T. Z. Chu Elected Director Emeritus of Woodstock School Board of Directors

At its Annual General Meeting in September 2006, the Woodstock School Board accepted with regret the resignation of Mr. T. Z. Chu and proceeded to elect him Director Emeritus. Mr. Chu, who has served on the Woodstock Board for over 10 years, submitted his resignation because of his firm commitment that turnover in Board membership is important to ensure that new talent, ideas, and vision are represented on governing boards. He has promised to continue to be active in Woodstock’s development and advancement efforts. A certificate was presented to Mr. Chu, and the tribute below, on behalf of the Woodstock Board, was given by Jane Cummings, formerly executive director of KWI and now director of Development at Woodstock. 

It was in May 1997 — 45 years since his graduation — that TZ made his first visit back to India and Woodstock. Having been a member of the KWI Board of Directors for several years prior to that, he had been fully brought up to date with what was going on at his alma mater. In fact, along with Don Muyskens of KIS, he had co-chaired the KWI Endowment Campaign, which raised a stable source of income for KWI.

I was fortunate enough to travel with TZ on that first trip back to India, and it was an experience indeed. Here was this very capable businessman — CEO, in fact — who had served on international and national company, trade association, scientific, and non-profit boards, who had managed national and international companies, having his first interaction with the Woodstock School Board. The Woodstock Board of Directors in 1997 was quite a different governing board from what it is today. And I think in large part TZ has had an important role to play in the development of the Woodstock Board.

TZ always credits Woodstock for making him totally unaware that he was a member of an ethnic minority, back in the 1950s when it mattered. As one of the first Asian CEOs of a public company in the United States, TZ was a role model and a change agent for those who followed him as leaders and executives in businesses and corporations. He had a reputation as being an effective, inclusive manager who enabled people who worked for him to achieve their fullest potential. Throughout his professional life and certainly on the boards that he has served, TZ has been guided by his strong belief that issues and problems can be solved by careful strategic thinking, effective planning, and sound implementation by a team of people committed to a cause. Don’t ever try to tell TZ that something “can’t be done” because he won’t pay much attention to that. Instead, he will suggest new approaches and solutions until it is done and done well.

During those early Woodstock Board meetings, TZ’s tact and diplomatic skills, coupled with his persistence, soon won him the respect of the other Board members, most of whom in those early days weren’t too sure that businessmen were real people. He got to know all of the board members personally. He ferreted out the issues that needed tending to and diplomatically made suggestions in such a way that the board members thought they were their own. He knew when to push an idea forward and when to wait until the climate was right. For instance, as he was not a Christian, TZ attended WS Board meetings for four years as an invitee before he was officially elected as a voting member. TZ to this day credits Andy Matheson for being the person who opened the board up for more inclusive membership. But I also credit TZ — for the facts that his unwavering commitment to the Christian nature of the school and his own deep personal integrity and sense of values are what brought about this important change in the Woodstock Constitution.

Once he become a Board member, and even before, TZ’s commitment, dedication, and hard work on behalf of KWI and Woodstock knew no bounds. He spent hours, way above and beyond the call of duty, to define and advance the mission and vision of Woodstock. He did this not only as a Woodstock Board member, but also as a KWI Board member and president, and he continues to do it now as president of FWS.

TZ has brought his vast experience to work diligently not only on fundraising and development, but also on governance and nominations and on buildings and grounds. He made it a point to learn as much about every aspect of the school as he could during every visit. And he did this because he felt he could not be an effective board member unless he knew everything about the school: its mission, vision, governance, administration, finance, staff, students, curriculum, and so on. And then he would return to North America and share his understanding and knowledge of the school in many different venues with others. His class letters are legendary: Thirteen years of writing monthly to his classmates not only with personal information about classmates, but also about all the things that were taking place at Woodstock. These very same class letters spiraled out to other classes and other supporters, thus giving valuable insights to others about Woodstock and what it was accomplishing. Independent of the administration of the school, TZ served, and continues to serve, in an important role as an independent validator to Woodstock’s many constituencies of what the school is and wants to be.

But TZ was not only a board and corporate supporter. He was willing to do anything for Woodstock or its staff and students. He has been a mentor and advisor to many. He was willing, sometimes to my frustration when I traveled with him, to carry anything and everything to and from Woodstock that people requested. One time, I remember it was an instrument for the physics laboratory that was seven feet long and had to be strapped to the top of the taxi. Some of the things he brought were purely for the enjoyment of the staff. I am sure that the sniffing dogs could have picked out a TZ Chu suitcase anywhere at Delhi airport because inevitably it would smell of coffee beans or salami or cheese or other delectable goodies that were not easily available here. Now that I am a staff member, I no longer complain about TZ loading down his suitcases with goodies!

TZ’s overriding interests have always been in the kind of education students receive here and in the students themselves. He loves to meet them and talk and counsel with them. He credits Woodstock and the University of California, Berkeley with giving him the opportunity to achieve what he did with his life, and he wants to make sure that others benefit in the same way.

While we are sorry on this occasion to accept your retirement from the board, TZ, we are indeed grateful that you have indicated you will continue to visit and support Woodstock as you have in the past. There is no doubt in my mind that Woodstock would not be the school it is today without you. It would be hard to imagine Woodstock getting along without you.

—Jane Cummings, Director of Development