Betty Lee Sung was an author, professor, and pioneering scholar in the field of Chinese American studies. Sung has written several books, including the seminal "Mountain of Gold," one of the first comprehensive histories on Chinese in America published in 1967. Sung holds an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York Old Westbury and has taught for many years at the City College of New York (CCNY), where she founded the first program in Asian American studies on the east coast. In the oral history, Sung recounts her childhood, education, family, career, publication, and creation of the CUNY Asian American and Asian Research Institute (AAARI).