WEAI Reconnects with Fellows, Alumni, and CU Global Center Beijing in Summer Trip to China

_{Above: Weatherhead faculty member Xiaobo Lü addresses guests at the Columbia Global Center Beijing on Aug. 12, 2026.}

The Weatherhead East Asian Institute made productive use of the summer break during a weeklong trip to China in August, when faculty member Xiaobo Lü, the Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, and Administrative Assistant and Professional Fellows coordinator Susan Anthony renewed the Institute’s ties with the Columbia community in Shanghai and Beijing. 

In Shanghai, the duo were undeterred by the onslaught of Typhoon Dolphin, which made landfall not long after their arrival and prompted more than 900 flight cancellations at the city’s two airports. On August 8, Weatherhead was able to host a festive teahouse reception for two decades’ worth of former Professional Fellows and alumni of the Master of Arts in Regional Studies: East Asia (MARSEA) program. Among the former students in attendance was visual artist Qian Wu (MARSEA 2016), whose post-Weatherhead career has included solo exhibitions in New York, London, and Venice in addition to a stint as visiting scholar at the China National Academy of Painting (2021–2022). 

_{Above: The reception for former Fellows and MARSEA alumni in Shanghai on Aug. 12, 2026.}

In the capital on August 12, a well-attended event at the Columbia Global Center Beijing brought together former Professional Fellows and a broader network of alumni. (Professor Lü is a former director of the Columbia Global Center Beijing.) 

The centerpiece of the evening was a frank discussion of the current state of US-China educational exchange featuring Professor Lü; Jing Zhang, Director of the China Center for International Educational Exchange at the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE); and Professor Po Yang, Tenured Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Education Economics and Administration at the Graduate School of Education, Peking University. (As another instance of the program’s many Columbia connections, Professor Yang received her PhD from Teachers College.) Click here for the Beijing Global Center’s summary of the discussion.

_{L to R: Speakers Xiaobo Lü, Po Yang, and Jing Zhang at the Columbia Global Center Beijing on Aug. 12, 2026.} 

_{Guests at the Columbia Global Center Beijing on Aug. 12, 2026.} 

_{A display at the Shanghai reception on Aug. 8, 2026.} 

Professional Fellows at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Weatherhead’s Robert M. Immerman Professional Fellows Program gives mid-career professionals who are focused on East Asia entrée into Columbia’s one-of-a-kind research and learning community. Fellows develop their respective research areas and interests with faculty and fellow scholars, not only at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) but at other schools like Law, Journalism, and Teacher College. Click here for more information about the program.