On September 1st, the Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University 2015 Autumn Advisory Council Meeting was held at the main building of Tsinghua University. Qiu Yong, President of the University, Stephen A. Schwarzman, co-founder of Blackstone attended and addressed the meeting. Attendees of the meeting included Nobel laureate Chen-Ning Yang, Honorary Advisor of the program, Zhou Ji, former Minister of Education Yang Bin, and Vice President and Provost of Tsinghua University. In addition, members of the Academic Advisory Council coming from elite universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Oxford, and Duke, as well as experts and scholars from various colleges and departments of Tsinghua University all attended and spoke at the meeting. William C. Kirby, Chairman of the Academic Advisory Council of the program and Professor of Harvard University chaired the meeting. The meeting involved in-depth discussion over such three aspects as academic affairs, student life, and admission.
During the meeting, President Qiu Yong and Chen Xu, Chairperson of the University Council held talks with Mr. Schwarzman separately. Vice President Yang Bin, Li Jinliang, Chief of the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange, Li Daokui, Dean of the program, and Pan Qingzhong, Executive Dean of the program were also present.
On behalf of Tsinghua University, Qiu Yong expressed gratitude to the attendees for their support to the cultivation of future young leaders by the university. He stated that Schwarzman Scholars is an important step on the path to internationalization of the university; the university will spare no effort to develop the program well, and foster outstanding international talents featuring broad vision, comprehensive quality and cross-culture leadership skills.
Mr. Schwarzman said, the global recruitment of the program is progressing smoothly, and he is looking forward to selecting the world’s best young talents to be the first batch of students. He added, the program will provide a communication platform for future global leaders, help them establish mutual trust and friendship, which is of great significance in creating a more peaceful and friendly international environment.
Li Daokui stated that the program was committed to create an international, open education environment. To promote cross-culture understanding, students will both fully interact with leaders from various spheres, and integrate with students in Tsinghua University to learn from each other and grow together. He expressed the hope that the meeting can promote all tasks effectively and meticulously by soliciting opinions from the scholars on some key issues of program.
The day before the meeting, President Qiu Yong met with William C. Kirby at the President’s Office. Vice President Yang Bin also attended the meeting.
Qiu Yong extended gratitude to William C. Kirby for the consistent help and support to Schwarzman Scholars at Tsinghua University, and introduced the university in the aspects of talent cultivating, education innovation and international cooperation.
William C. Kirby gave strong affirmation to Schwarzman Scholars and shared the ideas of personnel training of Harvard University. Two parties then had a further discussion on potential cooperation.
Currently, faculty recruitment is also underway. Dozens of internationally renowned experts and scholars have pledged to teach in the program, including Michael Spence, Nobel laureate in economics, Lawrence H. Summers, former US Treasury Secretary, Joseph S. Nye, the father of "soft power", etc.
Accelerating global leadership for the 21st century, Schwarzman Scholars is designed to provide future leaders with first hand exposure to China and relationships with its people with the hopes of fostering greater cooperation between China and the rest of the world for decades to come. Students will take a rigorous curriculum towards an 11 months of study and activities, with specially-designed core courses and concentration in one of three disciplines in Public Policy, Economics and Business, and International Studies. The program will bring together an international group of accomplished academic, business, political and non-profit leaders, creating a community of exceptional caliber to help scholars refine and expand their leadership abilities. This experience will expand students’ understanding of the world and create a growing network of global leaders for the future.
As of this month, the program has held campus events in over 300 famous colleges and universities across the globe. After the deadline of global application in October, a rigorous selection process performed by global elites from various fields will begin. The program will arrange interviews in Beijing, Bangkok, New York and London. The final admission list will be announced by the end of this year.
Attendees from Academic Advisory Council include: 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, Lawrence Lau, professor at Stanford University, 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. Attendees from Tsinghua University include: Gao Hong, Vice Dean, Qian Yinyi, Dean of School of Economics and Management, Xue Lan, Dean of School of Public Policy & Management, Li Qiang, Dean of School of Social Sciences, Liu Huiqin and Zhangwei, Vice Deans of the Graduate School, Shi Zhiqin, Party Secretary of School of Social Sciences, Peng Zongchao, Vice Dean of School of Public Policy & Management, Yan Haiping, Vice Dean of School of Humanities, Wu Yunxin, Director of International Students Office, Tu Zhonghua, Director of Graduate Admissions Office, and professors like Michael Powers, Gao Xudong, Qi Ye, Liu Yu, Liu Yu, and Zheng Lu. Jiang Chun, professor at University of International Business and Economics also attended the meeting.
