Sociologists for Women in Society is pleased to announce that we received a generous donation of $20,000 from the late Dr. Esther Ngan-ling Chow. Esther’s contribution will go toward the Esther Ngan-ling Chow and Mareyjoyce Green Dissertation Scholarship that SWS awards on an annual basis to a woman or non-binary scholar of color who is from an underrepresented group and who is studying concerns that women of color face domestically and/or internationally or transnationally. The award aims to increase the network and participation of students and professionals of color in SWS and beyond. To read more about this award and our past awardees, please visit our website: https://socwomen.org/awards/chowgreenscholarship/
Esther Ngan-ling Chow was a well-known sociologist and professor emeritus at American University, who passed away on April 11, 2022. Esther is survived by her beloved husband, Dr. Norman Chang, her son and daughter, Paul Chang and Dr. Jennifer Grizenko, and two grandsons. She dedicated 37 years of her life to studying gender and development, work and family, social inequality, migration, and policy studies. Dr. Chow was a pioneer in the field of sociology and was recognized for her work on the intersectionality of race, class, and gender in the case of Asian American women and Asian immigrant communities. Esther was deeply devoted to her family and passionate about making a difference. She founded the True Light Foundation, which is an organization aimed at reducing poverty and increasing educational opportunities for young women in rural China.
Esther received many awards, including the SWS Feminist Activism Award (2008), SWS Mentoring Award (2000), and the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) Jesse Bernard Award (2014) and published numerous works in her career as an educator, mentor, and researcher. Esther was also a Fulbright New Century Scholar in 2004, an award she personally considered her highest honor. Esther conducted field research in China and served as the Chairperson of the Asia and Asian-America Section of the ASA. She earned her degrees from universities in both Hong Kong and the United States, culminating with the receipt of her Ph.D. from UCLA in 1973. Esther taught in a broad range of areas at American University including gender, work and family; intersectionality of gender, race/ethnicity, class and sexuality; global migration and transnationalism and feminist methodology. .
We are incredibly grateful for this support and would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Esther Ngan-ling Chow for her generosity and commitment to our cause. With this donation, we will be able to further support the Esther Chow and Mareyjoyce Green Scholarship Fund. SWS thanks Esther’s husband, Norman Chang, for expressing to family, friends, and colleagues, how much SWS meant to Esther, and we have received numerous gifts from many who wish to honor and celebrate Esther.
If you are interested in making a gift to support the Esther Ngan-ling Chow and Mareyjoyce Green Dissertation Scholarship, please contact Barret Katuna, Executive Officer,
at swseo.barretkatuna@outlook.com, or make a gift via this form:
https://sws.memberclicks.net/donation-form.