Sep 8, 2014 2 min read

COLLEGEVILLE – Ursinus College President Bobby Fong, a son of Chinese immigrants who rose to become one of the few Asian-Americans at the helm of U.S. colleges, died Monday. He was 64.

Ursinus announced his death on its website, saying it was from natural causes. His previous employer, Butler University, said in a statement Fong died of an apparent heart attack. An Ursinus spokeswoman said she could not immediately confirm that.

Fong led Ursinus for the past three years. The small liberal arts school in the Philadelphia suburb of Collegeville serves about 1,700 students.

“He was an inspiring leader in higher education and had an unflinching commitment to liberal education,” the dean of Ursinus, Lucien “Terry” Winegar, said in a statement. “He will be missed, both on our campus and within higher education nationally.”

Fong also served for a decade as president of Butler University in Indiana. When he took the helm of Butler in 2001, he was one of only 20 Asian-American college presidents in the United States.

“During his tenure, he led major initiatives that strengthened Butler’s academics, campus infrastructure and stewardship,” Butler President James Danko said.

Fong grew up in the Chinatown section of Oakland, California. He attended Harvard University on a scholarship and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1973.

Fong became a scholar of author Oscar Wilde and later taught English at Berea University in Kentucky. He then held administrative posts at Hope College in Michigan and Hamilton College in New York.

No immediate successor was named at Ursinus, according to spokeswoman Wendy Greenberg.

Fong is survived by his wife of 40 years, Suzanne Dunham Fong, and two sons. A small campus memorial service was held Monday at Ursinus, Greenberg said. Butler officials are also planning a remembrance.