Peking University, Apr. 1, 2011: The Stanford Research Center at Peking University (PKU) took the spotlight at the Faculty Senate’s March 31 meeting.

 

A bird-view of Stanford University (File photo)

 

The Senate’s first order of business was to address the development of a state-of-the-art research facility in China, situated at the heart of PKU. According to Coit Blacker, senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI), the push for this facility began in earnest in 2007.

 

Blacker said the University received “an intriguing offer from the leadership at PKU.” The PKU leadership has been very open to maintaining an ongoing relationship with Stanford, a circumstance that Blacker described as quite unique.

 

“The way things work in China is nothing like this comes about accidentally,” he said, alluding to the fact that decisions of this nature tend to involve very senior-level leadership in the country.

 

The construction project, in fact, has already made some headway.

 

"We broke ground in the fall of 2010 and we anticipate that we could start to move in as early as late 2011 or early 2012,” Blacker said. “Stanford will have exclusive use of the space.”

 

“In fact, no other American institution of higher learning has or is likely to have a presence on campus,” he added.

 

FSI has been tasked with managing the Stanford Research Center at PKU on behalf of the University. Political science professor Jean Oi, who is also a FSI senior fellow, said the new center would serve multiple functions.

 

"BOSP is going to remain the anchor program for the center,” Oi said.

 

The facility is meant to “enrich the environment in which the BOSP students will be spending their quarter,” she said.

 

It also opens up the opportunity to accommodate graduate students in addition to the undergrads for whom Beijing is already a popular overseas studies location. The Stanford-Peking center will serve all seven schools and provides accessible case rooms, teleconferencing facilities and many other amenities.

 

Extended Reading:

Stanford puts focus on China with new center at Peking University

 

Written by: An Le Nguyen
Edited by: Arthars
Source: Stanford Daily