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I have been engaged in education for nearly 3 decades. In the 1980’s, immediately after graduating from Suzhou University, I began my career as a teacher at my Alma Mater. In the mid-1990’s I postponed my teaching career to pursue a graduate diploma in Australia. In the year 2000 I resigned from my producer position at the BBC and returned to China to work for New Oriental. Throughout my career I have witnessed great innovations and developments in Chinese education. Today, studying abroad is much more attainable than ever before and many Chinese students wish to study at an Ivy League University. As an employee and executive at New Oriental, I have had the opportunity to meet students from across China, helping them, directly and indirectly, achieve their dream of attending renowned universities around the world. During this time, I would often ask myself: what do these tier one universities provide that other institutions sometimes lack? Last year, this, and many other questions were answered when I read a book titledAn Optimistic Heart written by Jeffrey S. Lehman, the 1thPresident of Cornell University, and had the opportunity to meet with him to explore deeper into the dimensions of higher education. I am greatly honored to collaborate with Mr. Lehman to publish his book in China.
An Optimistic Heart is a collection of popular speeches given by Mr. Lehman while he was President of Cornell University. The book consists of four parts with each part concentrating on a different subject: the student, the university, the world, and the voices of a university president. The first part includes an introduction of Cornell University and conveys Mr. Lehman’s philosophy of nurturing and cultivating students. It discusses the significance of education and the need to instill students with curiosity, a sense of adventure, the ability to cooperate and optimism. The content in this portion of the book manifests a president who has a genuine concern and investment in his students. The second part of the book reflects Mr. Lehman’s ideas on leading and managing a university, the purpose of which is to encourage university administrators to continuously consider the positioning of the institution, promote innovation, and adapt to the rapid changes occurring in the world. In the third part of the book, Mr. Lehman discusses his concerns regarding the major challenges facing the world and the responsibility universities have to assist with understanding and overcoming these challenges. Mr. Lehman has a vision to construct a transnational university to cope with the challenges of globalization from an educator’s perspective. The final part summarizes the previous three parts examining the spiritual journey and emotions Mr. Lehman experienced when writing his speeches, with the purpose of making the readers understand the values expressed in the speeches and think deeply of the essence of higher education. Throughout his work the ideas of “Global Perspective,” “Modern Awareness,” “Innovation,” “Participation” and “Optimism” are prominent—all concepts modern Chinese university students will need to face the challenges of the 2st century.
The publishing ofAn Optimistic Heart will not only help us know more about Cornell University, an advanced educational institution with outstanding governing ideals; it will also provide a greater understanding of Mr. Lehman’s spiritual essence accumulated from decades of experience in education at a highly respected university. Hereby, I am extremely grateful to Professor Rong Liya for her wholehearted cooperation and to my colleagues and friends who have contributed to the translation of this book.
New Oriental will continue to recommend educational texts from top international universities to our readers, and continue publishing a series of books written by the Vice Chancellors of acclaimed universities. New Oriental has been focusing on education training for the last 20 years and has accumulated a wealth of experience on international culture exchange and intends to introduce additional international teaching and managing experiences to promote “transnational education” and cultural exchanges. We will endeavor to influence and promote the Chinese education cause which will be New Oriental’s unchanging pursuit—a duty that New Oriental will never shy away from.
Zhou Chenggang
Board Member, New Oriental Education Technology Group
CEO, New Oriental Vision Overseas Consultation Company