Jenny J. Ming

Honorary Degrees
 
 

Jenny J. MingJenny J. Ming

Businesswoman/Community Leader

San José State University

Jenny J. Ming and her family walked out of Communist China, first fleeing to Macao, before coming to the United States when she was nine years old. She is now the president and CEO of Charlotte Russe. Business Weeknamed her one of the nation's top 25 managers in 2000, and Fortune Magazine listed her as one of the "50 most powerful women in American business" in 2003 and 2004. Ms. Ming's internationally recognized leadership in business and the community exemplifies the ideals of the California State University.

Ms. Ming graduated from San José State University in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in clothing merchandising and a minor in marketing. She started working for Gap, Incorporated in 1986 and helped launch Old Navy, Gap's $6.7 billion, 900-store business segment, and then served as Old Navy's president. In 2009, she was appointed president and CEO of Charlotte Russe, an apparel and accessory retailer with more than 500 stores in the United States and Puerto Rico. She serves on the boards of the Museum of Chinese in America, the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plans, and the Merage Foundation for the American Dream, which promotes expanded opportunities for immigrants in the United States.

The recipient of the Merage Foundation's 2006 Business and Community Leadership Award, Ms. Ming is also a board member of the Committee of 100, an international nonprofit that brings a Chinese-American perspective to U.S.-China relations. Ms. Ming represents the fulfilled promise of education.

In recognition of her many significant accomplishments, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and San José State University are proud to confer upon Jenny J. Ming the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.