Shien Biau Woo

Shien Biau Woo (born August 13, 1937) is a Chinese American professor and politician from Newark, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party and served as the 21st lieutenant governor of Delaware.

Early life and family Woo's ancestral hometown is Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. He was born in 1937 in Shanghai. His parents fled the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949 to Hong Kong with him, he studied at Hong Kong Pui Ching Middle School, and then he came to the United States at the age of 18. He received undergraduate degrees in mathematics and physics from Georgetown College in Kentucky and his PhD in physics from Washington University in 1964.

Professional career Woo is a leader in the greater Chinese American community throughout the country from which his political activities dependably received strong financial backing. He is the founding president of the 80-20 Initiative, a group that attempts to organize Asian Pacific Americans (APAs) into a swing bloc-vote in presidential elections, intending to induce both major political parties to take the interests of the APA community into consideration. He also serves as a professor emeritus of physics and trustee of the University of Delaware from 1976-1982, and an Institute Fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School (1989).

After he retired as a trustee, the University of Delaware's Faculty Senate passed a written tribute thanking him for "His courage, integrity and independence of thought (which) enable him to set a performance standard of the highest quality." Another picture of him is in an interactive display in the lobby of Asia Society in New York City. In 2000, A Magazine ranked him the 6th of the 25 Most Influential Asian Americans.

Since retiring from academia, Woo has shifted to volunteer work. He is the founding president of two national organizations: the 80-20 Educational Foundation, Inc. (EF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with assets of about US$8.4 million, and the 80-20 Asian American Empowerment PAC, with assets of about US$200,000. While financially independent, both organizations share the mission of advancing equal opportunity and justice for Asian Americans. Together, they maintain an email list of more than 156,000 Asian American subscribers and distribute weekly e-newsletters. All officers and board members of both organizations serve as volunteers and contribute financially. In 2023, the PAC targeted Representative Michelle Steel of California’s 45th congressional district, ultimately contributing to her defeat in her reelection campaign.

The Educational Foundation has focused on legal and educational equality, most notably by supporting Students for Fair Admissions in its decade-long case against Harvard University. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against Harvard’s admissions policies was described by the Foundation as a landmark victory for Asian American applicants to elite universities. Following the decision, EF engaged in self-examination and continued outreach to highlight the broader implications of the case for equal opportunity in higher education.

Electoral history Elections are held on the first Tuesday after November 1. The Lieutenant Governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and has a four-year term.

Election resultsYearOfficeElectionSubjectPartyVotes%OpponentPartyVotes%1984Lt. GovernorPrimaryS. B. WooDemocratic14,13142%Nancy W. CookDavid B. McBrideDemocratic10,5909,26031%27%1984Lt. GovernorGeneralS. B. WooDemocratic121,09550%Battle R. RobinsonRepublican120,66650%1988U.S. SenatorPrimaryS. B. WooDemocratic20,22550%Samuel S. BeardDemocratic20,154 50%1988U.S. SenatorGeneralS. B. WooDemocratic92,37838%William RothRepublican151,115 62%1992U.S. RepresentativePrimaryS. B. WooDemocratic28,73274%Ernest L. ErcoleDemocratic10,32926%1992U.S. RepresentativeGeneralS. B. WooDemocratic117,42643%Mike CastleRepublican153,03755%