Wang to Speak and Premier Film at Bethel University

Bethel University has announced that Dr. Ming Wang will be the guest speaker in its October 17 Chapel service and will also premier his new film Sight in McKenzie. The Chapel service will take place at 11 a.m. in the Bouldin Auditorium of the Dickey Fine Arts Building on the McKenzie campus. The public is invited to attend.

Wang is a Christian, philanthropist, world-renowned surgeon, and founder of the Common Ground Network. Wang is a medical doctor who also holds a doctorate degree in laser physics. He graduated from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is co-founder of the non-profit Common Ground Network.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Wang coming to Bethel to share with our students about his struggles and his testimony about how becoming a Christian has changed his life,” said Rev. Dr. Anne Hames, Dean of the Chapel at Bethel University. “We want to invite the public to join us to experience the gift of hearing Dr. Wang’s inspirational story first-hand.”

Wang is passionate about the intersection of science and faith since becoming a Christian while enrolled at Harvard. He invented and patented the amniotic membrane contact lens, which has been used by tens of thousands of doctors in nearly every nation throughout the world and has resulted in restored eyesight for millions of patients. His foundation, the Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration, has helped patients from over 40 states and 55 countries with free sight restoration surgeries.

However, Wang’s life has not been easy. Wang escaped the Cultural Revolution in China by playing the erhu to avoid deportation to a Chinese labor camp. He later came to America with only $50. Since that time, he has earned two doctoral degrees and helped restore sight to patients around the world. The film Sight is based on Wang’s autobiography, From Darkness to Sight, and costars Greg Kinnear. The film, which includes messages of freedom, faith, and common ground, will be released to theaters across the United States on October 27 and will be shown at McKenzie’s Park Theatre on November 15 at 5:30 p.m.

Wang has been chosen as National Public Radio (NPR)’s Philanthropist of the Year and received the Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Chinese American Physicians. Wang was named Kiwanis Nashvillian of the Year for his lifelong dedication to helping blind orphan children worldwide.