Editors at the New York Times invited Colgate President Jeffrey Herbst to weigh in on an important issue regarding the internationalization of higher education: How can American scholars and universities maintain their academic freedom when interacting with China?
The story’s timing was apropos, as 18 Chinese students arrived last week as members of the Class of 2015, the largest contingent in Colgate’s history. According to the Times, there are more undergraduates studying in the U.S. from China than from any other country in the world.
“American universities should aggressively defend academic freedom while actively engaging with China,” Herbst began.
He called on American diplomats and elected officials to protest restrictions on academics that have been stymied by the Chinese, and to highlight “the negative effects on China in setting up barriers for academic research and exchange.”
On balance, he added: “We should also seek to improve America’s own good but not perfect record in allowing critics to visit our country.”
Herbst was one of seven featured debaters on the subject, each of whom offered a different point of view. For example, Forbes columnist Gordon G. Chang said that American universities are “no match” for China’s Communist Party, while James Millward, a Georgetown University historian who was denied a visa to study in Tibet, suggested that U.S. institutions have been “far too timid, limited, and uncreative in their response.”
Read about and comment on the debate at www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate