25,000 miles. Five cities. Four universities. And more than 1,000 Duke alumni, parents, students and friends who attended some of the largest Duke gatherings ever held outside the United States. That’s the tally of President Vincent E. Price’s inaugural visit to Asia as a Blue Devil, which wrapped this week after stops in Beijing, Kunshan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The trip began in mainland China, with meetings and events in Beijing, Shanghai and at Duke Kunshan University. From there the president travelled on to Hong Kong for a day full of meetings with alumni and media, and an evening reception for Duke alumni, students and parents.
In remarks to alumni, Price emphasized the importance of global proficiency and cooperation for both Duke students and the institution as a whole. “The ability to cooperate and work in partnership and from multiple perspectives has never been more important,” Price said. “The global dimension of challenges that we face, in my view, requires us to develop a set of skills deep in cultural understanding, all kinds of competencies, the ability to work effectively across differences.”
The trip concluded with Price’s first visit to the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, where Price spent time with President Tan Eng Chye of the National University of Singapore, and joined Eugene Washington, chancellor for health affairs at Duke and president and CEO of the Duke University Health System, and the Duke-NUS leadership team for a meeting with Singapore’s Minister for Education.
In Singapore, Duke and Duke-NUS alumni gathered for a reception to celebrate the Duke community and welcome incoming students to the university.
“This is not only about taking what we know at Duke and bringing to the world. It is a two-way proposition, and we can learn so much from our international collaborations,” Price said.
Price overlapped briefly in Singapore with Provost Sally Kornbluth, who was the featured commencement speaker at Saturday’s Duke-NUS Medical School graduation ceremony (pictured below).
