College Presidents From U.S., China Meet

October 28, 1999

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HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

A small group of American and Chinese university presidents are slated to gather at Harvard this week to confer on issues of concern to educators in both countries. The conference, which takes place on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29 and 30, is one outgrowth of President Neil L. Rudenstine’s 1998 visit to the People’s Republic of China.

"There have been for more than two decades growing ties between faculty in the United States and faculty in China, and between students in the United States and students at Chinese universities," Rudenstine said. "This conference presents an unusual opportunity – the first of its kind – for a group of presidents from leading Chinese universities to meet with a group of American counterparts for two days of intensive discussions about priorities and future directions in higher education. This is an important further step in a long relationship, focused on education, that has worked well, even when international and political events have created tensions and problems."

History Professor William Kirby, director of Harvard’s Asia Center, was among those who helped organize the conference. Kirby says that despite differences in structure among universities, Chinese and American administrators face many similar challenges. These include defining the mission of a modern research university and its relationship to society; recruiting and retaining top faculty; and responding to the economic and technological challenges of globalization. Conference sessions, which will be held in private, will address those concerns along with such issues as financing higher education.

Those planning to attend include the presidents of Peking, Nanjing, Zhejiang, Tsinghua, Fudan, Shanghai, and Xian Jiaotong universities in China, and, in addition to Rudenstine, the presidents of the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Virginia, Duke, M.I.T., and the Association of American Universities.