Temple University was one of many big adjustments that came in rapid succession for Stanley Wang. He’d just arrived in Philadelphia from Taiwan and everything was unfamiliar, from the language and the food to the climate and the traffic. His coursework, at least, came somewhat naturally. But the best he could hope for from almost every other experience at the time was to grow from it, like the night he left class and found that all four tires had been removed from his car. Mr. Wang persevered through it all, though. Working days in Blue Bell, he traveled to North Philadelphia at night to attend classes, sometimes a little late because of the snow, but never deterred by it. Soon after earning his MBA from the Fox School of Business, Mr. Wang moved west, to California. And within two years of his arrival there, he launched Pantronix Corporation, a high-technology company in Silicon Valley that serves the medical, aerospace, semiconductor, defense, energy, and telecommunication industries. At a time when the air is beginning to leak out of Silicon Valley as the marketplace demands better margins, Mr. Wang and Pantronix remain a constant. He puts his faith, as he always has, in his willingness to try new things. “Innovation is the key for high-technology,” Mr. Wang says. “That’s what will lead to more efficient workflows and improved satisfaction for everyone involved, from the customer to the employee.” “Never stop learning,” a lesson he says was instilled in him at Fox, has become his mantra in all corners of his life. His perspective on education as the foundation of everything is why he’s invested so much of his time and resources in enhancing it from the moment he was in a position to do so. He was appointed, in 1994, by then-Governor Pete Wilson to serve as a member of the California State University System Board of Trustees. During his eight-year tenure, Mr. Wang donated $1 million to establish the Wang Family Award of Excellence, which recognizes the outstanding performance of educators and administrators throughout California State universities. And in 2000, he donated another $1.2 million to create a fund for forging academic links for student and faculty overseas study between California State universities and universities in Taiwan and China. In the years since, Mr. Wang has been an integral figure in a number of education initiatives on both sides of the Pacific. He and his wife, Franny, who also received her MBA from the Fox School of Business, helped establish the Asia Business Center Leadership Scholars Program at UC Berkeley in 2008. He’s also financed the construction of schools and scholarships for students throughout rural China. At the Fox School, Mr. Wang supported the development of the Stanley Wang MBA Business Center in Alter Hall. Most recently, he and Franny endowed $2 million for the Stanley and Franny Wang Chair in Business and Management. “I’m the person I am today because of my education,” Mr. Wang says. “I’ve supported Temple in the hope that it will provide a better education for the students there so that they can create a brighter future.” Pantronix was founded, Mr. Wang says, without ego. All these years later, his motivation appears to remain void of it. More than a CEO, he’s sees himself as a conduit. Throughout his career, he’s strived to serve as an example—that the East and West can coexist, and not just in business, but in all aspects of life; that dreams can, in fact, be realized in America with enough determination and ability; and that immigrants can be valuable contributors to the country’s well-being.

Temple University Degree
Master of Business Administration ’72, Fox School of Business

What I wanted to be when I was 20 years old
Something where I could make a meaningful contribution to society.

Best piece of advice anyone ever gave me
“Work hard and work smart.” It’s nothing new, but I think of it often. It speaks to the combination of muscle and the brain. To be successful, you need both physical and mental ability.”