Testimony of jeffrey s. Lehman vice chancellor of nyu shanghai
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- Teaching at NYU Shanghai June 18, 2015
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Sometimes people ask me why NYU Shanghai does not file public statements criticizing the Chinese government for one or another action or policy. We do not do so because that is not our role in China, any more than it is in the United States. The fact that a government has acted deplorably does not mean that a university has an institutional duty to criticize it publicly. At the same time, there are sometimes occasions when a government acts, or proposes to act, in ways that would prevent a university from fulfilling its mission. When that happens, the university should act in whatever ways (public and/or private) it believes are most likely to be effective in forestalling the action in question. (I discussed these points at greater length in an essay published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, attached as Appendix 4.)
draft law entitled, “The Non-Mainland Non-Governmental Organization Management Law of the People’s Republic of China.” The proposed law would seriously undermine the ability of universities like NYU to operate in China according to principles of academic freedom. Accordingly, NYU joined with eleven other universities in filing critical comments with the Chinese government. I attach those comments as Appendix 5.
Last weekend I told a Shanghainese friend that I would be testifying here today. He asked why, and I explained that some people who value the free exchange of ideas believe American universities should not be present in China. His response was crisp and, I believe, quite apt: “If someone is truly committed to the free exchange of ideas here, they should want to see more schools like NYU Shanghai, not fewer. ”
V. How the United States Government Can Help
It is in America’s best interest for China to develop along a path of constructive partnership with America, a path that recognizes the state of interdependence in which we now find ourselves. Such development is surely facilitated when our nations’ college students are able to acquire a deep and accurate understanding of China by studying in China, side by side with Chinese students, in an environment of academic freedom.
Almost thirty years ago, Johns Hopkins University spearheaded the creation of such an opportunity, through the Hopkins-Nanjing Center. Today, other institutions, like NYU and Duke, are following in Hopkins’s footsteps.
Unfortunately, programs such as these are so expensive that they would be beyond the means of many American students if it were not for financial aid opportunities underwritten by generous private donors. It is unlikely that the generosity of philanthropists will keep pace with the need.
program to ensure that students from families of modest means are able to study abroad at programs like NYU Shanghai, in countries like China. 8
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In this testimony, I have attempted to provide the Subcommittee with useful information about NYU Shanghai, and about why a great American research university would accept the challenge of creating such an institution. Projects such as these cannot be undertaken risk-free. I firmly believe, however, that with proper care they can be undertaken in ways that promote the highest academic values and carry a significant likelihood of contributing to the ongoing progress of humanity.
APPENDIX 1 TO THE TESTIMONY OF JEFFREY S. LEHMAN 1
Overview of Primary Faculty Teaching at NYU Shanghai June 18, 2015
I. Faculty Leadership Jeffrey Lehman Vice Chancellor Former president of Cornell University, dean of University of Michigan Law School, and founding dean of Peking University School of Transnational Law. Scholar of law and public policy. Teaches Global Perspectives on Society at NYU Shanghai. Joanna Waley-‐ Cohen Provost Also chaired professor at NYU NY. Former chair of NYU NY history department. Scholar of early modern Chinese history. Several books, including by Yale University Press. Teaches The Concept of China at NYU Shanghai. Xiao-‐Jing Wang
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Also professor at NYU NY. Former director of theoretical neural science at Yale. Scholar of neurobiology. Received Sloan and Guggenheim fellowships; fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Teaches Networks and Dynamics at NYU Shanghai. Eitan Zemel Associate Vice Chancellor for Strategy Also vice dean of global programs at NYU Stern and chaired professor at NYU NY. Scholar of business operations. More than 40 published articles. David Fitch Dean of Arts & Sciences Also professor at NYU NY. Scholar of genetics and biology. 39 published articles. Former Fulbright fellow and Whitehead fellow. Teaches Evolution & Foundations of Science at NYU Shanghai. Yuxin Chen Dean of Business Former chaired professor at Northwestern. Scholar of marketing. Many honors. Editor of 5 journals. 23 published articles. Teaches Introduction to Marketing at NYU Shanghai. Keith Ross Dean of Engineering and Computer Science Also chaired professor at NYU NY. Former tenured professor at U of Pennsylvania. Scholar of computer networks. Many honors, including IEEE fellow and ACM fellow. Author of top textbook on computer networking; many published articles. Teaches Machine Learning at NYU Shanghai. Ron Robin Senior Vice Provost for Global Faculty Development Also professor at NYU NY. Former associate dean at NYU Steinhardt and dean of student affairs at the University of Haifa. Scholar of cultural history with University of California and Princeton University Press books and many published articles. Nicholas Geacintov Vice Dean of Science Also professor at NYU NY. Former chair of NYU NY chemistry department. Scholar of DNA. Many honors, including former president of American Society for Photobiology and former American Physical Society fellow. Coauthor of more than 400 research articles.
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