[photopress:Jorge_Dominguez.jpg,full,alignright]Jorge Dominguez, vice-provost of International Affairs of Harvard University, said during a visit to Beijing that Harvard University’s syllabus and the subjects its students choose for their dissertation and research reflect the level of its interest in China. He said fifty-four of Harvard’s professors teach or conduct research on China. He said, ‘The number almost equals the number of professors who work on West Europe.’
Jorge Dominguez’s mission to China includes meeting with alumni and academics, and visiting Harvard faculties’ projects in the country.
He visited a Harvard summer school that teaches Chinese language at the Beijing Language and Culture University. The program, which began three years ago, has taught 84 students from the US. Forty of those students are from Harvard.
Learning Chinese has become very popular among Harvard undergraduates and graduates, the vice-provost said. For instance, 150 Harvard undergraduates are either studying or conducting research or doing their internship in China at present.
Jorge Dominguez said Harvard expects Drew Faust — its first female president — to visit China in a year. He also said the number of Chinese students in Harvard has increased in the past few years, indicating its willingness to welcome students from the country. The number of Chinese students grew from 19 in 1992 to 312 in 2002, with their present number being 403.
Asked what should be the right number of Chinese students at Harvard, he said: ‘I don’t have the answer for numbers. I have an answer that is a word. The word is “more”. Tell them to apply.’
Source: People’s Daily Online
