Inspiring Chinese and Americans Through Education Since 1901
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Yale-China ASSOCIATION Biennial Report 2005-2007 Yale-China Association Inspiring Chinese and Americans through education since 1901 For more than a century, the Yale-China Association has promoted understanding between Chinese and American people through the medium of education. Our programs in health, law, American Studies, English language instruction, and community and public service bring life-changing experiences to thousands of people each year. Teaching and learning are the heart of our work. Some of the highlights of the period from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2007 include: • Supporting the development of China’s non-profit sector by organizing comparative work- shops in Beijing and Guangzhou on civil society in China and the United States. The work- shops provided the opportunity for learning and exchange among more than 80 individuals including sociologists, anthropologists, activists, and founders of charities. • Expanding our Scholarship Program to give financial support to 1,369 Chinese undergrad- uates from disadvantaged backgrounds at Central South University and Hunan University in Changsha, Hunan. As a part of the expansion, the program now includes enhancement activities that are designed to expand students’ understanding of the world outside the class- room, strengthen their practical skills, and equip them with the confidence to succeed in school and after graduation. • Broadening the horizons of more than 1,200 secondary and university students in China through English classes taught by Yale-China Teaching Fellows, including an expansion of the program to Xiuning Middle School in Anhui province. • Building upon our Chia Family Health Fellowship Program to create the Chia Community Health Service & Health Education Program, designed to address unmet health needs among vulnerable populations in Hunan province. The program has already served more than 200 people and is led by Chia fellowship alumnae, who volunteer their knowledge and skills developed as Chia Fellows to organize volunteers to serve the under-privileged. • Seeking solutions to health issues faced by migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta region of China by partnering with Chinese institutions to assess migrants’ health needs, bringing young scholars from China who are working on these issues to Yale for further training and study, and convening a conference of scholars from China and the U.S. in New Haven to share information and plan strategies. • Celebrating the centennials of Yali Middle School and the Xiangya Hospital in Changsha, Hunan province. Both institutions were founded by Yale-China in 1906 and today are major leaders in their respective fields. • Laying the groundwork for expanded programs in medicine, nursing, law, and teacher training, making this next chapter in our history one of the most exciting and creative periods to date. www.yalechina.org Health Programs 6 Teaching Programs 12 American Studies Student Programs 16 & Law Programs 24 Table of Contents Welcome 4 Health Program 6 Teaching Programs 12 Student Programs 16 American Studies & Law Programs 24 Contributors 27 Officers, Trustees & Staff 32 On the front cover: Detail of calligraphy by Guolin Shen, a 2006-07 Financial Report 34 Fox Fellow at Yale University. Guolin donated several works to Yale-China’s first-ever online auction in spring 2007, which raised Programs by Site 36 funds for Yale-China’s programs. This page, background: A scene from Xiangya Hospital’s Centennial Celebration. About Yale-China 38 Welcome Letter from the Chair On behalf of the board of trustees of the Yale-China Association, I am pleased to present to you the biennial report of the Association’s work in the years 2005 to 2007. These have been immensely productive years for the Association, as the pages that follow make clear. Whether in teaching, cultural exchange, scholarship assistance, or training of aspiring lawyers and health care professionals, Yale-China’s ability to identify fruitful opportunities for productive work and develop meaningful exchange across cultures has never been more in evidence. The 2005-2007 period has seen sig- nificant expansion in many aspects of Yale-China’s work, as well as equally important enhancements to long- running programs. The sheer volume of Yale-China’s program activity would be impressive enough, but the intelligence and innovation evident in every aspect of the organization’s work makes it even more commend- able. I would like to express the board’s deep appreciation to Yale-China’s dedicated and multi-talented staff for their unflagging efforts in making all of this possible. The wonderful energy, creativity, and initiative that characterize Yale-China’s work owes much to the leader- ship of Nancy E. Chapman, our executive director since 1994, and the outstanding team she assembled during these years. It was thus with a combination of sadness and profound gratitude that the board accepted her resignation in February 2008. Nancy has consistently brought to her work at Yale-China a deep dedication to the organization’s mission and traditions, broad experience and understanding of the U.S.-China relationship, a steady stream of forward-thinking ideas, and an outstanding ability to build partnerships and inspire others. As a historian of the Association, she has left her own mark on its history. Yale-China is deeply in her debt. Following Nancy’s departure, we have been most fortunate to call upon the services of Ann B. Williams, a long-time trustee of the Association, to serve as acting executive director. Ann will serve in this role until the search committee, chaired by trustee Tony Reese, has identified a new executive director. We hope you will share our pride in the accomplishments described in this report as well as our optimism about the possibilities for Yale-China’s future. Thank you for helping to make this work possible. Sincerely, 4 WELCOME Letter from the Outgoing Executive Director To Our Members: This letter marks my final communication to you after fourteen wonderful years as executive director of your Association. These eventful years have seen a significant expansion of Yale-China’s programs in both volume and range, a joyous celebration of our centennial that reaffirmed the values that have animated Yale-China since its founding, and a re-envisioning of the role we can play in both China and at Yale. It has been a tremendous pleasure and honor for me to serve in this capacity during such an important time in our history. During my tenure as executive director, I have watched Yale-China evolve and grow; I have also learned a lot from our remarkable history of the past century. I can never think of Yale-China’s present and future without thinking of our past—where we have come from, what we have stood for, and the people who came before us. As we have continued to honor our history, we have also sought to adapt Yale-China to a changing China—to discern new trends, needs, and opportunities and build upon them in ways that drew on our traditions, contacts, and varied resources as an institution. Our historical partnerships have provided an important anchor for continuity and growth, but we have also consciously sought out a diverse array of Chinese, American, and other international partners, all the while striving to achieve greater synergy among our various programs to maximize our impact. The next chapter of my own professional life will find me at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, one of Yale- China’s oldest partner institutions and one I first came to know, through Yale-China, some thirty years ago. But I look forward to remaining an active member of the Yale-China community for years to come. Much of what I’ve loved most about this community during my time as executive director are qualities I first noticed when I joined Yale-China in 1978—the collegiality and non-hierarchical nature of our community, the open-mindedness and willingness to change with the times, the wit, imagination and generosity of spirit, and the deep sense of common purpose and shared commitment to decency and goodness. These qualities are at the heart of our past successes in fulfilling our mission, and will be the key to our future vitality. I leave my position with a raft of treasured memories and the knowledge that no one ever really leaves Yale-China. I owe deep debts of gratitude to all of the wonderful colleagues with whom I have been privileged to work during these fourteen years, as well as to you, our members, for your support and friendship. I hope you will join me in continuing to support Yale-China. With deep gratitude, YALE-CHINA ASSOCIATION 5 Health Programs For more than 100 years, Yale-China’s health programs have been based on a strong foundation of Chinese and Americans working in a partnership of equals. 6 HEALTH PROGRAM he centennial celebration of Xiangya Hospital, created a network of women who collaborate on re- founded by Yale-China in 1906, was an opportunity search and public health work in their home province Tto reflect on our earliest efforts to improve medical long after they leave Yale. education and care in Hunan province. The decision to build a hospital in turn-of-the-century “I think in general there is a greater inland China might have seemed an emphasis on teamwork and coopera- audacious undertaking, but from the tion in the U.S., and that might ex- beginning it was a venture undertaken “I think in plain the level of collaboration among by Chinese and Americans working in Chia Fellows after we return [to a partnership of equals toward com- general there China],” says Shi Jingcheng, a Chia mon goals. is a greater Fellow in 2005 (see inset, page 8).