Anne Chao

Anne Chao is a lecturer in Humanities at Rice University.  She received her B.A. in Chinese Studies from Wellesley College, M.A. and Ph.D. in Modern Chinese History from Rice University.  Her research interests include cultural and intellectual history of the late Qing, early Republican China, the use of digital humanities techniques in history, as well as the immigration history of Asian Americans to the U.S. South. Dr. Chao has taught courses in the Program in Poverty, Justice and Human Capabilities and in the Department of History at Rice. Currently she is Program Manager of the Houston Asian American Archive (HAAA) and a College Associate and Divisional Advisor to humanities students at Lovett College. She is a member of the advisory boards of Rice University’s Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Chao Center for Asian Studies, School of Humanities, the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, the Shepherd School of Music, and a member of the Patron Group of the Moody Arts Center. She also serves on the governing boards of the Houston Ballet, the Houston Endowment, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Dunhuang Foundation.

Role: Trustee
Elected to the Board: December 2017
Class Term: 2021
Term Limit: 2025

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.