As part of our theme on NYU Shanghai and the direction we find ourselves taking with the start of the new academic year, OCA decided to invite NYU President John Sexton to share his thoughts and vision at this point of the university's development. President Sexton, known by most students for his charismatic oratory skills, has been at the helm of NYU since 2002 and has spearheaded the expansion of NYU from New York into the Global Network University. Unfortunately, due to scheduling difficulties, we were not able to conduct a live interview as originally planned, but we did send President Sexton a list of general questions on NYU Shanghai and the GNU. Below are his answers.

What is distinct about NYU Shanghai? What does its presence add to the Global Network University?

John Sexton: China! It is impossible to understand 21st century globalization without giving serious thought to the new relationship between China and the rest of the world, and the best way to do that is to be there, living and studying in a community that is half Chinese and half non-Chinese.

Did you have any reservations about creating a campus in China: a country known for its strict censorship laws?

JS: Academic freedom lies at the heart of liberal education. We would not have agreed to create NYU Shanghai without ironclad guarantees of academic freedom.

What criticisms did you face before the creation of NYU Shanghai? Since, we have been in operation for a year, were any of these criticisms valid?

JS: It is extremely difficult to launch a comprehensive undergraduate portal campus in another country; NYU is the only top university to pull it off, even once; a healthy skepticism would naturally lead one to wonder whether we could do it a second time. I am absolutely thrilled by the way we have been able to do it again.

Why was NYU Shanghai – unlike NYU Abu Dhabi – created within the framework of 50% nationals and 50% internationals? Do you feel that such a clear split stifles integration within our community here in Shanghai?

JS: Every campus is different. The theme of NYU Shanghai is the relationship between China and the world, and a 50-50 mix is the best way to do that. The task of integration is up to the students, and I am very pleased at how seriously the Class of 2017 has taken it so far.

From a student’s perspective, the greatest challenge our class faces is adjusting: whether that be to China, an English-speaking university, or both. Considering NYU Abu Dhabi’s freshman year grades were replaced with Pass/ Fail grades because “they were creating a new university”, do you foresee NYU Shanghai adopting a similar policy. If not, why?

JS: I don't. Every school is different, and the challenges that were faced in Abu Dhabi were different from those in Shanghai.

Has the NYU Shanghai Inaugural Class of 2017 met your expectations? What expectations do you have, now that we are sophomores? What is the greatest mistake we can make as the senior most class?

JS: You are off to a good start, but my expectations rise every year. During your first year, you were the only students and your responsibilities were primarily to yourselves. Now you bear the even greater responsibility of being strong role models for the Class of 2018.

What advice would you like to give to the incoming NYU Shanghai class of 2018? How are they unique?

JS: I hope the Class of 2018 will drink fully from all that NYU Shanghai has to offer, especially the opportunity to appreciate our world's extraordinary cultural diversity. They need to push past the natural hesitation anyone feels before getting to know someone who is different -- to seize the moment and commit themselves to true multicultural understanding. I look forward to getting to know the members of this class and their unique qualities.

If you were to turn 18 again and were admitted to all three portal campuses, which one would you have chosen to attend?

JS: If I had the power to be 18 again, I would probably also have the power to turn myself into triplets and attend all three.

Does NYU have any plans for expanding the Global Network University? If the university were to construct a fourth portal campus, where would it be and why?

JS: We don't have any plans to expand at this point. We are extremely happy with the way the GNU spans the globe.

President Sexton, you have ardently and relentlessly worked for the creation of the Global Network University. What is the future of NYU’s global network once you retire in 2016? Will it continue to expand or cease to exist?

JS: NYU is a constantly evolving institution, but some developments become so fundamental they are unlikely to endure. It would shock if humans were to stop walking upright, and it would shock me just as much for NYU to stop being a global university.

Epilogue

The above represents a quick and important taste of certain official views on NYU Shanghai. There are harder-hitting issues to be dealt with regarding our institution and while we do very much appreciate President Sexton taking out the time to fill in our little questionnaire, we do still hope that over the course of either this semester or the next, we will be able to sit down with him and conduct a proper interview regarding his thoughts; in such an interview, we would also hope to ask follow-up questions and clarifications of the above. Until then, we do invite all students to voice their opinions or ask interesting questions on the basis of the above through our comments section in the upcoming issues, or even full-length articles! This article was written by Alhan Fakhr. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Ruth Fremson @ NY Times