<![CDATA[Washtenaw Watchdogs - New York Times: U.S. Colleges Finding Ideals Tested Abroad]]>

New York Times: U.S. Colleges Finding Ideals Tested Abroad [1]

Many American University faculties are facing difficult questions when it comes to their university’s partnerships in China;

· What does it mean to let our name be used? Where do we draw a line in the sand? Does a partnership with another university make their faculty our colleagues, obliging us to stand up for them? Do we wait for another Tiananmen Square?”

The University of Michigan has two main partnerships with Chinese Universities [2]. They have an entire campus in Shanghai that grants University of Michigan degrees at Shanghai Jiao Tong University [3]. It also has a partnership with Peking University Health Sciences Center [4].

The University administrations have invested a great deal in these partnerships with China and it is difficult for them to give them up even when faced with violations of the values and ideals of all American Universities, such as academic freedom and even espionage [5].

This New York Times article describes some of the ethical dilemmas faced by the faculty of American universities when their administration is committed to these American/Chinese partnerships.

[1]http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/education/american-colleges-finding-ideals-are-tested-abroad.html?hp&_r=0

[2] http://globalreach.med.umich.edu/collaboration/china

[3] http://research.umich.edu/um-shanghai-jiao-tong-university-collaboration/

[4] http://globalreach.med.umich.edu/events/joint-institute-symposium

[5] http://www.annarbor.com/business-review/university-of-michigan-monitoring-relationship-with-shanghai-university-tied-to-google-cyber-attacks/