Business School, China Fund open office in Shanghai

Harvard Business School (HBS) Dean Jay O. Light and William C. Kirby, T.M. Chang Professor of China Studies and chairman of the Harvard China Fund, announced the opening of a Harvard office in Shanghai on July 2. The office will serve both HBS and the Harvard China Fund under the auspices of the Office of the Harvard University Provost. The University plans to open another office in Beijing this autumn. Both locations will enable exploration into a range of potential activities in support of Harvard’s research and teaching programs. Light and Kirby made the announcement in Shanghai.

Harvard’s new China offices will have a number of key responsibilities, including the following:

• Providing local coordination and assistance to Harvard’s various Faculties and Schools, and assisting individual faculty and students engaged in research, teaching, or other academic activities in greater China;
• Offering Harvard students on-the-ground services for regional study and internship programs;
• Facilitating admissions interviews and programmatic events for prospective students;
• Coordinating and promoting further collaboration between Harvard and Chinese universities and other organizations;
• Building deeper connections to a growing Harvard alumni population in the region.

The Shanghai office will house a researcher affiliated with HBS’s Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Research Center. Under the direction of the HBS Global Initiative, the other Business School international research centers are located in Latin America, Japan, India, and Europe. Each center has an executive director who leads a team of case writers, all of whom are fluent in the language of the host country and are familiar with its customs, companies, universities, and governments.

“We are very pleased to be opening this new facility in greater China,” said Light. “Harvard Business School has had a long-standing interest in and commitment to the region. Today, increasing numbers of HBS faculty list China among their top areas of geographical interest. The addition of this new office will add significantly to our research and our understanding of the world’s fastest-growing economy. We look forward to working with and learning from Chinese businesspeople, government officials, and many others in the years ahead.”

“With this visit to China,” noted Kirby, “we are proud to follow in the footsteps of Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust, who recently received an honorary degree from Peking University, and of more than 600 Harvard University alumni and friends who came to China in March to participate in the largest gathering of Harvard graduates ever held outside the United States.

“Through the resources of the Harvard China Fund, Harvard University will continue to investigate and increase its options in greater China. Generations of Harvard College students and Harvard graduate students will benefit greatly from these opportunities now and in the future, and these initial steps towards establishing a more comprehensive set of facilities in the region will further the University’s research and teaching missions.”