Dr. Tsu was born on December 1, 1924 in the Jilin Province of China and received his LL.B. degree from Tokyo University. In 1950, He immigrated to the United States to pursue graduate studies, earning an M.A. from Georgetown University 1949 and a Ph.D. from Fordham University 1953.
From 1958 to 1977, Dr. Tsu taught at Seton Hall University in New Jersey where he founded the Department of Asian Studies and Non-Western Civilization and served as Chair of the Department for 10 years. He served special assistant to president, University of San Francisco, 1977-83. In 1977, Dr. Tsu became the Director of Multicultural and Bilingual Programs at the University of San Francisco, where he expanded the Doctoral program from 9 students to 300, then established the Asian Pacific Institute at John F. Kennedy University in Tokyo.
Dr. Tsu served as the Secretary of Education's Representative for Region IX (1989-91) where he was instrumental in promoting the Secretary's policies to school boards and institutions of higher education throughout the western United States; member, President's National Advisory Council on Education for Disadvantaged Children (1971-73); member, National Advisory Council on Ethnic Heritage Studies, HEW (1975-80); member, US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange (1990), where he became a Commissioner of the Japan-US Friendship Commission. In 2001, President George W. Bush named him Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a post he held until 2004.
Dr. Tsu's dedicated service on behalf of the Asian Pacific American community was widely recognized by governors and Presidents, who appointed him to many high-level boards and commissions, including President Nixon, who appointed him to the Presidential Advisory Commission on the Education of Disadvantaged Children, President Ford, who appointed him to the National Heritage Studies Committee, President George H.W. Bush, who appointed him as Co-Chair of the Presidential Personnel Advisory Committee, and President George W. Bush.
Dr. Tsu was honored with numerous awards, including citations from the American Association of United Nations, the Institute of Chinese Culture of New York, and the Outstanding Scholars in America, the Bishop McQuade Medal of distinguished service as a faculty member at Seton Hall University, and was named an honorary member of Alpha Mu Gamma and Phi Kappa Theta. The Chinese newspaper, World Journal, named John B. Tsu on February 8 as 2001 year of man.
Dr. Tsu passed away in California on February 26. He was 81. The House of Represenmtatives passed a resolution (H. Res. 149) on March 10, 2005 in honoring the life and contributions of the late Dr. John B. Tsu for his dedication and service to the United States of America through many high-level boards and commissions and for his service on behalf of the Asian Pacific American community.