The Tan Lark Sye Professorship in Chinese Language and Culture (The Professorship) was established in 1998 by the Association of Nanyang University Graduates in commemoration of the late founder of Nanyang University (Nantah), Mr. Tan Lark Sye, and to honour him for his great contributions to education and celebrate the centenary of his birth in 1997. All the funds raised through the Professorship are managed by Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The mission of the Professorship is to pass down and spread the convictions of Mr. Tan Lark Sye and our forefathers in setting up the university and schools so as to promote the research and development of the Chinese language and culture studies. The interest income of the Professorship is mainly used to invite internationally renowned scholars to deliver public lectures and conduct academic seminars in order to benefit the general public and raise social awareness and concern for the issues with regards to the Chinese language and culture. It also strives to make NTU the research hub for the studies of Chinese language and culture in Southeast Asia.

Professor Yong Chen received his PhD degree from Cornell University. He is now professor of history at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and Associate Dean in its School of Humanities. He also served as UCI’s inaugural faculty director of the International Student Excellence Program for 7 years.

His publications include Chinese San Francisco: A Transnational Community, 1850-1943 (its Chinese translation was published by Peking University Press) and Chop Suey, USA: The Story of Chinese Food in America, which received honorable mention in the 2015 PROSE Awards in American History. He is co-editor of New Perspectives on American History (in Chinese and English).

He has made longstanding efforts to engage the public. He co-curated “‘Have You Eaten Yet?’ The Chinese Restaurant in America” in museums in Philadelphia and NY City. He was a member of the US National Park Service Advisory Board National Historic Landmarks Committee.

Professor Chen has worked frequently with media organisations in four different languages in different countries to comment on issues concerning food, Sino-American interactions, immigration, and higher education. These include US News and World Report, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, the History Channel, Bloomberg, the Voice of America, and the National Public Radio (U.S.), Radio France Internationale, Correio Braziliense, CCTV (China), and China Radio International.

To deepen his understanding of food and Sino-American economic interactions, he has worked with corporations on market research, strategic planning, and executive training, which include Prudential, Haier, International Financial Corporation of World Bank, Griffin Strategic Advisors, RISE, Franklin Education Foundation, and Tillamook.