Dartmouth has a weak international profile. Our 2013 strategic planning report found “a large gap between Dartmouth’s global and national rankings” and noted that “Dartmouth is not widely recognized outside of certain spheres in the United States.” To illustrate the problem, we rank 126th in the Times World University rankings, making us the only Ivy outside the top 60. We also rank 119th in the QS World rankings. Every other Ivy is in the top 50. That can change. There is a proven way to dramatically increase our international reputation and presence while gaining millions of dollars of sponsorship. Dartmouth needs to open a campus in Asia.
Cornell University, Duke University, New York University and Yale University are among our peers that have opened campuses in Asia and the Middle East. In 2011, Yale and the National University of Singapore opened the Yale-NUS College in Singapore. The Singapore government paid for everything. Richard Levin, then-president of Yale, said the Asia campus was built to raise Yale’s global profile and help it compete for the best minds in the region. After starting in 2010, NYU-Abu Dhabi now has a billion-dollar campus and stellar faculty paid for entirely by Abu Dhabi. The new campus has already raised NYU’s global profile, reflected in a dramatic increase in international applications to its U.S. campus. Yale-NUS and NYU-AD are not watered-down versions of the U.S. schools, either. Both have sub-5 percent acceptance rates and exceptional student profiles. Financial aid, again sponsored by the host nations, is generous.
Besides the obvious benefits of subsidized reputation enhancement, a campus in Asia would help our Hanover campus as well. As the population of U.S. college applicants starts dipping, international students will drive application numbers. Unless we do something radical, Dartmouth is going to be hit exceptionally hard by this shift because of our weak international profile. While overall applications fell 14 percent this year, our international applications fell by an even steeper 20 percent. Faculty will also benefit greatly from having more colleagues to collaborate with. Partnering with a research powerhouse like the University of Hong Kong will give us an immediate improvement in our research profile and rankings. The College’s strategic planning report called to “move Dartmouth into the world” by building “global hubs.” A partner campus in Asia is the perfect way to do this.
So, where is the best place to build Dartmouth-Asia? Hong Kong provides four key benefits. First, Yale has come under intense criticism for building its campus in Singapore, a country that restricts free speech and minority rights. As a Special Administrative Region of China, Hong Kong has its own constitution that guarantees freedom of expression and human rights protections. Second, Hong Kong’s proximity to China makes it the best location to study and interact with the rising giant in an environment of intellectual freedom. This was the reason cited by the University of Chicago’s business school when it relocated its Asia campus from Singapore to Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government gave it extensive financial support. Third, Hong Kong is a growing knowledge hub, especially for international students, as it is home to three of the top 10 Asian universities according to QS rankings. Lastly, Hong Kong University is the perfect partner for our Asia venture. Not only is it ranked highly (second in many Asia-wide rankings), it has also identified four research priorities — biomedical engineering, China, the environment and frontier technology — that complement the work of our engineering school, graduate programs and undergraduate college. While Dartmouth has much to offer HKU in terms of the liberal arts, our tradition of teaching excellence and U.S. presence, HKU provides the ideal base to build our research prowess and global presence.
It is critical that the College move quickly. Prime real estate is selling out. As universities across the world look for partners to expand, the longer we wait, the shorter the list of potential partners and locations will be. A campus in Hong Kong offers a chance to cement Dartmouth as a truly global entity in higher education. We must act swiftly to capitalize on this historic opportunity.
