NYU Shanghai announced that Bei Wu, the Dean’s Professor in Global Health and Vice Dean for Research at NYU’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing, will succeed Joanna Waley-Cohen as provost, starting on September 1.
“It is a great honor to serve as Provost of NYU Shanghai,” Wu said. “I am committed to strengthening the University’s role as a globally engaged, research-intensive institution, one that fosters meaningful collaboration and academic excellence across cultures and borders.”
An internationally known leader in aging and global health research, Wu has led numerous interdisciplinary global collaborations and mentored hundreds of scholars.
Wu is a prolific scholar and has authored seven edited volumes, 24 book chapters, and 442 peer-reviewed articles in her fields. She is the recipient of prestigious awards, including the Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Contributions to Healthy Aging in 2023, the Public Service Award from the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research in 2024, and the World Perio Research Award in 2025.
Throughout her career, Wu has held multiple leadership roles: At Duke, she served as Director of International Research for the School of Nursing. At NYU, before becoming Vice Dean for Research at NYU’s Rory Meyers College, she served as Director of Global Health and Aging Research of the College, Director for Research at the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, and Inaugural Co-Director of the NYU Aging Incubator.
In his announcement to the University, Vice Chancellor Jeffrey Lehman praised Wu’s achievements in academia and expressed confidence that her extensive experience will make a valuable contribution to the continued growth and success of NYU Shanghai.
“During her time with NYU,” he wrote, “she has been affiliated with NYU Shanghai in several ways; she believes deeply in our special mission to be a world-class comprehensive research university with a unique dual identity, one that leverages the strengths of NYU’s global network to bridge intellectual and geographic borders.”
As Wu prepares to assume her new role, NYU Shanghai expresses its deepest gratitude to Joanna Waley-Cohen, who has played a central role in building NYU Shanghai. A distinguished historian of Qing China, she will return to research and teaching following the conclusion of her 11-year tenure as provost.
“I am proud to have helped grow NYU Shanghai into a full-fledged global research university with the highest academic standards,” Provost Waley-Cohen said at a farewell ceremony on May 8. “It has been a privilege to work alongside dedicated colleagues and friends.”
“We are deeply grateful to Waley-Cohen for her visionary leadership and unwavering devotion to the university over the past 13 years, first as the founding dean of arts and science in 2012 and became the provost in 2014,” said Chancellor Tong Shijun. “And we are delighted to have Professor Wu join the NYU Shanghai community and look forward to working with her.”