The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Wesleyan scraps idea of opening campus in China
Proposal had quickly drawn criticism from students on campus
Wesleyan University is no longer considering opening a campus in China, a proposal that had quickly drawn criticism from students on campus.
President Michael Roth said in a campuswide email Thursday morning that “we have decided not to look into this opportunity any further.”
The Hengdian Group, one of China’s largest private corporations, invited Wesleyan to consider opening a joint venture campus in Hengdian, in partnership with the company and the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Wesleyan was having preliminary discussions about the project, and Roth said in a blog post earlier this month that a decision had not been made on whether to continue researching the possibility.
Roth returned from a trip to Seoul, Taiwan and Beijing, a regularly scheduled trip where he met with alumni, parents and prospective students, he said. While there, he met “with those involved in the potential joint venture,” he said in Thursday’s email.
“We needed to be sure that the academic work would be in line with the distinctive, pragmatic liberal education at the core of Wesleyan’s mission,” Roth said. “Further conversations with those who proposed the partnership have made it clear that our respective goals could not be sufficiently aligned—not to mention the questions we had around issues of academic freedom and the implications for our home campus.”
Two other American universities, Duke and New York University, operate joint venture campuses in China, and have had to address the same questions about ensuring academic freedom at the schools. In an early proposal, administrators listed questions about that, as well as about the project’s impact on Wesleyan’s reputation, faculty recruitment and
resources.
Some students criticized the proposed Hengdian campus and Wesleyan’s approach to the project after it was published in the student newspaper, the Wesleyan Argus, and as a leaked proposal from ad
ministrators circulated around campus.
Some of the criticism was directed at administrators for even considering a Chinese campus, as students cited the ongoing protests in Hong Kong and other political and ethical questions about expanding Wesleyan’s presence in China. About 70 students attended a rally in support of Hong
Kong protesters and denouncing the Hengdian venture. Other students felt the university was proceeding without sufficient transparency or student involvement, and said tension was fueled by distrust of the administration.
Because the proposal has been shuttered, meetings with faculty, staff and students to discuss the campus
that were scheduled for later this month will not be held, Roth said. However, administrators “remain interested in exploring collaborations.”
“We will use upcoming WSA (Wesleyan Student Assembly), faculty, and allstaff meetings for broader discussions about the University’s future plans,” Roth said.