Rudenstine Will Revisit East Asia After Commencement

After Commencement, President Neil L. Rudenstine and his wife Angelica will return to East Asia to complete the second leg of their two-part exploration of the region, making stops in Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai.

The trip will be his first to Korea, and his second to China and Japan.

Rudenstine will meet with local university officials, Harvard alumni and "friends of Harvard" in each city, said University spokesperson Alex Huppe. He will also meet with government officials in Tokyo and possibly Seoul.

"Clearly there's a goodwill outreach component to this, and it's obviously in Harvard's interest to know government officials and other university presidents on a personal basis," Huppe said. "It's a mixture of purposes all to the good of Harvard University, and all to the good of international understanding."

Rudenstine and his wife will also spend time enjoying the culture and art of the countries they visit. In Tokyo, said Huppe, they will tour the city with local architects to visit architectural landmarks.

After Tokyo, Rudenstine will fly to Seoul for a large alumni reception, a speech at Seoul National University and visits to cultural treasures in the region.

Then he will make a side trip to the inland city of Xi'an in mainland China to see a popular tourist spot--the excavations of an army of terra cotta soldiers buried by the Qin dynasty in the 3rd century B.C.

From Xi'an he will proceed to Shanghai, where he will meet the presidents of Fudan and Shanghai Universities. He will make another side trip to Suzhou, a nearby city famous for its Ming and Qing dynasty gardens, before returning to Shanghai for an alumni reception.

Although Rudenstine will devote much time to cultural learning, fundraising will be a large component of the trip. "Certainly there will be some people from the development office going," said Huppe.

Out of approximately 8,000 Harvard alumni currently living in Asia, roughly three percent live in mainland China, eight percent live in Korea, and almost thirty percent live in Japan.

Carter J. Eckert, professor of Korean History and director of the Korea Institute, Ezra F. Vogel, Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences and director of both the Asia Center and the Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, and Susan J. Pharr, associate dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics will accompany Rudenstine during different segments of his trip.

Presidential Precedent

In March, Rudenstine became the first sitting Harvard president to visit mainland China during an eleven-day sweep through East Asia which included stops in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taipei.

"It was a tremendously fascinating and really important trip," said Rudenstine in an interview soon after returning.

The highlight of Rudenstine's tour of East Asia was his speech to a packed audience of over 1,000 students and faculty at the first in a series of events celebrating the centennial anniversary of Peking University in Beijing.

Harvard graduates were involved with thefounding of Peking University at the turn of thecentury. Rudenstine offered the university a doseof modern-day Harvard advice.

"The stress that I put all the way through myspeech was the importance of being able toencourage free inquiry, free exchange of ideas,and the importance of bringing people together,"Rudenstine said afterwards.

"Anyone who wants to be a partner in theinternational world will have to be open to peoplefrom other countries, with other ideas, will haveto tolerate," he added. "The message there was tobegin to open your mind."

On the Horizon

Each year, Rudenstine visits a geographiccluster of nations. In 1997, he focused on Europe,traveling to Berlin Dusseldorf, Paris and London.In an early May interview, he said that his nextarea of exploration would be closer to home.

"Having done a big European thing last summer,and doing two trips to Asia this year, I think weneed a South American trip next, in terms offields developing," he said.

"We've been to Mexico, but not to Argentina andChile," he said. "We're looking for a time slot.

Harvard graduates were involved with thefounding of Peking University at the turn of thecentury. Rudenstine offered the university a doseof modern-day Harvard advice.

"The stress that I put all the way through myspeech was the importance of being able toencourage free inquiry, free exchange of ideas,and the importance of bringing people together,"Rudenstine said afterwards.

"Anyone who wants to be a partner in theinternational world will have to be open to peoplefrom other countries, with other ideas, will haveto tolerate," he added. "The message there was tobegin to open your mind."

On the Horizon

Each year, Rudenstine visits a geographiccluster of nations. In 1997, he focused on Europe,traveling to Berlin Dusseldorf, Paris and London.In an early May interview, he said that his nextarea of exploration would be closer to home.

"Having done a big European thing last summer,and doing two trips to Asia this year, I think weneed a South American trip next, in terms offields developing," he said.

"We've been to Mexico, but not to Argentina andChile," he said. "We're looking for a time slot.