Grateful former alumni donate millions to Fudan University

As Fudan University celebrates its 120th anniversary, alumni are making generous donations to support its development and its students.

Big names include Cao Guowei, chairman and CEO of Sina, owner of social media platform Weibo, and Wang Changtian, chairman of Enlight Media, the production company behind "Ne Zha 2," the hugely successful animation.

The duo jointly donated 100 million yuan (US$13.8 million) to establish a foundation to support innovation and development in liberal arts and social sciences, with missions such as transforming outstanding traditional cultural legacy into modern forms, addressing social concerns and promoting interdisciplinary studies.

Cao and Wang, both members of Fudan's class of 1984 who majored in journalism, said the university had not only bestowed upon them knowledge, but also shaped them with open minds and lofty values. The humanistic literacy, critical spirit and sense of social responsibility embedded in them by Fudan are the lighthouses of their lives and careers, they said, and they wished the same for its students today.

Zhu Min, former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund and an economics major of the class of 1977, donated 10 million yuan to establish a program in the names of his parents, Zhu Guinong and Zhang Boqin, to ease financial strains on students, enabling them to focus on study and research.

The program will provide selected students not just with scholarships, but internships and opportunities for overseas exchanges. It will also invite outstanding alumni to be mentors for students in academic guidance and career planning.

Earlier, Li Ping, a polymers major of the 1985 class and co-founder of Chinese battery giant CATL, and his wife Liao Mei, a history major of the class of 1986, donated a billion yuan to support an institute of advanced studies at the university.