On March 21st, the Schwarzman College 2016 Spring Academic Advisory Council Meeting was held in the main building’s reception hall. The meeting was addressed by Qiu Yong, President of Tsinghua University, and Stephen A. Schwarzman, President of Blackstone Group who were in attendance. Zhou Ji (President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering), Zhang Xinsheng (former Vice-Minister of Education), Yang Bin(Vice President of Tsinghua), David Li(Dean of Schwarzman College), David Q. Pan(Executive Dean of Schwarzman College), Jason Cheng(Associate Dean of Schwarzman College), along with 20 Academic Advisory Council members from around the world, and over 40 experts and scholars within and outside the university were also present at the meeting. William C. Kirby, Chairman of the Academic Advisory Council of Schwarzman College, also a Professor from Harvard University chaired the meeting.
The following members of the Academic Advisory Council attended the meeting: Mary Brown Bullock (Executive Vice Chancellor for Duke Kunshan University), Dr. Michael Cappello (Director of 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), William C. Kirby(Professor at Harvard University), Peter Lange(Provost at Duke University), Yinuo Li (Chief Representative of Beijing Representative 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), Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik(Vice President at University of Vienna), etc.
Qiu Yong addresses the meeting.
In his remark, Qiu Yong thanked the members of the Academic Advisory Committee in the past three years for their tremendous support. He stated that Schwarzman College held great significance as it is considered a landmark project for Tsinghua University on international education cooperation in the new century, and a key initiative of the university in cultivating international leaders. Attaching great importance to the construction of Schwarzman College, Qiu noted that the university would continue to give its full support to the development of the program and the training of world-class scholars.
Mr. Schwarzman addresses the meeting.
In his speech, Schwarzman said that the recruitment and admission of the first Schwarzman scholars received wide attention and recognition from the international community. The first batch of students would be admitted to the college very soon, where they will one day become “world leaders” and “future stars” in Tsinghua. With China’s growing influence in the international community, Schwarzman College would play a more important role in promoting global youth exchanges.
David Li addresses the meeting.
David Li, Dean of Schwarzman College, discussed the college’s latest development and thanked the members for their constructive inputs during the entire process. He said that he’s looking forward to the admission of the first cohort of Schwarzman scholars and also noted that during their journey at Tsinghua University, they would engage in a variety of knowledge, culture, and thought exchange, which in turn would enable them to learn and understand Chinese society and cultural norms through practical experiences.
The meeting room
Schwarzman College’s Department Heads provided updates on admissions, curriculum, student life, and college construction during the meeting.
The meeting room
The meeting went into in-depth discussions over curriculum, career planning, and student life of the program among Academic Advisory Council members from Harvard, Yale, Princeton and other world-renowned academic institutions, experts and scholars from various colleges and departments of Tsinghua, and representative academics from outside the university.
The meeting room
The members also visited Schwarzman College on that day as well.
Tour the College
Since its launch in April 2013, Schwarzman College has successfully held seven Academic Advisory Council meetings. Internationally renowned scholars were invited to join in-depth discussion on all aspects of the development of the college and continuously unfold innovative talent training programs. The college is well prepared to embrace its very first cohort of scholars.
This year, the first batch of 111 students from 35 countries and regions will be admitted to Schwarzman College. They come from 75 world leading universities, such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, and HEC Paris. The students will take master degree courses for a period of 11 months. The courses are intensively arranged, consisting of major courses, and an optional course in the area of public policy, international studies, or economic development.
The college will hire the best faculty in the world, optimize talent training methods, promote interactive and experiential learning, and provide the students with a social network which benefits them for life. Currently, 25 internationally renowned experts and scholars have joined Schwarzman College, including Lawrence H. Summers, former US Treasury Secretary, Niall Ferguson, Harvard professor, Joseph S. Nye, the father of “soft power”, etc. They will teach alongside with professors from Tsinghua.
Attendees take a group photo.
Experts and scholars present at the meeting also included: Yao Qiang(Vice-Provost of Tsinghua University and Dean of Graduate School), Qian Yingyi(Dean of School of Economics and Management), Li Qiang(Dean of School of Social Sciences), Gao Hong(Vice-Provost and Director of Office of International Education), Yan Haiping (Associate Dean of School of Humanities), Wu Yunxin(Vice Director of International Cooperation and Exchange Department and Director of International Students Office), Liu Huiqin (Associate Dean of Graduate School, Zhang Wei, Associate Dean of Graduate School), Tu Zhonghua (Director of Graduate Admission Office), Dong Yuan(Director of Education Office of Graduate School), Zhang Yuanyuan(Deputy Director of Degree Office of Graduate School), Daniel Bell, Michael Powers, Chu Shulong, Gao Xudong, Liu Yu, Wang Youqiang and Zheng Lu, Professors at Tsinghua University, and Hu Biliang, Professor at Beijing Normal University.
