2023 Power Players in Education

Baruch College President S. David Wu, the first Asian-American appointed as president in The City University of New York system, began his tenure in fall 2020. President Wu is leading key initiatives that affirm the top-ranked college as a national model for creating opportunities, demanding excellence, and delivering outcomes—at a turbulent time when public confidence in higher education is waning. Recently, President Wu unveiled “Baruch 2028: Unstoppable”—the first strategic plan under his leadership.

What inspired you to pursue a career in education?
A mentor once told me, “if you feel yourself no longer growing in the job you’re doing, you should make a change”. A perpetual sense of personal and professional growth, and the reward of engaging students, led me to move from the private sector in systems engineering to academia. Over time, I learned to inspire the same sense of curiosity, discovery, and purpose in others who could then transform their lives and their communities.

What aspects of education do you believe need more support from policymakers?
Nationwide, a vast majority of college students can only afford public institutions in their city and state—that’s a reality. Public institutions that serve a diverse population of students are only receiving a fraction of resources that elite public and private universities enjoy—making an excellent education scarce and inaccessible. Education should be an equalizer, not a divider. Making excellent education accessible regardless of socio-economic backgrounds is fundamental to the opportunity infrastructure in our democracy.

Frank H. Wu serves as the eleventh president of Queens College. Prior to joining CUNY, Frank served as chancellor and dean at UC College of the Law, San Francisco and as a member of the faculty at Howard University. Frank is the author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White. He received a B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan. He grew up in Detroit.

What inspired you to pursue a career in education?
I pursued a career in higher education because I wanted to change the world. I believed then, and I still do even more passionately, that the engine of the proverbial American Dream is higher education. Queens College offers access to the highest quality opportunities for people to gain knowledge, skills, and credentials. That is good for more than the individual; it is good for the community and the nation as a whole.

What aspects of education do you believe need more support from policymakers?
We are grateful that policymakers have invested in our institutions and in the success of students. That is at the heart of our budget requests. 90% of QC students who graduate in four years do so debt-free—often with financial aid available and low tuition. Higher education is a public good from which we all benefit through the inventions that are developed, the businesses that are started, and the taxes that flow from productive citizens.

What do you think the future of New York’s education system looks like?
The future of New York’s higher education system is strong because we welcome people from the world over. The strength of Queens College—and the entire city—has always been our openness to people who believe that they can better themselves and are willing to work hard toward that goal.