Shanghai Jiao Tong University-Wesleyan University 2025 Bilateral Conference and Lecture Series Successfully Launched

On June 7, 2025, the delegation from Wesleyan University, led by Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Nicole Lynn Stanton, visited Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). The delegation was received by Hu Weiwei, Vice President, Deputy Secretary of the CPC SJTU Committee, Sha Ye, Board member of SJTU Education Development Foundation and Managing partner of Chengwei Capital, Wang Qian, Deputy Director, Division of Global Cooperation and Exchange, Qi Hong, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Humanities, Huang Jinxian, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Humanities, and Cai Wenjing, Vice Dean of the School of Humanities. Representatives from both universities jointly attended the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University-Wesleyan University 2025 Bilateral Conference at the School of Humanities.

Hu Weiwei welcomed the visiting Wesleyan delegation and participating experts, faculty, and students. She highlighted SJTU’s status as a top-tier, internationally recognized Chinese university known for being “comprehensive, innovative, and international,” and noted its established partnerships with numerous world-renowned institutions. She commended Wesleyan University, a prestigious U.S. liberal arts college, for its outstanding academic reputation in the humanities. Hu expressed her hope for sustained scholarly dialogue and exchanges to jointly cultivate top-tier talent with global perspectives.

Nicole Lynn Stanton, in her remarks, emphasized Wesleyan University’s strong commitment to collaborating with SJTU. She stated that this visit formally establishes a partnership between the two universities, paving the way for deeper cooperation in areas such as joint student cultivation and international research collaboration. The goal is to create more high-level academic exchange platforms for faculty and students. Stanton expressed hope that the conference would strengthen academic cooperation, enhance cross-cultural understanding and mutual trust, and foster joint exploration of innovative solutions to global challenges like climate change and sustainable development.

Attending as a special guest, Sha Ye, an alumnus of both universities, provided significant support for the conference through the “Sha Ye Humanities Exchange Fund” which he established. In his speech, he pledged continued support for the collaboration between his alma maters to advance talent development and academic exchanges.

Representing their respective institutions, Nicole Lynn Stanton and Qi Hong signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and a Student Exchange Program Agreement. Both sides stated that this signing marks a new phase in their partnership and expressed anticipation for deeper collaboration in faculty-student exchanges and joint research.

Hu Weiwei and Nicole Lynn Stanton presented Sha Ye with a plaque of appreciation in recognition of his long-standing support for and contributions to the educational development of both universities.

The two-day conference featured four panels and four student panels, bringing together over 20 scholars from China and the U.S. for in-depth discussions centered on the theme “Confronting Global Environmental Crises with Interdisciplinary Perspectives”.

In the first panel, Prof. Matthias Gerner from SJTU presented “The State of Endangered Languages Worldwide”, Asst. Prof. Yu-ting Huang from Wesleyan University presented “Untimely Refuse: Marine Waste, Indigeneity, and Eco-Cosmopolitanism in Wu Ming-yi’s The Man with the Compound Eye”, and Prof. Joseph Rouse from Wesleyan University presented “Evolution and the Re-conception of the Global Environment”. In the second panel, Prof. Liu Jialin from SJTU presented “H Is for Hawk and Life Writing in the Anthropocene”, Assoc. Prof. Amy Tang from Wesleyan University presented “Anthropogenic Anachrony in Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being”, and Assoc. Prof. Nicola Liberati from SJTU presented “Emotional Entanglements: Phenomenology, New Materialism, and Agency beyond the Human”.

In the third panel, Prof. Stephen C. Angle from Wesleyan University presented “Confucian Global Citizenship and Ecological Values”, and Prof. Wu Yun from SJTU presented “To Condemn Aggressive Environmental War—A Possible Mohist Perspective”. In the fourth panel, Prof. Liu Shiyong from SJTU School of Humanities presented “The Comparative Disadvantages of Ecological Economics: Cases of U.S. Water Resource Protection and the Russia-Ukraine War”, and Prof. Peter Rutland and the undergraduate Sun Boonbhati from Wesleyan University presented “Challenges and Opportunities: The Energy Transition in Central Asia”.

The four student panels facilitated dialogue between four SJTU graduate students and four Wesleyan undergraduates on topics including historical environmental governance and critiques of ecological technology. Assoc. Prof. Shi Donglai, Assoc. Prof. Xu Hang, and Prof. Liu Shiyong from SJTU, and Assoc. Prof. Ying Jia Tan from Wesleyan University acted as respondents respectively.

Furthermore, to deepen the academic dialogue mechanism and broaden the international academic horizons of faculty and students, the two universities jointly hosted the “SJTU-Wesleyan University Lecture Series” in June, comprising four sessions. The series attracted nearly 100 participants, sparking discussions and debates on civic ethics, ecological philosophy, international relations, and sustainable development models.

On June 9, the Wesleyan delegation visited cultural landmarks in Shanghai, including the Lujiazui Financial Trade Zone, the Shanghai Museum East Branch, and the Bund. These site visits aimed to deepen their understanding of Chinese history and culture and further promote cross-cultural exchanges.

Written and Edited by Kan Peilin and Zhang Yihan 

Photo by Kan Peilin