In Memoriam: Frances Wu, 1921-2017

Frances Wu, a former field instructor for the Columbia University School of Social Work and the first Chinese American to receive a doctorate in social work at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, died on August 11 in Monterey Park, California. She was 96 years old.

A native of Anhui, China, Dr. Wu was a 1948 graduate of Ginling College in Nanjing, where she majored in sociology and social work. She earned a master of social work degree at McGill University in Montreal. Dr. Wu then spent 15 years as a psychiatric social worker in New York working with children and as an instructor at Columbia University.

In 1974, Dr. Wu received her doctor of social work degree at the University of Southern California. After earning her doctorate, she focused on older Chinese Americans and was the founder of the Chinese American Golden Age Association. Working with the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California, she worked to establish the Golden Age Village, a senior living center in Monterey Park.

In 1997, the Chinese American Golden Age Association donated $1.5 million to the University of Southern California to establish the Frances Wu Endowed Chair for the Chinese Elderly. Dr. Wu personally endowed a scholarship fund in her own name at the university’s School of Social Work.