Newsweek ranked Stanford second in their list of the top 100 "global" universities this summer, and nowhere is this international emphasis more apparent than in the University's burgeoning relationship with China
　　But as the ties between Stanford and the world's most populous nation have grown, so too have the complexities. Reporters and academics alike raised eyebrows when Yahoo! donated $1 million to fund the University's Knight Fellowship for international journalists in September — Yahoo! had turned over Internet search records to the Chinese government in 2004 that led to the arrests of journalists. The University accepted the money, making a statement that despite human rights concerns, dialogue may be the best way to effect change.
　　"I think engagement is a better policy than isolation," University President John Hennessy told The Daily. "I ask the question, Are we all better off if Yahoo! has a presence in China, or if Yahoo! says they would not go to China until the laws change In the end, I favor engagement in those situations. But my belief in the long term is that those things have to change."
　　Stanford is not alone. In September, Yale snagged a $50 million endowment from Maurice Greenberg and the Starr Foundation to establish the Maurice R. Greenberg Yale-China Initiative for "advancing the Yale's collaborations with China in critical areas." And last month, The Paul N. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University announced "the Year of China" to "examine China and its evolving role on the world stage as a special substantive theme for the 2006-07 academic year."
　　Not to be outdone, the University kicked off The Stanford Challenge last month, a $4.3 billion fundraising drive that looks in part to bolster Chinese studies and boost financial aid to international students. Chao Fen Sun, the newly appointed Director of the Center for East Asian Studies, emphasized the importance of this mission.
　　"Stanford is not only a leading U.S. university, but it is also the leading university on the Pacific Rim and it must have a major center of Chinese studies," he said. "The goal for Chinese studies at Stanford should be to train a new generation of world leaders who do not only have a high degree of professional skill but can also speak Chinese, understand China's culture and history and know how to deal with various issues and solve various problems with a comprehensive knowledge of the world."
　　The Stanford in Beijing overseas studies program has increased in popularity since its debut in 2004, with a doubling of the number of applicants to 30 since inception and a recent Bing trip to Xinjiang.
　　"We offer students the chance to learn about China in English from local faculty and Stanford faculty, and to experience the dizzying changes firsthand," said program director Dr. Jason Patent. "This city is just so full of opportunities and potential, it boggles the mind."
　　Hennessy, who is no stranger to China, having visited there several times and been interviewed on state-run television, agreed.
　　"One of the most amazing places to go is to the city planning museum of Shanghai," he said. "You see not only how thoughtful and detailed their plans are, but how long-range their plans are. You realize that China is very much a country on the move, and the role it is going to play in our world is critically important."
　　While the University has sought to send its students to China, The Stanford Challenge also looks to help bring Chinese students to The Farm. International students have traditionally struggled to study in the United States because they are not eligible for federal financial aid and loans. But Dean of Admissions Richard Shaw, who came from Yale, another school known for its long historical ties with China, said his office is working to change that. The class of 2010 has 16 students from China and two from Hong Kong, and Stanford has been more actively presenting itself globally by sending admission representatives to Europe, Latin America and Asia. Admissions representatives returned to China this spring for the first time since 1999 to hold information sessions in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou.
　　The Stanford tour to China, led by former Director of International Admissions Anna Takahashi, was well received by prospective applicants from local Chinese high schools. Shaw told The Daily that while the biggest limitation for Chinese students who are considering applying is financial aid, Stanford does fund most of its undergraduate students from China in various levels. There is a "continuing commitment" to raise funds for international admits, Shaw said, with a current annual budget of $4 million shared by around 100 international undergraduate students and a possible move towards a need-blind admission policy for international students within 5 years.
　　As China modernizes and grapples with human rights issues, Hennessy argued that Stanford could play an integral role in the country's development.
　　"I think it is a society undergoing dramatic changes and improvement, both in the rights of citizen and opportunities for people," he said. "And I think it is critical for a university like Stanford to be engaged not only with the educational opportunities it can provide to Chinese students and to our students who go abroad to China, but also increasingly in research areas as well, that I think would be the betterment of the entire society, both in the U.S. and China, in the long term."