Venture Forward gift from Yan Huo *94 names New College West as Huo College
The construction of Huo College, along with Yeh College, has allowed Princeton to expand the undergraduate student body by approximately 10%, creating living-learning space for an additional 500 undergraduates.
A major gift in the Venture Forward campaign from graduate alumnus Yan Huo *94 has named Huo College, originally known as New College West.
The gift was previously anonymous, and the University is announcing the naming of Huo College four years after its opening, following the graduation of the first cohort of students living in New College West.
Yan Huo
“Yan Huo’s marvelous gift, made at a pivotal moment early in the Venture Forward campaign, has enabled us to say ‘yes!’ to more of the talented young people who aspire to study at Princeton. Yan’s visionary generosity will transform the lives of thousands of students, and I am deeply grateful to him for his inspiring support of access, inclusion, and this University’s mission,” said President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83. “As we celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Graduate School, we are thrilled to announce that Huo College, named for a gift from a graduate alumnus, will be added to the undergraduate residential college lexicon.”
New College West and Yeh College opened in 2022 and were dedicated in May 2023, along with several named residence halls and community spaces within the colleges. Hobson College is under construction in the footprint of First College and is scheduled for completion in 2027. Together, the new residential colleges support one of the highest strategic priorities of the University and the Venture Forward campaign: expansion of the student body so that additional high-achieving students can realize the benefits of a Princeton education and contribute to society after they graduate.
The colleges — which currently include Butler, Forbes, Huo, Mathey, Rockefeller, Whitman and Yeh, with Hobson soon to follow — provide collegial and collaborative learning environments that are integral to student development and support community.
“It’s remarkable to see students grow, learn and thrive in our residential colleges,” said Michael Gordin, Dean of the College. “Huo College will welcome the Class of 2030 and returning students this fall, and they will build on four years of thriving community that this wonderful gift helped make possible.”
The construction of Huo College and Yeh College south of Poe Field allowed Princeton to expand the undergraduate student body by approximately 10%, creating living-learning space for an additional 500 undergraduates. The two colleges are adjacent to each other and share dining areas and some common spaces. Their proximity to other residential colleges and the recreational open space on Poe and Pardee fields supports interaction, engagement and a sense of community.
“Princeton sparked many opportunities and lifelong friendships for me, and I am grateful every day for what it made possible in my life,” said Huo, who earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Princeton. “Now, I am truly excited to see Huo College offer new generations of Princetonians the same opportunities to build lasting friendships and gain new knowledge. Hopefully, like me, they will look back at their time at Princeton with the same fondness and gratitude for how it shaped their lives.”
Huo is managing partner, co-founder and chief investment officer of Capula Investment Management LLP. Prior to co-founding Capula in 2005, Huo spent most of his professional career at JPMorgan, where he worked in its derivatives research and proprietary positioning business. Huo is a trustee of Princeton University, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fudan University and the Huo Family Foundation, and served as a volunteer co-chair for Princeton’s 2025 “Many Minds, Many Stripes” conference celebrating graduate alumni. Before he came to Princeton, he earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Fudan University in China (1988).
Huo’s previous gifts to Princeton University include faculty and graduate student support, as well as a major gift naming the Huo Pavilion in the Princeton University Art Museum.
Huo College is home to 850 undergraduates in all four years of study as well as some college staff and residential graduate students. AnneMarie Luijendijk, head of Huo College and the William H. Danforth Professor of Religion, lives in the Jones+Feliciano House within Huo College with her husband, children and dog, Bobo.
“We are so happy to live in this flourishing and inclusive community of learning, and grateful to Yan Huo for helping make it possible,” said Luijendijk. “As I said when we opened this wonderful residential community four years ago, our students are truly the spirit of this college. We can’t wait to welcome them back in the fall with our new name.”
Huo’s gift to Princeton was made as part of the Venture Forward campaign, which built alumni engagement, secured critical philanthropic support for the University’s strategic priorities, and shared Princeton’s defining principles and their impact on the world. The campaign concluded June 30, 2025.
