Duke’s partnership with Wuhan University provides a new understanding of Duke’s planned campus in China, though many concrete details remain uncertain.
The joint effort between the two schools was announced last week after the deal to partner with Shanghai Jiao Tong University fell through last summer. Duke is legally required to partner with a Chinese university before opening its own institution there. Although Wuhan is not located in the same province as Kunshan, it has an operating license in the province, Provost Peter Lange said.
The role of Wuhan in this relationship remains uncertain but will differ from original plans with SJTU. In developing the vision for what will be called Duke Kunshan University, Duke administrators will have control in determining curriculum, hiring faculty and setting admissions standards, President Richard Brodhead said.
Previously, SJTU was expected to be involved in hiring and curriculum development for joint programs, Brodhead added. This deal fell through in the summer, as Shanghai is not located in the same province as Kunshan, which made finalizing a legal agreement difficult, he noted.
Other details regarding the University’s presence in China have changed since Duke announced the new campus. Initially, Duke planned to include the Chinese partner’s name in the campus title to help Duke establish credibility quickly, said Greg Jones, vice president and vice provost of global strategy and programs. But after several talks throughout the past year, the University decided Duke would gain more by building its own reputation instead.
“We wanted to be there as Duke,” Jones said. “It gives us the freedom and credibility to enter into more relationships with other universities.”
SJTU, with which Brodhead said Duke hopes to retain an academic partnership, is ranked 151 of 400 in the U.S. News and World Report’s “World’s Best Universities.” Wuhan does not appear on the list, which includes eight Chinese schools.
Administrators, however, maintain that Wuhan is a leading Chinese university with a record of academic excellence and esteemed reputation within China. In his annual address to faculty Thursday, Brodhead called Wuhan a “top 10” Chinese university, though he did not provide the ranking’s source.
“[Wuhan] is ranked as one of the top universities in China, depending on what rankings you believe,” Jones said, adding that U.S. News’ rankings are unreliable. “That ranking system has been widely discredited.... If you talk to Chinese people, Wuhan is highly respected.”
Jones noted that the most popular Chinese ranking systems, such as the Chinese Academy of Management Science rankings, consistently rank Wuhan between seven and 10.
Brodhead said that the U.S. News rankings are deceiving because they are based on standards set by “major developed countries,” and the program is being launched in China, not the United States.
“All I can tell you is the ranking game, as it applies to international universities, is an underdeveloped art form,” Brodhead said. “What metrics are you going to use? You’re going to use the metrics that major developed countries use.”
Lange said he is confident Wuhan will be a great partner for Duke. Although it is unclear when the Chinese Ministry of Education will respond to the University’s appeal to begin operations, which it will submit in the next few weeks, he said he still expects Duke Kunshan University to open Fall 2012.
“We are hoping that we get a fairly reasonable response in a reasonable time,” Lange said. “Wuhan has been an excellent partner. We have lots of documents to work through with them, and they’ve been superb.”
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