On April 24, 2017, Fordham University Provost Stephen Freedman and Fordham University Associate Vice-President Ellen Fahey-Smith visited Peking University (PKU). They were warmly welcomed by PKU Vice President Li Yansong and Yang Zhuang, Co-Dean of BiMBA at the National School of Development, PKU. The meeting was held in Linhuxuan Northwest Hall.
The meeting began with Mr. Freedman mentioning about the strong partnership and deep relationship made between PKU and Fordham University. He considers the relationship between Fordham University and PKU to be one of the most extensive and most significant international relationships that Fordham has. The relationship between the two institutions are one of the longest serving partnerships between a Chinese and American institution, as they lasted for 18 years so far. Mr. Freedman seeks to build more cooperative and extensive programs, such as making joint programs between the National School of Development of PKU and Fordham University. He wishes some successful programs to be further developed in the level of doctoral and professional studies. Mr. Freedman said that he currently engages in a lot of international activities, and shared his experience in International Association of Universities, and in the Joint Commission of the European Union. Then he stated that he is now highly interested in working on continuing the university’s internalization.
Mr. Li mentioned that PKU will celebrate its 120th anniversary in the upcoming year, and the university is currently busy preparing for this event. PKU is planning to celebrate its anniversary by engaging various faculty-and-alumni-oriented contents. Mr. Freedman congratulated PKU for being one of the world’s leading providers of higher education for nearly 120 years, and then he said that Fordham University celebrated its 175th anniversary last year. He wished to share his experiences on celebrating the event.
Mr. Freedman and Mr. Li continued their conversation on international collaboration. Beside its main campus located in New York City, Fordham University also has a campus in London and has made extensive relationships in various cities including London, Beijing, and Pretoria. Mr. Freedman mentioned that Fordham University’s relationship with PKU is part of their international strategy. Mr. Freedman showed his specific interest in establishing global campuses. Then, Mr. Li mentioned that the HSBC Business School of Shenzhen Graduate School will make a satellite campus in Oxford, recruit European students, and operate the campus starting in Autumn 2018.
Author: Lee Jae Young
