In Conversation With
Preparing for the
Leaders of Tomorrow
INSIGHTS FROM XIAOFENG WAN
Associate Dean of Admissions and
Coordinator of International Recruitment
Amherst College, USA
What is an ideal university? What is a liberal arts education? These questions have
been probed by countless Chinese and foreign scholars and educators for centuries.
In the view of Victorian-era British educator John Henry Newman, a university is a
place dedicated to the development of refined gentlemen of culture. For 18th century
philosopher Wilhelm von Humboldt, a university is where ‘creative’ learning takes
place, where every student dedicates themselves to making discoveries. German
existential philosopher Karl Jaspers, on the other hand, believed that a university’s
ultimate mission is the endless pursuit of truth.
With these questions about the ideal education model in mind, Ms. Sabrina Liu,
Director of Marketing and Communications at Keystone Academy, and Mr. Percy
Jiang, Director of College Counseling at Keystone Academy, interviewed Mr. Xiaofeng
Wan, Associate Dean of Admissions and Coordinator of International Recruitment
Coordinator at Amherst College, a top liberal arts college in the United States.
With reference to Amherst College, they discussed how a university’s humanist
traditions can stimulate the minds of students and empower them to explore freely
on their own. They also talked about how a university fosters a true intellectual
community through bridging the sciences and the humanities to inspire new
perspectives.
Beyond these topics, Liu, Jiang, and Wan delved deeper into the value of liberal arts
education and how Keystone Academy, as a K-12 school, prepares its students for
university.
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