Hopcroft

John Hopcroft, the IBM Professor of Engineering and Applied Mathematics, has been honored by the establishment of a scholarship in his name at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China. The scholarship, funded by an $860,000 gift from the Hangzhou Municipal Government in China, honors Hopcroft for his work to support Chinese doctoral students and university academic programs.

Hopcroft has lectured frequently in China and helped several Chinese universities upgrade their advanced teaching programs. At Shanghai Jiao Tong University he helped to implement a tenure system and strategic changes to improve educational outcomes.

He also has been advising Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on a nationwide strategy to improve education for all Chinese students. Last year he received the Friendship Award, China’s highest award given to “a foreign expert who has made an outstanding contribution to China’s economic and social progress.”

Hopcroft has a long-held interest in global educational reform and has worked in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. He is a member of the university’s Internationalization Council, charged with identifying strategic initiatives and setting priorities to advance the Global Cornell initiative.