The University of Michigan has announced a $10 million gift from investor and alumnus John Wu and his wife, Jane Sun, to create an endowed fund that will support the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute.

The John Wu and Jane Sun Endowment Fund will support professorships, faculty awards, scholarships, student entrepreneurship funds, and other programs. Founded in 2006, the Joint Institute, which the university describes as a model for academic joint ventures in China, is one of several initiatives U-M has around the world, including joint health initiatives in Ghana and Ethiopia and an initiative in India.

A native of Shanghai, Wu studied at SJTU before earning his degree at U-M. He led Yahoo!'s search and e-commerce technology engineering team from 1996 to 1999 and served as chief technology officer at Alibaba from 2000 to 2007, before joining Northern Light Venture Capital as a partner in 2008 and co-founding F&H Fund Management in 2010. Jane Sun is the co-president and COO of Ctrip.com, a leading travel service provider in China. In recognition of the couple's generosity, the Joint Institute Academic and Laboratory Complex, currently under construction, will be named the "Long Bin Building" in honor of Wu's parents, longtime faculty members at SJTU.

"The University of Michigan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University provided me with deeply meaningful educational opportunities," said Wu. "Jane and I are delighted to support the Joint Institute, and we look forward to the continued success of students and faculty."