Library Pavilion, Scholarship Named for Library Science Leaders

Dr. Richard Tze-Chung Li and his wife, Dorothy In-Lan Wang Li MALS ’68, MBA ’81 dedicated their careers to library science and academia.

Through their support of Dominican University, an academic scholarship and the third floor pavilion of Rebecca Crown Library now bear their names.

With family and university leaders present, the Richard Tze-Chung and Dorothy In-Lan Wang Li Family Pavilion was formally dedicated on Nov. 2, 2022. It features a wall sign and a display case with photographs and honors that “serve as a living acknowledgment of the Lis’ special gifts to the school,” said Kate Marek, university professor and former director of the School of Information Studies at Dominican. 

Richard Li taught at Rosary College/Dominican University from 1966 to 2000, becoming the first Chinese American dean of a graduate library studies school in the United States. He passed away in April 2020 at the age of 93.

Dorothy Li served as executive director of the Oak Park Public Library and as library director of the Brooklyn Law School and John Marshall (now University of Illinois Chicago) Law School.

During the pavilion dedication, Dorothy Li noted how her Dominican education allowed for the advancement of her career.

“Without these degrees, I wouldn’t have gotten the library director positions at Brooklyn and John Marshall Law Schools,” she said.

To ensure access to education, the Li family established the Richard Tze-Chung and Dorothy In-Lan Wang Li Scholarship at Dominican University to attract students seeking a graduate degree in library information science.

“It is our mission to ensure that countless Asian or Asian-American students, armed with their highly respected Dominican University degrees, will make a meaningful and measurable impact on society,” noted Lily Li, the couple’s daughter and a former Dominican trustee.