Fudan University representatives tour Rice facilities

FROM RICE NEWS STAFF REPORTS

Rice President David Leebron and University Representative Y. Ping Sun welcomed a delegation from Shanghai’s Fudan University to the campus Sept. 24 for a day of meetings and a tour that included stops at the BioScience Research Collaborative, the Baker Institute for Public Policy, the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the School of Humanities, the School of Social Sciences, the new residential colleges and more. The day began at the Founder’s Room in Lovett Hall, where Leebron told the group how important the increase in enrollment by international students is to Rice’s Vision for the Second Century and noted that the number of Chinese applicants to Rice has quadrupled over the past four years. The morning discussion touched upon exchange programs, research collaboration, energy and population issues.

Fudan University Chancellor Qin Shaode and trustee Francis Yuen led the delegation that included 13 others, including the deans of a number of Fudan’s schools. Their visit followed several by Leebron and Sun to Fudan over the past few years, as well as a visit by former Fudan President Wang Shenghong to Rice in 2006.

The Fudan delegation will also stop at the University of Chicago and Stanford before heading home. “There aren’t many universities around the world that have put as much thought and preparation into becoming an international university as Fudan has,” said Leebron in encouraging the kind of department-level collaborations that will help both institutions grow. “We hope this visit will lay the foundation for detailed conversations that will enable Fudan University and Rice University to become important partners.”

President David Leebron, right, leads the delegation from Shanghai’s Fudan University during their tour of the BioScience Research Collaborative on Sept. 24. At left is Fudan University Trustee Francis Yuen.