Dear Division Member:

Among our ranks are members in a wide variety of professional settings -- Thanks to Irayda Ruiz for sharing these accomplishments of her accomplished associate, Weiping Wu.

Weiping Wu is an Associate Professor of Urban Studies, Geography and Planning at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). She has been a consultant to the World Bank, the Ford Foundation's Beijing Office and a research fellow at the Brookings Institution. She received her Ph.D. in urban planning and policy development from Rutgers University. She also holds a Masters in Urban Planning and a Bachelor’s in Architecture from the University of Beijing P.R. China. Dr. Wu conducts research and publishes widely in the areas of urban economic geography, migrant housing and settlement, and China's urban development. She has (co)authored four books and published numerous journal articles and book chapters. She is a member of the advisory board for the Urban China Research Network and of the editorial board for the Journal of Planning Education and Research.

I met Dr. Wu in the fall of 2000 while attending grad school at the department of urban and regional studies of VCU. I took several classes with her, my personal favorite International Development in Planning. It always amazed me how much she had accomplished on a relatively short time, and how committed to her work and family she is. Not only because of her exceptional intellectual capacity and knowledge, but because she was a great teacher and a mentor, I am sure that Dr. Wu had left a long lasting impression in many planning students that attended classes with her.

Irayda Ruiz AICP, Senior Planner City of Hampton

Would you like to learn more about Dr Wu? Check her website at http://www.people.vcu.edu/~wwu