A delegation of Duke deans and representatives spent part of last week on the other side of the world.
The delegation of about 10 people, including many graduate school deans, visited the site of Duke’s new campus in the Chinese city of Kunshan. The delegation was led by Gregory Jones, senior adviser for international strategy and incoming vice president and vice provost for global strategy and programs.
The trip comes after top administrators, including President Richard Brodhead and Provost Peter Lange, formalized partnerships between Duke, Kunshan and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in their January trip to the site. The earlier trip also marked the official ground breaking of the site.
“We thought it would be a good time for several other deans to come, they could begin to build relationships and get a feel for programs that they could develop together,” Jones said. “It was an opportunity to go see and get a feel for what is happening in China, Shanghai and Kunshan in particular.”
Jones said the five-building campus is scheduled to open by January 2012, at which point the site will host some of the Fuqua School of Business’ programming. Chinese partners will begin studying at the site hopefully by Fall 2012, Jones projected, adding that the University must receive approval from the Chinese Ministry of Education before offering degrees in the region.
Participants of the delegation included Bill Chameides, dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment, Catherine Gilliss, dean of the School of Nursing, Bruce Kuniholm, director of the Sanford School of Public Policy, David Levi, dean of the School of Law, Dr. Michael Merson, director of the Global Health Institute, Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education, and Fuqua Dean Blair Sheppard.
Jones said he worked with Lange to choose members of the delegation, adding that some administrators were invited but could not attend the trip. He said this trip had a larger delegation than all previous visits to the site and that it intentionally included people from different facets of the University.
“Getting a broad sense and seeing it first-hand is really valuable and important,” Jones said. “They can talk to each other about ways they might be able to do things together.”
The delegation spent the week meeting with Kunshan’s leaders, including the mayor and vice mayor, and with academic leaders at SJTU, Jones said. Members toured Kunshan and the site of the future campus and attended lectures that are part of the Fuqua’s global executive MBA program to learn more about China, Jones added.
Nowicki said construction is set to begin soon and facilities are being built with extra space for undergraduates, adding that graduate school deans were receptive to sharing the space. He noted that building relationships with China is important for the development of “global citizens” in the Duke community.
“We read about the enormous Chinese economy,” Nowicki said. “When you’re there, it becomes very tangible. This is a world center, and China is going to be very important in the upcoming century. How could you not become connected?”
Although business programs will likely be the first operating on the campus, other schools and programs began to establish communication with Chinese officials.
Gilliss wrote in an e-mail that she signed a “memorandum of understanding” with the SJTU School of Nursing to begin working on student and faculty collaboration. Gilliss said she was slightly surprised by the interest to sign the memorandum, but said she looks forward to working with Chinese nurses.
“Most nurses are not university prepared in China, and SJTU is viewed as a very elite university,” Gilliss said. “Their interest in us reinforces their commitment to lead in the preparation of clinicians and scientists in nursing.”
Undergraduate opportunities at the Kunshan campus may lie far in the future, but Nowicki said he does plan to build partnerships with the country. He said some of the trip’s discussions were more concrete than others, adding that the Chinese officials are eager to move quickly.
“I think that they’re looking to the strength of our educational programs,” Nowicki said. “It’s a school that is willing to consider these international ventures. Frankly, they want us because they want to learn from us.”
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