A Little Bit of Our History

The Wharton Club of Shanghai was established on December 27th, 1987. The first Chairman is Mr. Zhang Zhen Ph.D'45, professor of Management College of Shanghai JiaoTong University. The first vice chairman is Mr. Yang Xishan, honorable Dean of Management College of SJTU. There were only 14 members at that time, with most being elder alumni who graduated from Wharton in the 1940s. The primary goal of establishing the Wharton Club of Shanghai is to facilitate exchange between the School, alumni in Shanghai and alumni from other regions. Mr. Wang Xi was elected as the second chairman in December 1995. He is professor of Fudan University and director of Sino-American relationship research program. He is also the Vice President of Shanghai office General of Re-assurance. Several alumni parties have been held since the establishment of the Wharton Club of Shanghai.

The participation was not only from more alumni, but from government officials, noted scholars and the members of Wharton-Jiaotong joint program. Mr. Meng Jianzhu, Minister of the Public Security and former Vice Mayor of Shanghai, was the honorable chairman of the alumni club. Other honored guests include Mr. Zhu Xiaoming, Director of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Commission, Mr. Jeffrey Sheehan, Associate Dean of International Affairs of the Wharton School.

To promote the exchange among alumni and to build the presence of the club, the Wharton Club of Shanghai held numerous alumni activities. It is one of the most active Ivy League clubs in Shanghai. Besides, the club offered help to the admission office of the Wharton School on its promotion, recruitment and interview in Shanghai. Since October 2000, we helped to organize the admission receptions presented by Wharton admission representative every year.

Since the establishment of the Wharton Club of Shanghai, it has not only organized activities for alumni in Shanghai, but also has been a bridge between Shanghai and the Wharton School, between the alumni in Shanghai and alumni in the world.