For more than thirty years, Shorenstein APARC’s Corporate Affiliates Visiting Fellows Program has offered a unique opportunity for affiliate organizations to nominate personnel to spend an academic year at the Center. Since 1982 — one year before the Center even existed — visiting fellows in the program have been sharing ideas, forming connections, and broadening perspectives, from the early years when a handful of visiting fellows were hosted at Galvez House to recent groups of close to twenty visitors each year meeting in Encina Hall’s Okimoto conference room. As a recent visiting fellow observed, “Academically, professionally, and personally, the different perceptions I have now will change the way I approach and understand my future work.”

The present cohort of visiting fellows represents organizations in China, India, Japan, and Korea, and each fellow brings years of practical experience and an international perspective that informs and enriches the intellectual exchange at the Center and at Stanford University. A majority of the current affiliate organizations have participated continuously in the program for the past five years, or even longer.

The program — ideal for mid-career managers who wish to deepen their knowledge on topics relevant to their work — has fellows participating in a structured program, which includes creating an individual research project; auditing classes; attending exclusive seminars; and visiting local companies and institutions. In addition to broadening their views through interaction with world-class scholars, visiting fellows can network with managers from different countries and corporations.

With such an array of activities, every day in the life of a visiting fellow is different, and every year differs as well. The core research goal remains constant, but the changing composition of each group — more female fellows, varied professional backgrounds, and new countries joining the mix — keeps the program exciting and unique. One of the earliest visiting fellows from one of the longest-standing affiliate organizations put it best: “Shorenstein APARC, Stanford University and, more broadly, the Silicon Valley are culturally unique, and this program offers a great opportunity to understand some of the ins and outs and different mindsets that make the region so successful.”

The wide variety of participants has possessed an equally broad range of interests. Over the past three decades, visiting fellows have pursued research on topics ranging from “The Deregulation of Telecommunications Industries in Japan and the United States” to “Northeast Asian Interdependence;” from “Corporate Governance & Energy Management” to “Advanced Tools for Complete Characterization of Biopharmaceutical Products” to “Risk Management in Large Commercial Banks in China.”

Once visiting fellows return to their home institutions, the Corporate Affiliates Program stays connected with alumni, allowing it to maintain close partnerships with not only its affiliate organizations, but also with all of the people who have passed through the program. The alumni network has grown to more than 350, with many individuals holding prominent positions in both the corporate and governmental sectors, working in countries around the world including Russia, France, Indonesia, and Australia. Recent alumni events held in locations like Seoul and Tokyo have kept the program in close contact even with those visiting fellows who came through the Center during the early years.

The Corporate Affiliates Visiting Fellows Program thrives by bringing together a diverse international group, and through the shared experiences of research and study at Stanford University. It creates long-lasting bonds and a new community — one that enriches the university and finds within itself new, constructive perspectives. Ultimately, the hope is that these experiences will over time contribute to stronger U.S.-Asia relations.

» Large gallery: Highlights from Corporate Affiliates Program activities

Jean C. Oi was appointed to the Academic Advisory Council of the newly founded Schwarzman Scholars international scholarship program.

Oi, a political economist specializing in contemporary China, is director of the Stanford China Program, the William Haas Professor in Chinese Politics, and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. She also serves as the Lee Shau Kee Director of the Stanford Center at Peking University.

The Schwarzman Scholars Program will annually support 200 students, from the United States and other countries, for a one-year master’s program at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing. American financier Stephen A. Schwarzman endowed the program, which is slated to launch in 2016. FSI senior fellow and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will also serve as an honorary member of the program’s Advisory Board.

“Knowledge about China is essential for the 21st century,” Oi said. “The Schwarzman Scholars Program promises to provide a much needed opportunity to bring together top graduates from around the world to gain a first-hand understanding of China’s society, economy, and politics. It is difficult to overstate the importance of such learning and friendships that will form among those who will include future leaders of the world.”

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Thirty years ago, I crossed the Pacific for the first time, traveling from Seoul to attend graduate school in Seattle. Meanwhile, down the coast at Stanford, a visionary group of faculty was laying the bedrock of a unique organization committed to promoting strong U.S.-Asia relations through research on timely, policy-relevant issues.

Early research initiatives looked at themes like Northeast Asia regional security and the development of the high-tech industry in Asia and the United States. From the very beginning of Asia’s transformation and through the twilight of the Cold War era, such projects brought together leading scholars from Asia and Stanford, and high-level U.S. and Asian policymakers, for fruitful collaboration and dialogue.

Twenty years later, in September 2005, I became director of the newly endowed Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC), a thriving organization poised for even greater growth. I gratefully acknowledge the support of Mr. Shorenstein and our many generous donors, as well as the three decades of work by dedicated faculty, researchers, staff, and, not least of all, the five visionary directors who served before me.

Asia has grown over the past three decades into a key global region, and at no other time in history have there been such significant ties between the United States and Asia. Although we have expanded the scope of our regional expertise and research, we stay true to our Center’s original mission.

Today, Shorenstein APARC boasts five flourishing research programs: the Asia Health Policy Program, Japan Studies Program, Korean Studies Program, Southeast Asia Forum, and Stanford China Program. We have brought hundreds of visiting scholars, practitioners, and fellows to the Center over the years, and have established a strong and ever-growing alumni network in Asia through our Corporate Affiliates Program. I remain grateful and honored to serve this wonderful research institution.

As we celebrate our thirtieth anniversary this May, we honor a vision turned into successful reality, and head toward a bright future of possibilities for continuing our work to foster lasting, cooperative relations with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

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