Cornell Faculty Senate Votes Down Proposed Partnership With China’s Peking University

Cornell Faculty Senate Votes Down Proposed Partnership With China’s Peking University

Probably a wise move. China’s involvement in American higher education is getting more public scrutiny these days.

The Washington Examiner reports:

Cornell faculty senate votes down proposed degree partnership with Chinese university

Cornell University’s faculty senate voted down a proposal Wednesday seeking to create a dual-degree program between the Ivy League institution’s school of hotel administration and China’s Peking University.

The advisory vote, which took place a month after a professor in the Cornell School of Hotel Administration introduced the proposal to the faculty body, reflects the concerns of numerous faculty members about associating with a Chinese university amid the country’s human rights abuses and assaults on academic freedom.

“[If we have] partnerships with organizations and universities under the sway of authoritarian regimes, we risk degrading and compromising the University’s mission, function [and] reputation,” Joanie Mackowski, a professor who represents the Department of Literatures in English, said at the Wednesday senate meeting, according to the Cornell Daily Sun.

Neil Saccamano, another literature professor, asked in the February meeting during which the proposal was introduced whether the program could protect its students and faculty while “the people teaching next door can get hauled away by the Chinese government.”

Alex Susskind, the associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Hotel Administration, presented the program proposal at the February meeting, making his case for establishing the relationship between Cornell and Peking.

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