Commentary

China-U.S. University Presidents Forum: Building Vibrant Higher Education in a Changing World

Da Hsuan Feng - Vice President for Research and Graduate Education at The University of Texas at Dallas
Co-chair of the Forum

A personal view
June 1, 2005 (Wednesday)
Eliza Anderson Amphitheatre, Grand Hyatt Seattle, WA

On June 1, 2005, the rainy but beautiful Seattle, Washington was the venue of a most successful meeting of historical proportion and profound importance.  It was the first ever China-U.S. Presidents Forum. The theme of the Forum is “Building Vibrant Higher Education in a Changing World”.  How appropriate.

A president of a university is its window for the world.  The intellectual depth and elegance of the president is a direct reflection of the heart, soul and quality of the university.  Throughout the 20th century, great universities were always been propelled by great presidents. Towards the latter part of the 20th century, with the Pacific – Rim becoming as important as the Atlantic-Rim, university presidents in that region need to shoulder greater responsibilities.  Vision in transforming universities from strictly intellectual engines to intellectual and economic engines was a key responsibility of such individuals.  Indeed, considering the increase intellectual and economic exchanges between North America and Asia during the last thirty years and the creation of a higher education presidential fraternity to establish win-win scenarios, it becomes clear that developing a mutual respect between the two regions is a necessity. It is for this major reason, and many others which space does not allow me to list, that the China-U.S. Presidents Forum was conceived.

This event was co-organized by China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE, http://www.ceaie.edu.cn) and the Education Section of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China.  The Education Section in the Chinese Embassy is the branch office of the Chinese Ministry of Education in the United States.  Many key universities in China report directly to this Ministry.

The Forum attracted some 150 senior administrators (presidents and vice presidents), representing approximately 80 Chinese and 50 US universities. It was quite a sight that at the opening session which was wall-to-wall people.

I was extremely pleased to see that the Forum had some unexpected participants, such as senior officials from Tec de Monterrey of Mexico, University of Twente of Holland and INTI of Malaysia. Attracting such individuals from globally known universities, who came from afar, indicated to me that such forums are important not just for China and US, but for the world.

Keynote speeches of the Forum were delivered by leading educationists, such as presidents of Rice University, University of Washington in Seattle, Shandong University, University of South Carolina, University of Delaware, University of Stonybrook, Clemson University, and South China University of Science and Technology and others.

I know that the organizers were most pleased that the President of Washington University in Seattle, Dr. Mark A. Emmert, not only gave an interesting talk entitled “U.S.-China University Relations,” in which he outlined how transparent universities must be, but was present at many other forum events, thus serving as an excellent host.

It is very exciting to note that less- and non-research intensive universities/colleges were heavily represented.  After all, it is well documented that the economic and intellectual strengths of a region depend as much on such universities as the prestigious research universities. For example, the presidents of California State University of Fullerton, Bryant University in Rhode Island and Qinghai University, one of the most remote areas in western China, were very much important components of the Forum.  Their presence and contributions were certainly invaluable.

Although not university presidents, two other speakers rounded out the forum. The Honorable Zhou Wenzhong, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the United States of America outlined the political and economic challenges of U.S. and China in the 21 st century, and Professor Alan MacDiarmid, James Von Ehr Distinguished Chair in Science and Technology of the University of Texas at Dallas and 2000 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. 

I was extremely impressed by the fact that the presentations, both by Chinese and US education leaders, were candid, forthright and very well prepared.  For example, besides outlining some of the major global issues, MacDiarmid made the point that Chinese universities will become so confident that over the next few decades, they will be centers where western intellectuals will have to go to “catch up.” The presentation made by the presidents of Shandong University and South China University of Science and Technology, Dr. Zhan Tao and Dr. Lee Yuan-yuan were humorous, visionary, and content-rich.  Both individuals spoke with enormous confidence.  For sure, they represent the new generation of education leaders of China:  youngish, dynamic, bi-lingual and worldly!

However, as Rome was not built in one day, the success of this Forum is built on the foundations erected by several previous forums. 

The first is the very successful and extremely creative series of “Chinese-Foreign University Presidents Forum,” held in Beijing in 2002 and 2004 and organized by the Chinese Ministry of Education. These forums were given great attention by the Chinese government and were held in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse inside Zhongnanhai, the equivalent of the White House in the United States. I was very impressed by the keynote delivered by Yale’s President Dr. Richard Levin entitled “Presidential Leadership” (http://www.yale.edu/opa/president/speeches/20040804.html.) These two Forums have had profound impact on the development of modern Chinese higher education.

The second was the two forums held in Beijing and Shanghai in October of 2004 when the delegation of Vice President of Research from nine universities in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and the Republic of Mexico visited these cities. The Forums were organized by Peking University and Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress/Fudan University and attracted the participation of more than 30 universities in both regions.  The one in Beijing was entitled “Strategies of Research for Universities and Industries: Coopetition” and the one in Shanghai was “The Role of Research University in 21 st Century Knowledge Economy.” At both Forums, there were in-depth discussions about many of the common challenges and responsibilities facing research universities in both countries. The China visit by the delegation was greatly facilitated by Minister Counselor Liu Chuansheng of the Education Section of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Washington D.C.

There were many people who worked extraordinarily hard behind the scenes to ensure the success of the Seattle forum and although I will not be able to acknowledge all of them, I do want to mention the vision and selfless hard work of Minister Counselor Liu Chuansheng, First Secretary Fang Qingchao from the Chinese Embassy and Ms. Yang Meng, Deputy Secretary General, China Education Association for International Exchange.

With the successful conclusion of this Forum, there is now momentum to organize again the second one.  During the elegant reception in the evening, there was a great deal of formal and informal discussions about the second forum.  The consensus is that it will be held in China in 2006.

Finally, I am extremely pleased and greatly honored to have been the co-host of the forum with Professor Feng Jun, Vice President of Renmin University of China.  It is certainly not an every day occurrence that “two Fengs,” one from U.S. and the other from China, can play a role in such a historical event between the two nations.