Dr. Lu Ye (pictured, below right) of Fudan University will deliver the inaugural Wellen Sham Distinguished Lecture on Dec. 14, the first event in a series at USC Annenberg in partnership with Fudan that focuses on emerging topics in China communication and media.

Lu Ye is the deputy director for the Center of Information and Communication Studies at Fudan University and a major scholar on media reform, journalism education and social transition in China. The lecture, made possible by the $1 million Wellen Sham Family Endowment pledged in the fall of 2008, also marks the start of the two-day Colloquium on China Media & Communication Studies.

"This lecture and the Wellen Sham Family Endowment lay the cornerstone of our efforts to better understand and communicate with China," USC Annenberg Dean Ernest J. Wilson III said. "They underscore the Annenberg School's commitment to global communication and international outreach. Partnering with Fudan University creates a dialogue between the two schools in which we both can learn much more about how our countries are knitted together."

Communication professor Tom Hollihan, who spoke at Fudan University about "Globalization, Communication, and Public Deliberation: Arguments about Free Trade" in May and has known Sham since 2007, said Sham hoped to increase mutual understanding between the countries with his endowment gift.

"It helps put us on the map as a place interested in learning more about China," Hollihan said. "It helps the people in Fudan learn about the exciting communication research their colleagues at USC Annenberg are doing, and vice versa. This lecture will become a keynote event where we will continue to bring distinguished scholars to the School. Mr. Sham wants to see faculty and students travel back and forth from the United States and China to study with each other and be exposed to research done on the respective campuses."

A leading entrepreneur with business interests ranging from aerospace to consumer goods and online gaming, Sham is chief executive of Chung Tai Capital and vice chairman of the car design firm Shanghai TJI. He is also chairman of Sino-JP Assets Management Co., and Upfront Technology Ltd. He graduated from USC with a degree in biological science. He also holds a Masters in Biochemistry and is a member of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants and the America Institute of Certified Accountants.

Wellen Sham Distinguished Lecture 
Colloquium on China Media & Communication Studies