By Sheila McKenna
October 2, 2005

Copyright 2005, Newsday. All Rights Reserved.

DAVID CHANG

Chancellor of Polytechnic University in downtown Brooklyn. Recently elected to the Board of Trustees of the Museum of the Moving Image. Member of the board of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering since 2001 and has served on the National Advisory Council of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program since its inception in 1999. Member of the Committee of 100, a volunteer organization of leading Chinese Americans.

BIOGRAPHY

64, a native of China and reared in Taiwan. Graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from National Cheng-Kung University in Taiwan and received master's and doctoral degrees in applied physics from Harvard University. Served on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's transitional team and was his appointee for Panel for Education Policy (formerly New York City Board of Education). Served as president of Polytechnic from 1994 to this past July, when he was named chancellor. Married, one son and lives near Lincoln Center.

FOCUS

"Polytechnic is a private, independent university and the second-oldest engineering school in the country. Like life in New York City, our student body reflects the spirit of immigrants. As a private research university, educationally we serve a purpose. Our tuition is high and our students are very good, but what makes us interesting is that our student body, by and large, comes from very poor and modest immigrant backgrounds. What we have done is help the have-nots to become the leaders of communities throughout the country. It is a school with a very high spirit and a very motivated student body. During my 11 years of presidency we have transformed the university's MetroTech campus into a global center for science and engineering."

COMMITMENT

"A university is an integral part of the community that it is located in and we can only do as well as the community does. So, from that viewpoint, I take a very proactive role and view as to what we should do. The Gates Millennium Scholars Program provides scholarships for the economically disadvantaged population, and NACME promotes the interest of minorities and women in engineering."

CONCERN

"We have a long and hard uphill battle in continuing to attract women to the sciences. We are beginning to make progress, and there is more and more awareness. But the challenge for the U.S. as a country has to be not only to get more kids interested in science and technology, but to get women interested in it as well. So I will continue to remain proactive and will reach out to this population both in New York and around the country."