| FEATURE — Summer 2007 | |
Washington University is partnering with universities around the globe in the McDonnell International Scholars Academy, creating a new model for international cooperation in education and research. St. Louis, once America's Gateway to the West, could become a gateway to the East and beyond thanks to an ambitious and burgeoning Washington University global initiative that is building international bridges with top universities, scholars, faculty, government agencies, and corporations. Though just in its inaugural year, the McDonnell International Scholars Academy is already stimulating research collaboration across continents, networking across disciplines, and learning across cultures—new ventures helping to augment the University's international presence in an evolving educational world. "The Academy represents a new model for international cooperation in education and research," says Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton. "We are extremely proud of our first group of truly outstanding McDonnell Scholars, and we are proud of recently recruiting our second cohort."
Opening its doors in 2006 with a $10 million endowment from John F. McDonnell and the JSM Charitable Trust—an endowment now grown to $27 million—the Academy brings to campus select graduate and professional students from partner universities worldwide to work toward advanced degrees and learn about American culture and international issues. With additional funding from sponsoring corporations and foundations, and other groups and individuals, the scholars receive full tuition, financial support, and housing while being exposed to leadership training and special educational and cultural events. "The Academy is more than just a good deal to get through graduate school," says James V. Wertsch, director of the Academy and the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts & Sciences. "It's a leadership program for future world leaders." Broadening perspectives of future global leaders That view is echoed by Ryotaro Kato, a McDonnell Academy Scholar from the University of Tokyo, where he earned an M.D. before a residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis and subsequent entry into the Washington University School of Law's J.D. program. "Without the generous scholarship from the McDonnell Academy, I'm not sure I could have afforded to finish my last year of law school," says Kato. But equally important has been his exposure through the Academy to other disciplines and cultures, and a deepened understanding of American society, which are informing his professional future. "I'm getting new thoughts and new ideas," says Kato, "on what to do with my career," which will likely blend medicine and law in medical ethics, intellectual property, and health-care policy. Kato's metamorphosis has come about not only through leadership training programs and events but also through the collegial environment given Academy Scholars, who live together, travel together, and attend cultural events as a group. "I enjoy the camaraderie and meeting students from other Asian countries, who all share the same struggles adapting here. Previously I met few non-Americans in the hospital or law school," says Kato. "But these scholars from other countries and other disciplines are broadening my perspective, adding international and interdisciplinary understanding."
Building international, interdisciplinary networks Kato notes that, in 1905, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt stepped in to help negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese War, thanks in large part to his prior collegiate friendship with a high Japanese official named Kentaro Kaneko. While Kato holds no illusions about participating in any future international events quite as dramatic, he argues: "One bullet can change the world, but one friendship can heal the world. I hope that my friendship with other scholars may one day make a difference. I'm impressed by all McDonnell Academy Scholars who are top-notch and will be successful." Ming Zu, the Cabot Corp. Corporate Fellow from Tsinghua University, underscores the importance of the network-building already taking place among Academy Scholars, partner universities, and their faculties. "It's a great opportunity to build a network with scholars," she says. "Most now are from Asia, but next year we're expanding around the world." That relationship-building comes in part from organized Academy cultural activities, such as symphony and jazz-club visits; a spring trip to Washington, D.C., to meet members of Congress, government officials, research-funding experts, think-tank scholars, and more; and from informal events, such as ad hoc dinners where the scholars each bring a dish from their Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Singapore, Taiwanese, or Thai hometown. "It's a multicultural learning experience and such a great opportunity to build a network—a different, bigger sort of network," says Zu, "not just of scholars but including deans, professors and chancellors, politicians, and business executives." Zu, after graduating with a degree in electronics engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing, worked as a software engineer for a Texas chemical manufacturer; this summer she is interning at Emerson Corp. in St. Louis as part of her Olin School of Business M.B.A. training. "I'm getting to meet great minds from U.S. companies, amazing people, and to hear how they succeeded. It's a great opportunity to learn," she says, "and to prepare for a career in global business." Forming a global view for global ventures Given the international importance of the American, Chinese, and Indian economies, Vikram Govindan, the Monsanto/Dr. Norman Borlaug Corporate Fellow, is gaining a valuable and expanded view of his future opportunities as a global entrepreneur, thanks to his Academy encounters with American business leaders and Chinese scholars. "India has a lot to learn from both the United States and China," says the Olin School of Business M.B.A. candidate from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. But the learning doesn't stop there for Govindan. "My roommate is Korean, and other scholars come from other cultures, so I'm learning a lot from people all over the world." While admitting that cold St. Louis winters "take some time to get used to," Govindan found a warm reception at St. Louis-based Monsanto.
"Visiting Monsanto, I've gained considerable understanding of the business, and my internship there is a logical extension of the M.B.A. program," says Govindan. Govindan also praises the "very high quality" of his Olin School of Business professors and classmates, and the Academy activities that steep him in American culture. Finding common ground on international differences While the Taiwan Strait and tumultuous 20th-century history separate Taiwan from the People's Republic of China, scholars from both sides of the strait come together collegially at the Academy. "The McDonnell Academy is like a big family," says Ta-Chih Hsiao, the Boeing Corporate Fellow from National Taiwan University, who came to the Academy after earning his master's degree in environmental engineering at Stanford University. "I enjoy talking with mainland Chinese scholars, fellow Chinese speakers," says Hsiao. "The Academy provides a platform for us to work together. They're all excellent students, and we talk openly on any issue, any problem." While that sort of international communication and camaraderie bodes well for the world's geopolitical future, it also provides hope for solving entrenched global problems, such as energy and the environment, says Hsiao, an environmental engineering Ph.D. candidate in the School of Engineering & Applied Science. "The environmental issue will continue to be a hot issue," he says, "and since this issue is so closely related to that of energy, the struggle becomes like a seesaw." (See "Academy Hosts International Symposium on Energy and Environment".) Building academic bridges—and more Peking University graduate Ziyan Zhang concurs with Hsiao's assessment of their Academy colleagues and international networking. "They are among the best students in Asia. I'm looking forward to more chances to get to know them better and work with them," says Zhang, the Tyco Healthcare/Mallinckrodt Corporate Fellow. And that developing international network extends beyond the Academy Scholars to their partner universities, faculties, and administrations—facilitated by McDonnell International Academy Ambassadors. (See "McDonnell Academy Ambassadors Solidifying Worldwide Partnerships".)
Each scholar benefits from the individual guidance of a Washington University faculty member, who acts as liaison with the scholar's home university, working to establish research and other collaborations across disciplines and traveling with the scholar annually to the partner university. "Our Academy Ambassadors are some of the best professors at the University," says Zhang. "We meet frequently and talk a lot. It's a great chance to set up connections with them and learn from them. "We will travel with ambassadors back to our schools once a year, where there will be more communications with chancellors and professors there," Zhang continues. "This will strengthen collaborations between Washington U. and the top Asian universities where we come from." A chemistry Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Zhang also sees Academy-driven networks extending beyond university walls. Developing leadership skills Seoul National University Scholar Hong Min Park, studying in the political science doctoral program in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, sees the Academy offering him financial support, academic excellence, cultural exposure, and academic networking that add up to developing important leadership skills and resources. Park, who earned a master's degree in political science from Northwestern University and is conducting research on U.S. congressional politics, was particularly excited by the Academy's March trip to Washington, D.C., which included visits with members of Congress and a stop at the Brookings Institution. But he's also gratified by what he's learning from his American hosts and his fellow international scholars. "I can hear directly what Americans think. I'm also getting to learn about Chinese and Indian cultures," says Park. "The chancellor and a lot of high-level professors care a lot about Academy Scholars and believe the Academy is a base for the University to go international. It's an ambitious goal, and I'm proud to be part of it." Growing international partnerships The Academy currently boasts relationships with 20 partner universities (see list) across Asia and the Middle East, and it is working to recruit more worldwide, according to Wertsch. "We will be looking for additional partners in Latin America, Africa, and Europe, including Russia and Eastern Europe," he says. "And we may add a few more institutional partners in East and South Asia as well as Australia." Wertsch anticipates ultimately as many as 35 partner universities. That growing university network and the McDonnell Academy's remarkable progress in its brief existence gratifies the man whose generous endowment and ongoing interest in education and international relations helped bring it about. "So far the Academy has progressed beyond my expectations," says John McDonnell, "in the quality of the first cohort of scholars, in the continued addition of premier partner universities, and in the broadening engagement with those universities." Rick Skwiot is a free-lance writer based in St. Louis. For more information, visit: http://mcdonnell.wustl.edu/.
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