Blog
Comment
charlie babcock
I suspect someone told Shu-Park Chan that ITU had been officially accredited, ...
y_p_w
I wasn't his student, but I do remember ITU and got curious about it. It was in ...
Educator Shu-Park Chan leaves Silicon Valley legacy
Rick Merritt
3/14/2013 12:10 PM EDT
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Shu-Park Chan, a champion of electronics engineering education, passed away February 22, the same day the university he founded here was officially accredited.
Chan was founder and president emeritus of International Technological University (ITU), an institution providing advanced degrees in high tech fields that maintains close links to industry. He founded ITU in 1994 after 30 years teaching at Santa Clara University, where he rose to become Dean of the School of Engineering.
Chan was well known for tapping industry experts as guest lecturers in his courses, bridging academia and industry practice. He is said to have had among his students founders of Atmel, Cadence, Oak Technology, Inc. and other well known Silicon Valley companies.
Chan died in Hong Kong the same day ITU officially became accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The accreditation “is a great achievement for ITU, and its mission contributes to the role of San Jose as the capital of Silicon Valley,” said San Jose city council member Sam Liccardo.
ITU has seven departments and grants master’s and doctorate level degrees in fields such as electrical engineering, computer and software engineering, engineering management, international business, interdisciplinary sciences and digital arts and animation. ITU planned a celebration of Chan’s like in its auditorium on March 15 at 11am.
Related stories:
Chan was founder and president emeritus of International Technological University (ITU), an institution providing advanced degrees in high tech fields that maintains close links to industry. He founded ITU in 1994 after 30 years teaching at Santa Clara University, where he rose to become Dean of the School of Engineering.Chan was well known for tapping industry experts as guest lecturers in his courses, bridging academia and industry practice. He is said to have had among his students founders of Atmel, Cadence, Oak Technology, Inc. and other well known Silicon Valley companies.
Chan died in Hong Kong the same day ITU officially became accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The accreditation “is a great achievement for ITU, and its mission contributes to the role of San Jose as the capital of Silicon Valley,” said San Jose city council member Sam Liccardo.
ITU has seven departments and grants master’s and doctorate level degrees in fields such as electrical engineering, computer and software engineering, engineering management, international business, interdisciplinary sciences and digital arts and animation. ITU planned a celebration of Chan’s like in its auditorium on March 15 at 11am.
Related stories:
|
|
|
|
|
Navigate to related information
rick.merritt
3/14/2013 5:27 PM EDT
I'd love to her stories from any former students
Sign in to Reply
DP23
3/14/2013 6:24 PM EDT
I was an undergrad student of Dr. Chan's in the EE department at SCU in the 1980's. I took his course on electrical networks and remember that he had very passionate style of lecturing, especially his way of emphasizing the term "cut-sets"!
I'll have to see if I still have any notes from his class. I also remember that Dr. Chan was very proud of his service in the Chinese Nationalist Army in the late 1940's, fighting against the advance of Communism in China.
Sign in to Reply
rick.merritt
3/14/2013 6:35 PM EDT
Wow, what history! I had a history professor in Michigan who was on the last plane out if Estonia before the Soviets arrived.
Sign in to Reply
y_p_w
3/15/2013 2:49 PM EDT
I wasn't his student, but I do remember ITU and got curious about it. It was in the same neighborhood where I bought a house in Santa Clara.
All I can say is that it didn't really seem like much of a "university" at the time. It was in a single-story building (maybe 80x200') in a residential neighborhood next to a small church and residential housing. I couldn't imagine that it had more than three classrooms in addition to whatever administration they had. The current occupant is an urgent care medical clinic. It didn't seem like much. If you were to see it on the street, it looked very much like a fly-by-night operation and it moved within a few years. However, the founder persevered.
On the other hand, I almost didn't believe it when I met someone who was set to graduate from what was then known as "Cogswell College".
Sign in to Reply
charlie babcock
3/15/2013 8:31 PM EDT
I suspect someone told Shu-Park Chan that ITU had been officially accredited, and he concluded his life's work was done. A true teacher... It's a tribute to his strength and perseverance that accreditation arrived the day he died. Charlie Babcock, InformationWeek
Sign in to Reply