Linfield College named Su-Yen Wong ’89 to its Board of Trustees over the weekend and created four new endowed scholarships.
Meeting Nov. 2-4, 2017, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously in favor of having Su-Yen Wong ’89 become a Trustee. Wong is chief executive of the Human Capital Leadership Institute, established by the Singaporean government to develop global leaders. She also serves as chair of the board at Nera Telecommunications.
Wong is a member of the board of MediaCorp, Singapore’s leading media company; Yoma Strategic Holdings, a business conglomerate in Myanmar; and NTUC First Campus, the largest provider of childcare services in Singapore. She is an active member of the Singapore Institute of Directors, Women Corporate Directors and the Young Presidents’ Organization.
Wong graduated from Linfield with a bachelor’s degree in music and computer science. She participated in concert choir, Linfield Theatre and the international student community. She went on to earn an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
She was the commencement speaker for Linfield’s 2017 graduation ceremonies. “Linfield gave me a solid foundation for life,” Wong said. She continued by telling the graduating class that Linfield education readies students for change, to adapt and to be ready for growth in career and outlook.
To that end, the Trustees also approved four new endowed scholarships for Linfield students during the November meeting. The first is the Brittany Hartzell Baguley Memorial Chemistry Research fund, a scholarship for students involved in collaborative research with faculty in the chemistry department. The scholarship honors Baguley, who graduated Linfield summa cum laude in 2000 with a chemistry major and a math minor. Baguley spent two summers at Linfield conducting research with chemistry faculty, which she described as some of the most influential experiences in her scientific training.
Another endowed scholarship is the Keith Shriver Memorial Track and Field Fund, to support the intercollegiate track and field program at Linfield. While at Linfield, Shriver was a track and field All-American and a four-time Linfield Athlete of the Year.
The Scott B. Smith Award was established in memory of a popular member of the faculty who passed away in July 2017. The Fund will provide an annual award to a first-year student in the inquiry seminar program.
The final endowed scholarship from this Board of Trustees meeting is the Francis G. and Helene E. Nelson Scholarship. Frank Nelson was a professor emeritus of philosophy who taught at Linfield for 35 years. In addition to his academic career, Professor Nelson was an ordained American Baptist minister. This scholarship will provide financial assistance to Linfield students, with preference given to those who attended a church that is part of the American Baptist Churches, USA prior to coming to Linfield.
