Faculty Off The Clock - Featuring Andrew Hsu

What happens when faculty step away from the classroom and the lab? In this episode of Faculty Off the Clock, we sit down with President Andrew Hsu to explore the passions, pursuits, and pastimes that shape their life beyond academia. From unexpected hobbies to meaningful side projects, discover a different side of the President you thought you knew. 

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🎙️ Produced by Michael Overholt

📍 Recorded in Podcast Studio #1, Addlestone Library

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:07

We welcome you to this episode of Faculty Off the Clock, a podcast series hosted by the College of Charleston's Office of the Provost that highlights the personal and lighter sides of our campus's professors. I'm Mark Del Mastro.

SPEAKER_03 0:21

And I'm Chris Corey, Associate Provost, and your hosts of Faculty Off the Clock. For this episode, we welcome Dr. Andrew Shu, President of the College of Charleston. Welcome, President Shu. Thanks for taking the time.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Well, thank you, Chris and Mark. Thank you for having me here.

SPEAKER_03 0:45

I guess we wanted to start just to give listeners a sense of how you got to be here at the College of Charleston.

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Well, um, I uh before I came here, I was uh the provost at the University of Toledo, of course, uh, happily there and not thinking about moving. And then uh one day, of course, I got a call saying that there is an opportunity uh um and they thought that I should consider. And quite frankly, I've been to Charleston before, because we used to vacation at uh uh both Hilton Head and Kiowa Island, and and then we would always make a side trip to Charleston. But I have never heard of the university. And in fact, we were in town and we never saw any indication that there was a university here. So so I looked it up and uh uh saw that it was a liberal arts university with no engineering program, so I called the person back. I said, uh you probably have the wrong person uh uh because I'm an engineer and and uh yours is a liberal arts school, so um I don't think um I don't think uh it's the right fit for me. And uh that person turned out to be very persistent and and then I said, well, I'll send you a C V. I will not apply, I'll just send you the C V and you'll see I'm an engineer, my background was not a good fit for you. Uh but if the search committee, after seeing the CV, they still think I should apply, then I will. So um the rest of the rest is history.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

And here you are, and we're delighted you're here. So we we want to explore a little bit uh, of course, it's the whole topic of this podcast, which is faculty off the clock. And so get a better sense of your off-campus diversions, interests, and hobbies. And um to start, we'd like to have you speak a little bit about um where you're originally from, where you were born and raised.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

Sure. Um I was born in China in Beijing. Uh and and then of course, uh you know our family uh background was not good enough to be living in the capital city. Uh so we were sent away when I was six years old and and uh grew up in a provincial town uh 500 kilometers west of Beijing.

SPEAKER_02 3:26

What was the name of the town?

SPEAKER_00 3:27

The name of the town is hard to pronounce for the American tongue. It's uh Taiyuan and um Taiyuan? Yeah, pretty good. That's that's very good. I'm impressed.

SPEAKER_03 3:40

So so in that town as a kid growing up, did you have particular activities, interests?

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Yeah, so certainly uh that this was a northern city, and and of course, uh I uh in the summertime I would uh go swimming, and in the wintertime I enjoy skating, and and uh in fact at one point I dreamed about uh becoming a a professional ice skater. So um yeah, there were uh a lot of things, and and then of course there are rivers where you can try to catch a small fish and so forth. So do you still manage to ice skate? Well, the last time I ice skate probably would be uh at least 10 years ago. So I I can still do it.

SPEAKER_02 4:31

Uh I mean if you put on a pair of skates, you can I you can go right at it.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

I'd be off and go. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

Can you can't use I'm very intrigued by this. Can you ice skate backwards?

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Uh of course. I can uh turn in circles. So uh at the at the time um where I lived, uh there was no hockey, right? Okay. So you're either racing with these very long blades or you're trying to um do figure skating uh where you have very short blades. And and when again when I was growing up, um there were not a lot of opportunities. I found a very old pair of my mother's uh uh skates from the 1930s. Oh wow my mother was a very good skater, and and of course it's all rusty and and everything, but that's the only thing I had. So I learned uh figures. Uh very interesting.

SPEAKER_02 5:30

Wow, that's fascinating. Um growing up too, and you you spoke a little bit about some of the the diversions you had, some of the hobbies, activities you you liked. Did you manage to to have vacation time growing up?

SPEAKER_00 5:43

Well, uh it's not a time where were or when people had vacations uh in in that country. Uh it was actually uh, you know, despite the the uh excursions of of having fun as a children, it was a pretty uh stressful and intense time growing up because um the family were persecuted and and yeah, no, there wasn't any vacation per se. Something that many but but I I do remember one time because uh of the interruption of schools uh due to a cultural revolution, there was no schooling for about a two-year period of time. So I had nothing to do at home anyway, so my parents send me to uh my father's hometown, which was a small island on the southeast coast where I spend uh six months. That was sort of my vacation. There was no school, there was just uh beach uh every every day and and maybe even twice a day.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Uh that's uh is there something particular from the activities during that time on that island that uh you still remember fondly?

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Oh uh uh just about everything uh I uh about that island uh I remember fondly because uh I was eleven years old, and uh of course no school is probably the best for any eleven-old boy. And and uh um, you know, just wandering through the the hills and and the little uh alleyways, and then uh of course uh going to the beach on a daily basis or or play hide and heek, uh hide and seek in the in the mountains. The freedom of youthful adventure. Yeah, that that was a very small island where there was no cars, no um not even bicycles because of the hilliness. Um so it was very safe for the children to just roam around. It's it's uh probably a two square mile. Oh, small islands.

SPEAKER_03 8:00

It's very small, yeah. So uh at that time, you know, we were talking with other faculty about what they did during the summer as a kid, if they had a favorite summer job or or thing they they did. So did did you have an opportunity to do something like that?

SPEAKER_00 8:14

Yeah, no, uh again, uh there were no summer job per se. Um, but when I was 14 year old, uh our our family were sent uh to the countryside um and and uh of course uh you had to work and you work the field, uh, you know, whether it's cotton or wheat or uh millet, um you you just you you harvest in the fall, you plant in the spring. Uh that's sort of uh what happened. Uh it's not a summer job, but uh it's work nonetheless, and and I was probably making uh two pennies a a day, and and that was a good wage for uh for a 14-year-old.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

Um I noticed when I first noticed that you were fond of dogs was um during the challenges of the pandemic, and I think I recall a picture of you, or there might have even been a short video of you on the cistern, with if I remember correctly, a golden retriever.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Right.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

Do you still have the golden retriever?

SPEAKER_00 9:38

We still have the golden retriever, and she's now twelve years old, and and she always uh lags behind when we take her on the walk.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

But uh Did you always enjoy pets and dogs as pets?

SPEAKER_00 9:51

I I always wanted uh to have a pet, um, but uh You didn't have one growing up? I I didn't really have one growing up uh in in the city, but uh when we uh like I said, when we were sent to the countryside when I was a kid, uh there was basically just a stray dog who would um come and go and and I would often feed him. So that's uh that's right.

SPEAKER_02 10:24

Yeah. That's great.

SPEAKER_03 10:26

We at one point early, I think last year, we had a conversation about Rubik's Q. Um and I was curious if you had other favorite board games you might have played growing up or with your kids.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Um yeah, I I guess I I don't with our kids, uh Monopoly would be sort of the the family game uh that we I would play with the kids.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

Do you have uh a particular color you always went for? Like my kids always went park place, you gotta go big, build the hotels.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Yeah, no, I uh I I always lose. I'm not a good investor, so I I really do not enjoy it other than just to entertain the kids.

SPEAKER_02 11:10

Well, equally important is your choice of the game piece. Uh that's always, you know, a a very um depending upon the family, an intense process at the beginning of Monopoly is choosing your your game piece. Did you have a preferred game piece present shoe?

SPEAKER_00 11:27

Trevor Burrus, Jr. Not really, but uh you have to understand when you live with five women, right? Four girls and my wife, there's nothing that I could choose. Whatever is left on the board is gonna be my, and I don't get the first choice.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

I can empathize. I live with four women, so I I know how that goes. Um we want to You did speak to us about your childhood and your childhood school years, and some, I think, very interesting uh aspects that our listeners probably didn't know about. But we were wondering if there was some other fun fact that you'd like to share from your childhood school years that you think would be surprising or amusing to our listeners?

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Uh I I think uh surprising and amusing uh uh uh at the same time probably sad is is uh there's actually a lot of uh manual labor. Uh and and uh when I finally was able to go to middle school and and uh we were in the mountains, they were uh basically the the school is is sort of uh a a school in the village and it has to follow the the uh schedule of farming, right? So when it's harvesting time uh you would have no school. You would uh uh go home and and go join the the the farmers and and harvest. And uh one one thing that I remember really well, uh I can't say fondly was um the school, of course, at and no um unlike modern days there are air conditioning and so forth. You have to there there's no electricity, in fact, you have to heat with coal. And uh of course the school have no way of bringing uh the coal from a mine that is fifteen miles away uh to the school other than the children's so uh shoulders. So so we were every fall uh about October time frame asked to go um to the coal mine and then carry two uh big baskets of coal on the pole and walk the the uh 15 miles. Uh you know, it's hours and hours of just walking in the mountains. And at the time I was a weakling. I I mean I was the last one and and uh I just couldn't walk anymore and and uh you know I was probably an hour or two behind the the larger crowd. So uh that was sort of my memory.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

That's that's so interesting, President. She you know i it it makes me laugh a little bit because you know the the the running joke or or saying in in the US is you know how our fathers would always tell us about these, you know, challenges when going to school I'd have to walk, you know, five miles barefooted. But your story certainly puts a a shadow on a lot of these other stories um that we tend to hear. I mean, certainly uh uh an inspiring one for sure.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Well, it's just very different. Yeah. Uh a different time, different uh uh place.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

Yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Do any uh again, any fun fact or or piece of information you'd like to share specifically as related to your high school years?

SPEAKER_00 15:22

So uh my high school years uh you know uh I uh started to develop uh interests in in music and and uh you know um I guess as a child and and even today, I tend to want to do things that I I'm really bad at, that I don't have a talent for, you know, uh including my job today. I I don't think I have a talent for being an administrator, uh but I just enjoy the challenge. And so when when I was in high school, uh of course by that time I already knew that I couldn't be an ice skater, I just didn't have the talent, plus um, you know, we didn't have indoor uh rings, uh so it you know it's only just three or four months of skating, and then you you wait for the next night uh nine months to for for the lakes to freeze. So I developed an interest in uh in violin playing in high school, and then of course I would dream of becoming a a professional uh musician, and of course I had no talent, nor did I have the the the training or or the means to get good lessons and so forth. So that also didn't work.

SPEAKER_03 16:49

When I played the violin when I was young too, did they I remember I guess I used the Suzuki method? Is that was that popular?

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Yeah no, that was not popular in China. In in in China those days, there were a lot of uh uh influence from the Soviet Union Union, so the teachers were um I I remember my teacher sh uh he was sort of trained by a a Russian uh teacher, so they they follow the Russian school.

SPEAKER_03 17:19

So we're moving on to your undergraduate years. Um can you tell us a little bit about where you went to college?

SPEAKER_00 17:24

Yeah, so uh my my college at the time, uh that was of course after two years um of true being uh working as a as a farmer, uh I I was finally able to get to college and uh and the college at the time was at uh uh so I I was studying hydraulic engineering and and of course um you know the administrators, the power that be at the time said, well, for hydraulic engineering uh the location should be on the reservoir, right? You know you learn how to build reservoirs, you go to the reservoir and and learn it there. So so that campus was was actually in in the middle of nowhere by uh in the countryside by a large reservoir. So um being a swimmer, uh that sort of uh an advantage for me. Uh I remember one day it was on my birthday actually, and uh uh I I gathered a group of uh my classmates. I said, let's go swimming. So we literally crossed uh the this reservoir from one side to the other. I think it's maybe um I would guess it's it's at least three miles uh across.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

So now you were in swimming shape when you did this, I'm assuming. And your friends as well.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Um so well the here's the story. We we we were all uh good swimmer swimmers that were able to cross to the other side. And and uh we we successfully and and then we we walked up um and and and we said there's no way we could swim back. And so we found a little boat. We don't know who the owner was and and why it was there, this little rowboat wooden one.

SPEAKER_02 19:37

That you decided to borrow.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

Yeah, we just borrowed it and took it to the other side and left it there.

SPEAKER_02 19:43

Who rode? President Shield?

SPEAKER_00 19:45

Yeah, all of us. Okay, you took turns, okay.

SPEAKER_02 19:48

Yeah. Because rowing is no easy task either for three miles.

SPEAKER_03 19:53

So so did you stick with hydraulic engineering as you went into graduate school or just stayed in engineering?

SPEAKER_00 20:01

So uh I uh you know, hydraulic engineering, a lot of it is is uh fluid mechanics. Uh so for those who understand physics, you you know, fluid mechanics is a subset of mechanics and and uh and when I came to this country uh I said I want to study computational fluid mechanics. And and this was 1980 and in the early days of using computers to study um engineering problems. And uh and it turns out that uh you know hydraulic engineering is is a subset of civil engineering. But at the time, uh uh civil engineering and mechanical engineering were not advanced enough to apply uh computers that way yet. And and turns out that all the computational work was in the uh aerospace engineering department. So um that's how I got into uh graduate school uh into aerospace engineering program, which really um in s in the strict sense I didn't change anything uh about what I studied. It's the same equation and and same way to solve the problem, except it's in the different department, so I can claim that I'm a rocket scientist, but I'm really not.

SPEAKER_03 21:36

When my dad talks about that period, he talks about programming computers with the the cards. Did you have to punch card it?

SPEAKER_00 21:42

Yeah, we we started with cards and then uh advanced to uh like tapes, um paper tapes that with holes in them. And you could actually correct the tapes by p punching manually if you made a mistake. Um but uh Yeah, and and then by the time I I was in my second year we we uh had terminals and and uh got away from the from the tapes.

SPEAKER_03 22:11

So it's like an amazing jump from that to intentional AI and and what we're doing here on campus.

SPEAKER_02 22:17

Indeed. Well we're gonna refocus now uh a little bit more on the theme of the this podcast, which is faculty off the clock, and would like for you to tell us about a current pastime or hobby uh or more than one that you enjoy regularly.

SPEAKER_00 22:36

Oh, uh there are probably too many to uh enumerate. Uh I enjoyed uh tennis and and of course uh there was a time when I could play at least five hours a week uh on a very regular basis. Um but then of course uh work got in the way and and now I only get to play whenever my children are home and they um invite me to a game. So they also enjoy tennis. Well, we have four girls, all of them were uh high school RC players. So um because I guess I like them and and I just made sure that they all sure um but uh these days I I um found a a more uh time efficient way uh which is running. And I could spend half an hour and without any partner uh I I get a good workout, so that's what I do.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

And of course you did the Cooper River River Bridge run, because I saw you there. Yeah. And you did quite well despite the uh oppressive heat for an April day.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

Yeah, we uh I I s uh I intend to do that uh again next year. Great.

SPEAKER_02 23:57

Hopefully it'll be a little bit cooler to improve your time on. Right. We always Chris and I always talk to our guests, and we've talked to each other about this, about uh a dream off the clock activity that we would still like to tackle but haven't managed to do it yet. And we were wondering if you had one of those.

SPEAKER_00 24:18

Yeah. So i you know, the the the childhood dream of becoming a a musician, uh I I mean it's still alive in me. Uh I I I have given up all hope of becoming a a professional musician. You know, becoming an amateur one is still something I'm I'm very much intend to do.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

Aaron Ross Powell What would be the choice instrument?

SPEAKER_00 24:47

So uh I'm I'm still um playing violin occasionally, picking it up uh uh uh every other few months. I I would uh uh not an easy instrument. No, uh not an easy instrument, especially as one gets older. I I found that it's it's even harder to train the muscles.

SPEAKER_03 25:09

Interesting. So our our last question before we get to our our lightning round would be if if you weren't president of the college right now, what would you be doing?

SPEAKER_00 25:19

Well, uh you know, obviously I I would uh prefer to be a a musician or uh or a professional athlete, but I I now know that there are always limitations to anyone's uh capability. So I I probably would be an engineer.

SPEAKER_02 25:40

Well, always with our faculty off the clock episodes, we conclude with our lightning round where we ask each guest some important standard questions, again, about your life off the clock. So to begin, what's your favorite carbohydrate?

SPEAKER_00 25:55

Uh ice cream. Is that even an carbohydrate?

SPEAKER_02 25:59

I guess it depends what you put in it. I mean, more protein, I guess. So that would be your protein.

SPEAKER_00 26:06

I would say bagel.

SPEAKER_02 26:07

Bagel, okay. Nice bagel. Everything bagel.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

Everything bagel. I have to have very salty everything bagel.

SPEAKER_02 26:15

Do you have a s preferred place in Charleston where you get your everything bagel?

SPEAKER_00 26:20

Uh there's a Holy City bagel. That's who uh I I I certainly like their bagel. Okay. Yeah. But uh uh more often uh than Holy City, it's Costco. Everything bagel. Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

Interesting. I'm a big Costco fan. Uh the bagel's not so much, but Costco in general, I'm a huge fan. Um you you mentioned ice cream um as your favorite protein. Is is that still your uh Is that your still your firm answer?

SPEAKER_00 26:51

Yes, definitely. Um vanilla ice cream.

SPEAKER_02 26:54

Vanilla ice cream. Certain brand?

SPEAKER_00 26:57

Uh I don't really have any uh Yeah, no. I give me any uh vanilla ice cream, I'll eat it. You're good.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

Okay if you're ice cream then frozen yogurt, not as much.

SPEAKER_00 27:10

Frozen yogurt, I I developed a taste for only just uh this spring break when way uh when we went to Barcelona and my children found uh a frozen yogurt place. I I can't remember the name of it. It's I just know it's green and it's everywhere in the city. And we w would walk for uh you know half an hour to just go.

SPEAKER_02 27:35

Pistachio, maybe?

SPEAKER_00 27:37

Uh frozen yogurt? Yeah. Vanilla.

unknown 27:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

The green, I was thinking pistachio. No, no.

SPEAKER_00 27:43

The green is the sign is the color of the store.

SPEAKER_02 27:47

Oh, I gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 27:49

Okay. Pizza or tacos? Pizza.

SPEAKER_03 27:53

Do you have a particular topping that you like?

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Uh cheese and and uh um what do you call the the meat? Pepperoni? Yeah. Pepperoni.

SPEAKER_03 28:03

Classic. It's a classic. Um so in the South, right, we have hush puppies. Would you prefer the the hush puppies versus french fries if you're getting a fried?

SPEAKER_00 28:14

Yeah, if I have a choice, I would go with French fries.

SPEAKER_02 28:17

Mustard or ketchup on a hot dog?

SPEAKER_00 28:20

Um ketchup.

SPEAKER_03 28:26

So you were a musician, but did you have a a favorite band growing up? Like a in your youth?

SPEAKER_00 28:34

No. Uh uh again, when I was growing up, it was a different time in a different world. Yeah, sorry, I can't answer that one.

SPEAKER_02 28:42

That's okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Um favorite soft drink? Uh favorite soft drink uh seven up.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

Oh.

SPEAKER_03 28:50

Would you prefer uh it to be cold out or hot?

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Cold.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Really cold, like winter to the ice skating?

SPEAKER_00 29:00

Yeah, I I would uh prefer really cold than really hot.

SPEAKER_02 29:06

Well, we are in the the south, and of course barbecue is something we talk about regularly, you know, which is pulled pork. I make it myself at home. I have strong feelings about it. I know Chris does. And a lot of people have strong feelings about the sauce. So the question for you mustard, vinegar, or tomato based?

SPEAKER_00 29:27

Tomato based.

SPEAKER_03 29:31

Uh if you had a choice, plane, train, or automobile?

SPEAKER_00 29:36

Train. I I would love. I I always enjoy the train rides.

SPEAKER_03 29:40

Yeah, I like a good long train ride. I wish we had a little bit more of those around.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

Do you have a preferred country to ride the train?

SPEAKER_00 29:49

Uh I I think in France probably would be my most preferred country to to ride uh a train. It's just going through the countryside is just so beautiful and enjoyable.

SPEAKER_02 30:03

So this is a really important question and uh generate some extensive discussion. We would like to know your approach to dispensing toothpaste from the tube.

SPEAKER_00 30:16

Okay, so you know, uh obviously I'm a fluid dynamicist and and I always uh have a scientific way of of doing it. Uh so wherever you can uh apply the least pressure and get the toothpaste out is where I would press. Normally it's um it's closer to the to the um exit or what do you call it? Yeah, the little nozzle. The nozzle. Um probably two-thirds of the way up when when it's full. And then of course, when it's close to empty, I would roll it up completely just so that you can still easily squeeze and and get them out.

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Aligns very well with uh Mark's approaches. I find that answer very acceptable because we should have a lot of things. Popcorn, yes or no?

SPEAKER_03 31:16

Yes. Do you have a particular thing you like? Just playing popcorn?

SPEAKER_00 31:22

Oh, butter, butter. Butter and salt. The more the better.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

Yeah. And I guess finally, our our our last question is um, you know, a celebrity event featuring you, your your walkout song.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

Celebrity event uh featuring the walkout song.

SPEAKER_02 31:40

And there are many events that feature you, but and you probably have had entrance songs before, but what would be your favorite preferred entrance song? You get to choose.

SPEAKER_00 31:57

I'm drawing a blank. It's okay.

SPEAKER_02 31:59

This is a this is a it's a tough question. I mean, Chris and I had to, I think, think about it a good bit as well.

SPEAKER_00 32:06

Would it be something more originating from your childhood, you think, as opposed to uh I would uh I I would uh use uh Brahms uh requiem. Oh okay. If that's even allowed.

SPEAKER_02 32:24

No, you get to choose.

SPEAKER_03 32:25

You're the you're the you're the featured uh celebrity here. That's great. Well, Dr. Shu, thanks so much for sharing today about your time off the clock and for giving listeners an alternative glimpse into your life outside your work. Uh we really appreciate it. And uh as a personalized marketing tool, we're going to provide a bobblehead uh in the near future, and we'll we'll drop it off. Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 32:47

Thank you. I I love these two on the table, right?

SPEAKER_02 32:50

Well, these are particularly important as a as a marketing tool for this podcast, so we hope that when you receive it, you will uh also sing the praises of the podcast and your experience here with us today.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

I surely will. Thank you. Thanks again for having me here.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

Stay tuned for next month's installment when we learn more about the life off the clock of another College of Charleston professor.