Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a letter on Sept. 9 congratulating the opening of the new Schwarzman College (Sūshìmín Shūyuàn) at the Tsinghua University in Beijing. The college will be home to the "Schwarzman Scholars." 

Like Us on Facebook

U.S. President Barack Obama also sent a letter congratulating the opening of the college.

The "Schwarzman Scholars" is an international scholarship program set-up by American billionaire Stephen Schwarzman to bring China and the United States closer together. Schwarzman is CEO and co-founder of the Blackstone Group, the largest alternative investment firm in the world that specializes in private equity, credit and hedge fund investment strategies.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong attended the launch of the scholarship at Tsinghua University. The first group of 110 Schwarzman Scholars comes from 70 colleges in 32 countries.

The program covers all expenses for students in a one-year master's degree program that will also emphasize cultural immersion, travel around China and efforts to grasp and understand China's economy and its status as a rising superpower.

Chosen from more than 3,000 applicants, the Schwarzman Scholars represent 32 countries, with 44 percent coming from the United States and 21 percent from China. The program hopes eventually to provide support for as many as 200 scholars annually.

Scholars will live at the Schwarzman College, a building designed by Robert A.M. Stern, dean of Yale University's architecture school. The college was based on residential buildings at Yale, Harvard, Oxford and other elite schools.

Schwarzman said the program had sought out students that were talented, creative and insightful, with strong leadership and communications skills. The scholars are drawn from the sciences, business and even the military.

He said the scholars will go on to be "people of influence" who can explain China to the world and the world to China.

"In a world of populism and strong views on the Internet, there need to be people who can explain such complex issues," said Schwarzman.

Schwarzman said the program fit perfectly with Xi's call to elevate at least two Chinese universities into the top global rankings in coming years.

The Schwarzman Scholars aims for an endowment of $300 million, of which $200 million has been raised from private sources. This total includes a $100 million gift from Schwarzman.

Liu called on the Schwarzman College to cultivate youth with broad vision, excellent capability, responsibility and leadership. She hopes the first group of Schwarzman scholars will promote cultural exchanges between China and other countries, and cooperate to face the global challenges.

TagsSchwarzman College, Schwarzman Scholars, Tsinghua University, Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone Group, Xi Jinping, Barack Obama