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From Immigrant to Chancellor: Terrence Cheng's Journey of Service, Leadership, and Empowering Students
Terrence Cheng is the Chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system of four state universities, CT State Community College, and Charter Oak State College.
What is your personal/professional story?
I’m an immigrant from Taiwan, and I came here when I was just a year old. My parents were educated in Taiwan but started from scratch here. My mom waited tables, and my dad pumped gas and stocked grocery shelves. I’m an only child, and we didn’t have much, but public education was my opportunity and it shaped me. I went to Binghamton University in NY and was lucky to get a scholarship to the University of Miami for my master's degree. I’ve had great mentors and role models—teachers, bosses, and of course, my parents. Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons. Stay focused on that, and it works out.
What key moments in your life led you to where you are today?
It’s not luck, but it’s fortune when people take a chance on you. My teachers, who shaped me, believed in me and pushed me. That’s taking a chance—they don’t have to do that. My bosses saw something in me to bring me onto the team and give me a chance to prove myself, and they encouraged me and taught me along the way. Again, that’s a risk on their part. Now, I try to earn the confidence of all our faculty, staff, students, and our Board of Regents. Not to mention, the team I am blessed to work with, as well as the Governor and our legislature. Everyone depends on CSCU to help them in their lives. I think it’s less about the moments themselves and more about the continuum these moments create.
Where does your passion to serve come from?
I’m creative and impatient by nature—I guess that’s why I became a novelist. I love to create, to build things that didn’t exist before. I want to see results. It probably comes from my mom, who got that from my grandmother, who was a long-time national senator in Taiwan, but also a painter. I am also driven by working with and for the students who remind me of my own journey—the immigrants and folks of color who have been told their whole lives who or what they should be because they are minoritized or marginalized. I have a chip on my shoulder about that, and I always will. The students I’ve had the honor and privilege to serve my whole career—in the Bronx, in Brooklyn, in Stamford, and now across the entire state of Connecticut—are second to no one. They don’t come from the power zip codes. They aren’t born into or with privilege. They have to have scrap, to have guts, to have grit, and determination to succeed because big portions of society don’t want them to be successful. They want them to fit in a box, so I’m passionate about helping them fight against those systemic barriers and build their own arenas for success.
How can GlobalMindED help you reach your goals?
GlobalMindED is all about serving those who might not be served otherwise. To give people the support, encouragement, and resources they need to take on all challenges and persevere. These are my goals as well, and I am so proud to be associated with the wonderful people and great work of GlobalMindED!
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