Ursinus College President Bobby Fong is a Recipient of National OCA Award

The following was submitted by Ursinus College:

President Dr. Bobby Fong is the recipient of a prestigious 2011 Pioneer Award from OCA, a national organization that advances the social, political and economic well-being of Asian Pacific Americans.

The award, which is to be presented Aug. 6 in New York City at the organization’s national convention, will also be presented to actor B.D. Wong. The Hon. Tammy L. Duckworth will be receiving the Outstanding Citizen Award.

The award recognizes Fong’s family’s immigration history “entering the U.S. through the Angel Island Immigration Station, growing up in Oakland and never forgetting your roots, and making a mark in higher education as one of our nation’s few Asian American higher education leaders,” according to Ken Lee, OCA National President, who added that Fong’s background and achievements exemplify the citizen that OCA seeks out to award the Pioneer Award.

Founded in 1973 as the Organization for Chinese Americans, OCA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Pioneer Award was created to recognize Asian Pacific Americans who are trailblazers. Past recipients of the award include former U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee, architect I. M. Pei, Asian American Studies  Pioneer Betty Lee Sung, Nobel Laureate in Physics C. N. Yang, YouTube co-founder Steve Chen and astronaut Leroy Chiao.

Fong became president of Ursinus College in Collegeville on July 1. The son of Chinese immigrants, he grew up in Chinatown in Oakland, CA. A scholarship allowed him to attend Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1973 with a bachelor's degree in English and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.