In celebration of NYU Shanghai's 14th anniversary, the University hosted a reception to honor faculty achievements on October 14.
The event recognized colleagues who have reached significant professional milestones and earned distinctions in teaching and research. Since Spring 2025, 31 faculty members have achieved tenure or promotion milestones, three faculty members have received the 2025–2026 NYU Shanghai Teaching Excellence Awards, and nearly 30 faculty members have been recognized on prestigious highly cited scholar lists, including those published by Clarivate Analytics, Elsevier, and Stanford University.
Together, these achievements reflect the academic excellence and collective contributions of NYU Shanghai’s faculty to the university’s continued growth and development.
University leadership spoke at the reception, expressing gratitude to faculty and recognizing their contributions as central to the University’s growth and success.
Chancellor Tong Shijun used the opportunity to reflect on the hard work that faculty has undertaken over the past 14 years.
“This is a moment for us to pause and reflect on the past while also looking forward to the future,” he said. He reflected on NYU Shanghai’s progress over the past 14 years in developing into a comprehensive international research university and expressed optimism about the University’s continued growth and achievements in the years ahead.
Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman thanked the faculty members for their contributions.
“You are the reason we take so much pride in this place,” he told them. “We faculty members define our success by the impact that we have on the minds of the students. As scholars we define success by flashes of insight that is rigorous and not obvious and we measure success as teachers/scholars by the endorsement of our peers.”
Provost Bei Wu acknowledged the faculty members for their dedication and highlighted the role these achievements play in propelling NYU Shanghai forward.
“Our faculty bring diverse strengths and make meaningful contributions through teaching, research, and service,” she said. “Each of these contributions is essential to who we are as a university and deserves our recognition and celebration. Together, they lay the foundation for our future.”
The promotions, tenure decisions, teaching awards, and recognition of research achievements highlight the breadth of talent across NYU Shanghai and celebrate faculty whose work contributes to the university’s teaching and research mission.
Associate Professor of Mathematics Jinzi Mac Huang, one of the faculty awarded tenure, said working at NYU Shanghai offers young faculty in China a unique platform to interact with students from all over the world and enjoy academic opportunities.
“Such diversity and liberty have shaped our university and our faculty, and I am glad to be part of this great experiment,” he said. “For me, tenure means more freedom for my research, so I can shift my attention to problems that are most interesting and meaningful for me.”
Associate Professor of Sociology Yi-lin Chiang acknowledged the importance of receiving tenure as a recognition of her research to date and said she was looking ahead to pursue research questions that genuinely interest her.
“I am fortunate to have sociology colleagues who share my passion for research and are always willing to exchange ideas,” she said. “The interdisciplinary environment also encourages me to think beyond my own field and engage with broader intellectual communities.”
Professor of Practice in Finance Offer Shapir said that teaching in such a young, international, and dynamic environment and interacting with students with diverse perspectives is one of the best parts of working here.
“The promotion is certainly a meaningful milestone and a wonderful recognition of my years at NYU Shanghai,” he said. “But the relationships I've built with students, and the opportunity to remain part of their journeys long after graduation, are what I value most.”