On the afternoon of March 11th, James W. Wagner, President of Emory University, led a delegation to visit Peking University (PKU). Lin Jianhua (President of PKU), Li Yansong (Vice President of PKU), Zhang Dongxiao (Dean of the College of Engineering), Ren Qiushi (Dean of Biomedical Engineering of College of Engineering), Xia Hongwei (Minister of the Office of International Relations) met the guests at Linhuxuan and shared ideas on PKU/Georgia Institute of Technology/Emory Joint Doctorates Program.
President Wagner first introduced the basic information of Emory University. He pointed out that Emory University is a school with a strong cultural atmosphere and possesses advanced technology, and it is able to provide students with a high-quality educational environment and excellent learning resources. President Wagner continued to explain that Emory places emphasis on cultivating students’ comprehensive abilities, hoping that students can promote all kinds of skills rather study in order to simply pass an examination. As for PKU/GT/Emory Joint Doctorates Program, he said that the program in which they had been cooperating with the two other schools for many years has had great significance in fostering Ph.D. students. He also hoped to make the program more excellent and innovative through concerted efforts.
President Lin warmly welcomed President Wagner and his delegation and looked back on the communication history between PKU and Emory University. He said that Peking University, Emory University, and Georgia Institute of Technology have established a friendly and cooperative relationship through the doctorates training program. The program, mainly undertaken by the College of Engineering of PKU has already held several academic exchanges. The annual meetings have been successfully held in Beijing, China, or Atlanta, Georgia, over the past eight years. However, President Lin suggested that it was not enough. In order to deepen our friendly and cooperative relationship, PKU will make detailed plans to promote and strengthen the program and make contributions to the program’s progress.
President Wagner agreed with Lin’s proposal. He encouraged Lin and asked him whether he had any special expectations for the future development of PKU. President Lin admitted that being the president of such an outstanding university was a really tough mission rather than an easy one. He hoped to plan the university’s future with all those excellent colleagues and promised to devote himself to PKU.
After the meeting, they exchanged souvenirs and took photos as a memento.
Background Information:
Emory University, established in 1836, is a private elite university located in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. According to the 2008 US News and World University Rankings, the school ranks number 17 in the world. Its business college is amongst the top four in the U.S., while the public health college is in the top 5 in the country. The same data source shows that it is top 20 in almost every field in the USA and the number of graduate students and undergraduates are generally the same. It is also famous for its extremely demanding entrance standards.
Written by Yang Songnan
