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Dr. Theodore Hsi-en Chen (1902-1991): Chinese American Education Pioneer and Founder of East Asian Studies at USC

Community Leadership

Dr. Chen's community leadership helped build and strengthen the Chinese American community in the greater Los Angeles area and its global connections. He was the founding President of the "Chinese Collegiate Colleagues of Southern California" (CCCSC) when it was first established in 1969. Five years later, CCCSC was renamed as the current "Chinese American Faculty Association (CAFA) of Southern California."

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1. Community Leadership Dr. Chen's community leadership helped build and strengthen the Chinese American community in the greater Los Angeles area and its global connections. He was the founding President of the "Chinese Collegiate Colleagues of Southern California" (CCCSC) when it was first established in 1969. Five years later, CCCSC was renamed as the current "Chinese American Faculty Association (CAFA) of Southern California."
2. Chen Fellowship Dr. Chen and his wife had financially supported students from Taiwan to study at USC 1969-1973 and they established the Theodore and Wen-Hui Chen Fellowship (aka Chen Fmaily Fellowship and Chen Fellowship) in 1991, one of the most competitive USC Graduate School Endowed Fellowships, to assist Chinese students interested in pursuing graduate studies at USC. Since its inception, the Chen Fellowship has benefited over sixty Chinese students.
4. Dr. Chen's Support of USC East Asian Library In his later years Dr. Chen focused on building USC’s East Asian collections. He donated his personal library of over 2,500 volumes of Chinese books to the USC Libraries in the 1970s, which became one of the foundational collections of the current East Asian Library. He and his wife also made several contributions to the library fund for East Asian materials during the 1970s and 1980s. Dr. Chen's family donated his personal papers to the USC Libraries, which includes invaluable materials such as newspaper clippings, administrative notes, and academic publications that document his groundbreaking contributions and legacy. In early 2022, a new endowment in his name was established at USC to honor and continue his legacy of library support.

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"in August 1969, a small group of Chinese American faculty members from Los Angeles area attended a luncheon in Chinatown. Several of them expressed interest in forming a Chinese Faculty Organization in Southern California for the purpose of promoting friendship and social ties, to create a forum for discussions and exchange views and to help the Chinese Community. [...] By December of that year the organization Committee had drafted a constitution named the association 'The Chinese Collegiate Colleagues of So. California (CCC SC)'. The constitution was ratified on February 21, 1970 at an inaugural banquet in the Golden Palace Restaurant in Chinatown, with 68 persons present (including spouses and guests). Professor Orient Lee, a noted Chinese historian, famous for his entertaining talk on the Three Kingdoms, was the guest speaker (in case you are curious, the price for the banquet then was $6.50/person, tax & tip included). At this meeting, election of members of the executive council was conducted and results were as follows: President - Theodore Chen (USC) Vice President/president Elect. - Sunney I. Chan (CIT) Secretary - Tien Fan Tao (UCLA) Treasurer - Lois Wong Chi (CSU Dominguez Hills) Social Chairman - Teresa Sun (CSLA)"