, City University of New York. 

Wu served for nine years on the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). He was also appointed by the Defense Department to the Military Leadership Diversity Commission. In 2016, Wu was elected Chair for the Committee of the 100- a non-profit group which promotes better US-China relations and active participation of Chinese Americans in public life – then after two years as chair, he was elected as the groups first president, a title he held for another two and a half years.