A planned joint dual degree program between Cornell University and Peking University has been opposed by Cornell professors and students concerned about the current state of academic freedom and human rights in China.
Cornell’s Faculty Senate formally voted on the project just this past March, with 39 votes against and 16 votes in favor. The remaining 71 Senate members chose to abstain or did not participate in the vote. Also last week, Cornell’s Student Assembly voted 18 to 0, with 4 abstentions, to ask the university to reevaluate the program with BYU.
Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration proposed last March to establish a joint master’s degree program with Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, targeting mid-level corporate executives from China, with classes swapped between Beijing and New York, and with each student earning a dual degree after two years of study. After two years of study, each student would be able to obtain a joint appointment with Cornell and BYU.
The proposal was first approved within the School of Hotel Administration, but received considerable opposition at a university-wide faculty review in February of this year. The minutes of the senate show that several professors at the meeting were concerned about the Chinese authorities’ crackdown on academic freedom and the detention of large numbers of Uighurs in Xinjiang, and argued that no new programs should be undertaken with Chinese universities at this time.
In a background check sent to VOA, political science professor Richard Bensel, a member of Cornell’s professorial senate, wrote: “The tragedy in Xinjiang and the almost nonexistent academic freedom make this collaboration very problematic.
In his survey, he also found that Cornell may be one of the most collaborative of all U.S. universities with China. In the past, Cornell’s exchange programs have focused more on academics, research, and the exchange of knowledge, he argues, but more recently, the school seems to be focusing more on the financial benefits of the programs, which are more pronounced in its collaborations with Saudi Arabia and China, where the human rights situation is troubling.
Cornell documents show that the planned program with Peking University is expected to bring Cornell a profit of $470,000 in the first year, and grow each year.
Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration has repeatedly denied at Convocation that financial revenue is the main goal of the program, but has also emphasized that tourism and hospitality are growing rapidly in Asia and that Cornell should be a part of that economy.
However, both the professorial senate and the student senate have only a recommendatory role to play in their votes. The Cornell administration has every right to formally establish this program with BYU despite opposition.
Wendy Wolford, Cornell’s vice provost for international affairs, said in a Voice of America statement that partnerships with foreign universities “must adhere to Cornell’s rigorous academic standards and basic guidelines. All agreements include direct protection of academic freedom and prohibit discrimination against our students, faculty and staff.”
She added that the university is currently reviewing the program to determine whether it meets those standards.
Recent Comments