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After a three-year wait, Central hosted three very special guests on campus on May 20.
The family of Dr. C.J. Huang-Jen, who bequeathed more than $6 million to the university, visited Connecticut to meet with President Zulma R. Toro and view the C.J. Huang Recreation Center. The visit marks the first time the Huang family visited the building, which opened on Jan. 21, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the university’s plans for a May 2020 dedication ceremony.
Dr. Huang’s wife, Ha-Lin Huang, and her daughters, Sheila Li and Alice Mark, joined President Toro and members of the Executive Committee for a tour and a private unveiling of a memorial plaque and video installation dedicated to Dr. Huang and his philanthropy.
“We are deeply appreciative of Dr. Huang’s support of Central. He was a remarkable man, and we are grateful he chose Central as a place to continue his legacy,” President Toro said. “Thank you for your generosity and commitment to Central and our students.”
Huang’s family members noted that education, health, and mentorship were guiding principles throughout Dr. Huang’s life and thanked President Toro for the opportunity to share his philosophy with others.
“Thank you all for your support and efforts in making this day come together,” Li said.
“He was a giver. His philosophy was to educate and teach others the importance of helping the family,” Mark added.
Dr. Huang’s relationship with Central Connecticut State University began in 1990 when he endowed a scholarship to support the exchange of students from Ouyang Yu Experimental Middle School in China to Central and the exchange of Central graduate students to Ouyang Yu to teach English. The university awarded Dr. Huang with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters the same year.
Before his death in 2012, Dr. Huang bequeathed an additional $6.5 million to Central to establish another scholarship fund and to construct a new recreational facility. Central broke ground on the project in the fall of 2017. Since its opening, the C.J. Huang Recreation Center has logged approximately 300,000 visits by students.
Dr. Huang’s legacy also includes the C.J. Huang Foundation, which he established to support Asian American community-based organizations, and the Asian Liver Research Center at Stanford University. He also helped to build the Shanghai Children’s Hospital and the Wuhan University School of Nursing. He also published several books on calligraphy, including three titles housed in the Huang Family Collection at the Elihu Burritt Library.