The memory of two slain Chinese students will be forever preserved in a new scholarship from Auburn University Graduate School.
Changqing Chen and his wife, Yi Wu, were found dead in their off-campus apartment May 29, 2000. Both had suffered multiple stab wounds and were discovered by police after a call was made reporting a woman screaming.
The Changqing Chen and Yi Wu Scholarship memorial fund was created shortly after and has been awarded to its first recipient, Yuan Tian.
"I am truly honored and humbled to be awarded this fellowship," Tian said. "I don't feel that I have done enough. I am not the only one who has contributed to this community and many other people have done a great job, even though they did not receive an award."
Chen was a graduate student in textile engineering from the city of Xi'an, and Wu, from Wuhan, was to undertake graduate studies the following summer for electrical engineering.
The scholarship fund initially reached $5,627, in the months following Chen and Wu's deaths, but no guidelines were established for any continued efforts to raise funds and the money remained at that level. University guidelines dictated the money could not be used until it reached the sum of $25,000.
The merging of the scholarship into the Auburn Family Graduate Assistantships Endowment, however, allowed for it to finally be awarded to Tian, a Ph. D. student in computer science.
"This is a very nice way to honor the students' memories and to assist a current graduate student at Auburn," said George Flowers, dean of the graduate school. "We will be able to fund a full or partial graduate fellowship through the scholarship for years to come."
The scholarship is for $1,000 and will be presented during Chinese Ambassador Wenzhong Zhou's visit Oct. 20 to 21.
"The scholarship is a testament to Chen and Wu," Tian said. "I believe that it encourages the Chinese people at Auburn University to do more to not only help the local Chinese community, but also the rest of the community as well."
Tian earned her bachelor's degree in information engineering from Chengdu University of Technology in China. She worked for SCU-NESEC Infosec Co. Ltd from 2002 to 2003, when she joined Beijing Beyondsoft Co., Ltd as a software engineer.
She was then accepted into the master's program at Auburn, where she received a degree in computer science.
Tian also served as a graduate assistant at Auburn from August 2006 to December 2008.
The award's criteria call for a citizen of the People's Republic of China, enrollment for at least a year in Auburn University Graduate School and have a GPA of at least 3.5.
Applicants also had to submit a resume, two recommendations from their respective graduate committee and a form of documentation of service to the Chinese community at Auburn.
The story will henceforth be awarded annually.
"Most importantly, however, the victims of a meaningless crime are remembered almost a decade later," Tian said. "It is sad that such things happen, but it is truly a blessing that these honest people are not being forgotten in the face of these changing times."
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