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Peking University, Mar. 22, 2012: Housed in the Lee Jung Sen Building in the Langrun Yuan area of the Peking University campus, the Stanford Center at Peking University (SCPKU) witnessed its inauguration ceremony on the morning of March 21. President John Hennessy of Stanford University led a delegation of around 100 faculty to attend the event. US ambassador Gary Locke, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Education of China Du Zhanyuan, PKU President Zhou Qifeng and many other special guests were present and gave their best wishes.

PKU Staff are helping with the reception outside the Lee Jung Sen Building

US ambassador Gary Locke (in the middle) tours the Center (the second from the left is PKU Council Chairman Zhu Shanlu)

SCPKU serves as a base of operations for anyone in the Stanford community seeking to advance research or education by spending time in China to pursue fieldwork, coursework or internships; to collaborate with Chinese colleagues; to examine world issues as they play out in China; or to study China, its people, and policies through firsthand experience. This new center will accelerate a two-way flow of people, ideas, research, scholarship and training, beneficial to both China and the United States. It is the first US university to construct a building on a major Chinese university campus.

Newly built Stanford Center at PKU (from SCPKU website)

The ceremony was grandly held in the gracefully designed architecture of Lee Jung Sen Building. Located on the grounds of a former imperial palace, the Center reconstructs the original Chinese courtyard building above modern, state-of-the-art facilities.

Gary Locke began his congratulation speech by acknowledging Stanford University for encouraging American students to study in China. He referred to President Barack Obama's 100,000 Initiative plan, which aims to send 100,000 US students to study in China in next four years. Both the Ambassador and President John Hennessy of Stanford University were hopeful that the establishment of the Stanford Center at PKU would further help boost a healthy development of Sino-US relationship and the integrating the best sources of the two major universities would harvest more scientific research achievements.

President Zhou Qifeng is giving a speech

Stanford President John Hennessy expresses gratitudes to those involved in the construction of the building

US ambassador Gary Locke extends his best wishes

The inauguration ceremony reached its climax after the speeches. President John Hennessy and Chairman Zhu Shanlu jointly unveiled the plaque of the Center before exchanging gifts. In a pleasant atmosphere, leaders and professors from each side actively expressed their thoughts on concerned issues.

PKU Council Chairman Zhu Shanlu and President John Hennessy jointly unveiled the plaque

The two sides exchange opinions after the ceremony

After the ceremony, PKU News reporter interviewed Thomas J. Kosnik, a consulting professor in Stanford Technology Ventures Program, who intends to seek cooperation with PKU professors specializing in entrepreneurship. Professor Thomas is interested in setting up a program at PKU, teaching those students who want to have a business of their own in the future about how to successfully start a company in China or in America. He said that the cultural barriers limited potential business opportunities, the topic of which was what he would like to include in his program. He was pleased and anticipated that the Stanford Center could provide a platform for his further collaboration with China's outstanding teachers and students.

Many new forms and new areas of cooperation between PKU and Stanford University are just under the way. On Mar. 24, Dr. Samuel So from Medical School of Stanford University will give a educational lecture on the global status quo and prevention methods of hepatitis B in Room 410, No.2 Teaching Building at PKU. Along with him will be WTO officer Philip, who will also share his experience with students. At the same time, Asian Liver Center at SCPKU, about to be officially open in April, will recruit interns and volunteers at the scene.

A new chapter is just unfolding.

Reference:
The Stanford Center at PKU

Reported by: Dong Zhiyao
Edited by: Chen Long