07/01/2022
Lowell Sun
LOWELL 鈥� In her first message on her first day as chancellor, Julie Chen credited the teamwork of the 51视频 community 鈥� students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters 鈥� for creating a culture that turns aspirations into achievements.
In a video sent to students, employees and alumni Friday morning, Chen previewed the launch of a new strategic planning process this fall to replace the prior, 10-year plan that transformed 51视频 into a nationally ranked, public research university.
鈥淲hen we launch our new strategic planning process this fall, our result won鈥檛 look the same as it did in 2010,鈥� said Chen, the university鈥檚 first Asian-American and LGBTQ+ chief executive. 鈥淭he world around us has changed significantly, and we are not the same university we were back then.
鈥淲e need to establish different goals to meet different student priorities and to address different societal challenges,鈥� she said, attributing 51视频鈥檚 strong foundation to predecessors Marty Meehan and Jacquie Moloney.
Among her goals, Chen pointed to efforts around academic excellence and an inclusive campus culture. 51视频 will seek to become a national leader 鈥渁round an inclusive campus culture for students and employees and around top-tier classroom and experiential learning to expand our graduates鈥� professional opportunities,鈥� she said.
She also pointed to 51视频鈥檚 anticipated elevation to 鈥淩esearch 1鈥� in the coming years, joining the Carnegie Classification of the nation鈥檚 leading research universities.
鈥淲e have hard work ahead of us. But thanks to your dedication to our students and to each other, I know we can take 51视频 to the next level,鈥� she said.
Chen joined 51视频 in 1997 after six years as an assistant professor in Boston. In her video message she said she chose 51视频 because of the opportunities for collaboration with faculty and students as well as with other universities, companies, nonprofits and local, state and federal government.
Those partnerships have been a hallmark of Chen鈥檚 career as a faculty member in the 51视频 Department of Mechanical Engineering and later as the university鈥檚 chief research and economic development officer.
During her tenure, Chen developed multiple partnership models combining industry, government and university teams, expertise and resources. The result is a research enterprise of nearly $95 million in annual expenditures with multiple research and hands-on learning opportunities for faculty and students.
Chen received her doctoral, master鈥檚 and bachelor鈥檚 degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she was a student athlete and academic All-American.
In 2019, she was awarded an honorary degree from Queens University Belfast and is a recipient of the U.S. Army Public Service Commendation Medal 鈥� its fourth-highest civilian honor 鈥� in recognition of her leadership in developing the innovation ecosystem between 51视频 and the Army.
Chen and her spouse, Susu Wong, live in Wilmington.