Baruch College President S. David Wu was named one of the “Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business” on Sept. 15 by the Asian American Business Development Center.

The award, honoring the contributions of Asian American business professionals toward the U.S. economy, celebrated its 20th anniversary following last year’s hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the award’s inception in 2001, over 850 honorees from at least 50 industries have been awarded.

This year, Wu was the sole awardee representing the education sector among. Other recipients from different sectors included executives from Fortune 500 corporations like Bank of America Corp., Citibank, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., IBM, Morgan Stanley and PepsiCo Inc..

Wu was appointed to lead Baruch College in February 2020, succeeding former President Mitchel Wallerstein. Wu previously served as the provost and executive vice president at George Mason University.

His first priority in office was the establishment of the “Baruch College Task Force for the Future.” Its purpose was to increase the flexibility of the institution and prepare for another global shutdown in the wake of the pandemic.

After five months as president, Wu managed to secure a $1 million gift from Bank of America, the second-largest corporate gift in the college’s history.

Under a newly-formed partnership, the funds will be allocated to career development programs for Black and Latino students, reaffirming Baruch’s commitment to diversity.

Since beginning his tenure in July 2020, Wu’s latest award as one of the Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business follows multiple other honors he has received.

In October 2020, he was listed as among the “Top 50 U.S. College and University Presidents” by College Cliffs alongside peers from schools like Brown University, Northeastern University and the University of Pennsylvania.

City & State, a New York City political journalism organization, named Wu to its “2021 Higher Education Power 100” list in April. He also later made his second consecutive appearance on the publication’s annual “Power of Diversity: Asian 100” list in July.

“Dr. Wu’s track record for bold, visionary academic leadership and industry expertise has allowed him to lead Baruch to be at the forefront of higher education, forging new strategic partnerships, and pioneering ways to produce the talents needed for today’s innovation economy,” a Baruch press release said.