Dear faculty, students, colleagues, and friends:

With Chinese New Year just around the corner, we would like to extend New Year’s greetings to you all on behalf of the Schwarzman College!

In 2020, we were inspired by the courage of Schwarzman Scholars who took on new responsibilities. When supply chains shut down during the COVID-19 outbreak, members of our community sourced donations and provided food to local families. A few scholars also worked together to scale COVID-19 testing in the US, helping to supply about 10% of the country’s total daily tests. As much of daily life suddenly ground to a halt, the Schwarzman Scholars community continued to gather online to discuss current events and to share their experiences with one another.

The challenges and uncertainty of 2020 also brought out the best in our staff team by requiring constant adaptation and innovation to keep the program running smoothly. With 80% of students and 50% of faculty located outside of China across a total of 19 time zones, our college used Zoom, Blackboard, and Rain Classroom platforms to move the program online and ensure classes began as scheduled. Our first-ever online/offline capstone defense was held over three days from May 30 and June 1. In September, we successfully helped members of our 5th Cohort formally begin their year as Schwarzman Scholars both on campus and online. Our Academic and Student Life teams along with others adjusted to meet the rapidly changing needs of both learners and teachers. Deep Dive, our unique experiential class, changed from in-person visits to online learning. Our Admissions team held hundreds of sessions, from enrollment promotions to events for young professional events, and eventually welcomed over 150 new scholars to join us. 

Faced with a new reality filled of uncertainty, we firmly believe that by refusing to waver in the face of adversity and by continuing to work together we can create a better future for mankind.

Thank you for your interest in and support for Schwarzman Scholar at Tsinghua University. We wish you all the very best in your scholastic and professional endeavors as well as a healthy and happy New Year of the Ox!

Lan Xue Dean
Amy Stursberg Executive Director
David Q. Pan Executive Dean
June Qian Associate Dean
Melanie Koenderman Associate Dean