On March 21st, Schwarzman College’s Academic Advisory Council held its Spring Meeting in the Reception Hall of the main building. Qiu Yong, President of Tsinghua University, and Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO and Co-founder of Blackstone, addressed the meeting. Also present the meeting were Zhou Ji, President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Zhang Xinsheng, former Vice-Minister of Education, Yang Bin, Vice President of Tsinghua, David Daokui Li, Dean of Schwarzman College, David Pan, Executive Dean of Schwarzman College, Cheng Wenhao, Associate Dean of Schwarzman College, Academic Advisory Council members from around the world, as well as more than 40 experts and scholars within and outside the university. William C. Kirby, Chairman of the Academic Advisory Council and Professor of Harvard University chaired the meeting.

Qiu Yong addresses the meeting.

 Qiu Yong thanked the Academic Advisory Council for its support over the past three years. He said: “Schwarzman College had great significance to Tsinghua as a landmark project on education cooperation in the new century, and a key initiative to cultivate international leaders. The university will continue to support the program and the cultivation of world-class scholars.”

Mr. Schwarzman addresses the meeting.

Schwarzman said that the recruitment and admission of the first class of Schwarzman scholars received wide attention from the international community. The first cohort of students will enroll in the college very soon, and  will become “world leaders” and “future stars” at Tsinghua. With China’s growing influence on the world, Schwarzman College will play an important role in global youth exchanges.

David Daokui Li addresses the meeting.

David Daokui Li, Dean of Schwarzman College, introduced the college’s latest developments and thanked the members for their constructive comments. He said: “I am looking forward to the admission of Schwarzman scholars’ first class. While living and learning in Tsinghua, they will encounter new knowledge, cultures and thoughts, and learn about Chinese society and culture through practice. Department heads of the college made updates on admissions, curricula, student life and building construction.

The meeting discussed curricula, career planning, and student life of the program. The Academic Advisory Council includes experts from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other world-renowned academic institutions, as well as Tsinghua and other schools.

The Council members also visited Schwarzman College.

Tour the College

Since its launch in April 2013, Schwarzman College has held seven Academic Advisory Council meetings. Internationally renowned scholars joined in-depth discussions on the college’s development and its talent-training programs. The college now is well prepared for its first class of students.

This year, Schwarzman College will admit 111 students from 35 countries and regions. They come from 75 world leading universities, including Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Cambridge, and HEC Paris. The students will take Master’s degree courses for 11 months. The courses are intensively arranged, consisting of core curriculum and a set of concentration courses in public policy, international studies, and economic development.

The college will hire world-class faculty and provide students with a social network with life-long benefits. Twenty-five internationally-renowned scholars have joined Schwarzman College, including former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers, Harvard professor Niall Ferguson, and political scientist Joseph Nye who coined the term “soft power”. They will teach together alongside Tsinghua professors.

Attendees take a group photo.

The members of the Academic Advisory Council in attaendance were: Mary Brown Bullock, Executive Vice Chancellor for Duke Kunshan University, Dr. Michael Cappello, Director of the Yale World Fellows Program, Thomas J. Christensen, Professor at Princeton University and former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Jane Edwards, Senior Associate Dean at Yale University, Louis Goodman, Provost emeritus of School of International Service at American University, Peter Lange, provost at Duke University, Yinuo Li, Director of China Office, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Edward Macias, provost at Washington University in St. Louis, F. Warren McFarlan, Professor at Stanford University, Jean C. Oi, Professor at Stanford University, Steve Orlins, President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, Peter Tufano, Dean of the Saïd Business School at Oxford University, and Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, Vice President at University of Vienna.