Global universities must be passport-blind: Havard professor

Jorge Dominguez, vice provost for international affairs of Harvard University, also said at the Korea Foundation forum in Seoul on Wednesday that universities should be financially open to talented students.

“Korean universities hire their former students as faculty, but I think global higher education means they open their chances internationally,” said Dominguez.

He spoke at the foundation’s 39th forum entitled “Global Higher Education from the Eyes of Harvard University.”

Dominguez shared how Harvard aims to achieve internationalization as a research university.

“I also want it (Harvard) to be passport-blind,” he said. “I want Harvard University to be an international public university, which means having universal access to anyone with skills and talents to be able to attend the university.”

He listed six other criteria for Harvard University and other universities to become truly global research facilities, including freedom from churches, the state, donors, arrogance and school authority.

Dominguez also stressed financial means for students from poor families so they can attend good universities.

“I want Harvard to be need-blind, which means we accept students without knowing what their financial circumstances are.”

In this regard, he stressed appropriate allocation of resources to help the children of the poor not pay tuition fees.

He said tuition problems often stem from the misallocation of government resources for state-supported universities to help them fund the children of the rich, and stressed that tax payers’ money should not subsidize fees for such students.

He also expressed concerns about universities using tax payers’ money to charge zero tuition for national students and full tuition to international students, raising concerns about market protectionism in universities.

Expecting to see an increased inflow of talented students from abroad, he said he wanted to see more students from Korea.

“I am particularly proud of Korea, which as a relatively small country has already sent 289 students to Harvard University,” he said.

But he dismissed the possibility that Harvard might establish branch campuses here or in other foreign countries.

“Among the things I intensely dislike about branch campuses is that you hire separate faculty for branch campuses that do not have the right to teach at the original campus and admit students who do not have the right to transfer easily to the original campus,” he said. “That may be the franchising of the university.” The Korea Foundation, a governmental agency that promotes cultural and academic exchanges globally, invites world renowned figures to speak at its morning forums held throughout the year.

 

By Lee Woo-young
(wylee@heraldcorp.com)