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NYU Students Selected as 2024–2025 Schwarzman Scholars

Posted on May 6, 2024 by Katie L

Five NYU students from all three degree-granting campuses were selected as 2024–2025 Schwarzman Scholars. The honor supports master’s degree study in global affairs at Schwarzman College within Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

Bincheng Mao, a Liberal Studies senior at NYU; Valentin Josan, Sachintha Pilapitiya, and Addie Mae Villas, seniors at NYU Abu Dhabi; and Li Peirong, a senior at NYU Shanghai, were among the 150 scholars selected for the class that represents 43 countries and 114 universities around the world.

Bincheng will attend Harvard Law School after his time as a Schwarzman Scholar. He founded the East Coast Coalition for Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, a charity inducted into the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community, which focuses on combating anti-Asian discrimination. He also interned at the United Nations Development Programme.

Valentin, the chief of staff of NYU Abu Dhabi’s student government, interned at the Brunswick Group and cofounded both the first set of licensed TEDx education conferences and Model United Nations conferences in Moldova, his home country.

Sachintha helped found Default LK, an organization creating civic economic awareness in his home country Sri Lanka. Sachintha also conducted research at the Institute of Policy Studies in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Addie Mae served as the president of the Debate Union at NYU Abu Dhabi and cofounded the first-ever UAE Conference on Debate and Public Speaking for Women and Girls. While volunteering with Safe Passage 4 Ukraine, she has helped resettle over 800 Ukrainian refugees fleeing war.

Li served as both NYU Shanghai’s student body vice president and president. Throughout his college career, he worked with TEDxNYU Shanghai, the NYU Shanghai Office of Admissions, and the NYU Shanghai Center for Career Development to bolster communication and connection between university community members.

Congratulations to the scholars!

Repurposed with permission from NYU News

Toward Health Equity Across the Globe: NYU Shanghai’s Brian Hall Named Highly Cited Researcher in the Field of Psychiatry and Psychology

Posted on April 22, 2024, modified on April 22, 2024 by Maxine P

Professor Brian Hall has always kept a busy schedule. The global health researcher and clinical psychologist began his career providing triage services at a free medical clinic in Ohio, then he took his work to a post-tsunami Japan in 2011. With a dedication to supporting underserved and disadvantaged populations, he’s worked with refugees in Jijiga, Ethiopia, and migrant domestic workers in Macao, China. Today, he’s the director of NYU Shanghai’s Center for Global Health Equity and a professor of global public health. He’s also coauthored more than 320 peer-reviewed publications, commentaries, and chapters on the most pressing global health issues of our time, leading to his distinctions as a 2022 and 2023 Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Psychiatry and Psychology by Clarivate’s Web of Science. “It really highlights that our work is timely, focused on key issues of global priority that demonstrate a real impact on the field,” he says. “It is an honor.”

Hall joined NYU Shanghai in 2020 to lead the development of the global public health curriculum and ultimately the Center for Global Health Equity, at a time when public health reentered the spotlight. Since then, he’s also developed and taught a student-driven NYU seminar course on global mental health, which, to the best of his knowledge, is the first of its kind in Asia. Today, he oversees the center in three core areas: education, training, and mentoring; service to the community; and research. “Global health is a convening discipline, bringing diverse scholars and students together to address issues related to population health and well-being. Our goal is to continue to cultivate this interdisciplinary research atmosphere and include learners at all levels,” Hall explains. “This is a field in which we can make a real difference in the lives of diverse populations in China, regionally, and around the world.”

A group of individuals stand in front of a decorative poster.

Hall and colleagues celebrate the successful trial of Step-by-Step, a digital mental health intervention, on Chinese university students.

At the center, Hall says, “We focus our efforts on finding opportunities to make the greatest public health impact.” Currently, that includes noncommunicable diseases, like cancer and mental health, urban health, climate change, and migration. Now Hall is focusing on digital mental health interventions. Working with the World Health Organization, he recently published an implementation trial to address the mental health of Chinese university students—a population of more than 9 million. Going forward, the center is coleading a 1.3 million euro grant to study the barriers of accessing mental health care that migrant populations in five countries experience.

Jin Han, Yang Feng, and Brian Hall seated in chairs in discussion

Jin Han, Yang Feng, and Hall in discussion at the inaugural Summit in Global Public Health held by NYU’s New York City and Shanghai campuses

Because the center is based at NYU Shanghai, Hall and his colleagues have access to a wealth of resources. “Shanghai is a living laboratory, and NYU Shanghai is a vibrant interdisciplinary research university,” he affirms. “So we can find world-leading researchers and promising pretenure faculty and fellows with whom we can discuss opportunities for collaboration across fields. I think this makes NYU Shanghai unique, as we think outside of our own narrow fields to find intersections where innovation can take place.”

Written by Dana Guterman

10 Years in Two Dynamic Cities

Posted on April 25, 2023, modified on April 25, 2023 by Maxine P

During this academic year, two NYU global locations arrived at an important milestone: 10 years as part of the NYU global community. NYU Shanghai and NYU Washington, DC, celebrate their accomplishments of the last decade.

NYU Shanghai

Last month, NYU Shanghai, one of NYU’s three degree-granting campuses, celebrated its 10th anniversary, beginning with a ceremony held on the school’s newly opened New Bund campus. Guests included founding partners from NYU’s New York City campus and East China Normal University as well as local government officials. NYU’s President Andrew Hamilton took the opportunity to reflect on the important role academic research plays in cultural democracy:

NYU Shanghai has blossomed into a thriving, remarkable university whose international faculty and student body epitomize NYU’s innovation and ambition. It is not only an important part of NYU, but the research and learnings that faculty and students take part in contribute enormously to cultural understanding across the globe. (NYU Shanghai News and Publications)

(pictured from left to right) Vice Chancellor of NYU Shanghai Jeffrey Lehman, NYU President Andy Hamilton, NYU Shanghai Chancellor Tong Shijun

The ceremony was the first in a series of events celebrating the momentous anniversary. For example, Visiting Professor of Music and Composition and Distinguished Artist in Residence Bright Sheng conducted the concert, The Friendship of Two Cities: Shanghai–New York, featuring pianist Ming Xie and violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins. Two pieces were carefully curated for the program, “Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto” and “Rhapsody in Blue,” to represent Shanghai and New York City. The weekend also marked NYU Shanghai’s first-ever alumni reunion, and over 200 alumni attended celebratory and networking events including an alumni panel discussion and the Dean’s Open House and Faculty Salon.

NYU Shanghai’s student body president Stephanie Anderson ’23 and vice president Peirong Li ’24 gave inspiring remarks at the opening ceremony, encouraging students to bring positive change to the world: “Let us in true NYU Shanghai fashion, rise to meet the challenges of our new, post-pandemic world and contribute to empower our community.”

NYU Washington, DC

Andy Hamilton talking to smiling people in suits

President Hamilton speaks with alumni at the NYU Washington, DC, 10-year reception.

Celebrations for the 10th anniversary of NYU Washington, DC, one of the University’s global academic centers, began last fall with a reception for over 200 DC-based alumni. President Hamilton provided the keynote address and current students studying at NYU Washington, DC, joined the celebratory reception. The site also launched an inaugural film series with the theme Empire. Each month, a film related to the theme is screened at the Abramson Family Auditorium, followed by a discussion with a faculty moderator. The theme and related films provide an opportunity for students to reflect on the complexities inherent in history as well as international relations and politics today, taking advantage of the site’s location on the doorstep of international diplomacy.

Kari Miller speaking at a podium that says "NYUDC at 10"

NYU Washington, DC, Program Director Kari Miller speaks at the 10-year reception.

Director Kari Miller attributes the site’s success to several factors, including the Constance Milstein and Family Global Academic Center’s incredible facility and its central location downtown. Offering students the chance to take courses near the White House and the National Mall, the center’s proximity to a multitude of government agencies and organizations provides ample opportunities for students to gain practical experience through internships.

And what does Miller hope the next 10 years bring to NYU Washington, DC? “We hope to elevate the visibility of NYU Washington, DC, among our faculty and students at all degree-granting campuses, so that the site provides access to all of the teaching, learning, meeting, and research opportunities available in Washington, DC.”

NYU Shanghai Unveils New Bund Campus

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Katie L

“The NYU Shanghai New Bund campus has finally gone from blueprint to reality,” says NYU Shanghai chancellor Tong Shijun. After three years of anticipation, the uniquely designed campus opened to students, faculty, and staff in February, just in time for NYU president Andrew Hamilton to visit in celebration of NYU Shanghai’s 10th anniversary.

Photo credit: NYU Shanghai

The campus of four interlinked buildings surrounding a beautiful courtyard was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and the Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research. The New Bund campus includes a recital hall, a black box theatre, two indoor gymnasiums, and a two-story reading room adjacent to the library. Additionally, it has 78 classrooms; a 600-seat auditorium; an art gallery to house the NYU Shanghai Institute of Contemporary Arts; and Magnolia House, a multifunctional winter garden. Although it serves as a retreat from cold weather, Magnolia House’s large glass facades offer students plenty of sunshine while exchanging ideas, studying, or socializing.

: Photo credit: NYU Shanghai

: Photo credit: NYU Shanghai

“The design for the campus brilliantly expresses our University’s cosmopolitan spirit, integrating multiple architectural and cultural traditions together with values of environmental sustainability, celebrating everything from the beauty of a 100-year-old tree to the newest thinking about neural networks,” says Vice Chancellor Jeffrey S. Lehman.

In addition to exploring the new campus, students are encouraged to explore their new neighborhood, the New Bund, and its community. Students visited the China Art Museum and traveled to Sanlin Old Town to celebrate the Yuyuan Lantern Festival as well as experience traditional customs with local residents. Future events like porcelain carving, embroidery sessions, and tours of the Shanghai History Museum and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center are planned for students to further engage with the local culture and build meaningful connections.

Another meaningful connection on the new campus? The suspended bridge over the west building’s main gateway serves as a physical representation of NYU Shanghai’s mission to build bridges between nations and individuals. “The new campus combines features from the East and the West. It connects the present with the future. With such a great campus, I am confident we will make a lasting and vital contribution to Pudong, to Shanghai, to China, and to the world,” says Shijun.

The Mission for Mental Health

Posted on December 12, 2022 by Katie L

Brian Hall is a world-renowned expert in global mental health, and he’s also the director of the Center for Global Health Equity and a professor of global public health at NYU Shanghai. According to Hall, the mission of the Center for Global Health Equity is to develop evidence around interventions that improve public mental health services and, in particular, respond to populations who experience adversities, including complex emergencies and disasters.

How does it fulfill its mission? “NYU Shanghai has given its full support to develop a leading center in global public health, and that commitment has already led to the center’s publication of more than 30 papers within 2022,” Hall says. Among its admirable output of work this year is a study on China’s existing literature in English and Chinese on mental health and psychological support (MHPSS) during calamities in the country from 2000 to 2021. The paper, “Mental health and psychosocial interventions to limit the adverse psychological effects of disasters and emergencies in China: A scoping review,” aims to understand the country’s MHPSS intervention research, policies for disasters and emergencies, and the efficacy of these interventions.

Hall’s research reveals that China’s experience in postcrisis psychosocial support was limited prior to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Since then, China has rapidly mobilized trained professionals to provide psychiatric and psychosocial services in affected communities, as demonstrated in the responses to the 2008 earthquake in the Sichuan Province and the COVID-19 outbreak in the Hubei Province in early 2020. In spite of these improvements, however, the study shows that critical gaps remain. For example, a lack of integration of MHPSS responses into the current national and local emergency response system, missing supervision and rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of mental health services, and regional imbalance in the quality and coverage of these services persist.

“It is critical to understand how China responds to disasters as this sets the stage for future development in the field domestically and provides the world a key vantage point to learn from successful implementation of MHPSS in our country,” says Hall. As senior author of the research and a commissioner of the Lancet Commission on Mental Health in China, Hall worked closely with notable scholars from Shanghai Mental Health Center, Sichuan University’s Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Columbia University for over a year to complete the project. The paper is part of the preparatory work for the Lancet Commission of Mental Health in China, cochaired by Central South University professor Xiao Shuiyuan and Columbia University professor Michael Phillips. The paper was recently published in The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, a leading journal dedicated to advancing clinical practices and health policies in the Western Pacific region.

Repurposed with permission from NYU Shanghai News and Publications

NYU Shanghai Launches New Partnership with NYU Wagner’s Public Administration PhD Program

Posted on October 24, 2022, modified on October 24, 2022 by Kristin Law

NYU Shanghai and the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service partnered to launch a new research and study abroad opportunity for those pursuing a PhD in Public Administration. The new program brings NYU Shanghai’s total number of PhD offerings to 11. The application cycle for the class arriving in the fall of 2023 is now closed, but the NYU Wagner application portal will reopen next fall for fall 2024 candidates.

The new program is especially attractive to students with a special interest in urban planning and policy, according to NYU Shanghai assistant professor of urban science and policy ChengHe Guan, the program’s supervising faculty member.

“Urban digitalization has become an irresistible trend around the world for its significant role in accelerating economic growth, improving urban governance, promoting sustainable urban growth, and facilitating many aspects of our lives,” Guan says. “China is now at the forefront of urban digitalization. I hope we can tackle China’s new urban challenges from a global perspective and share our experience in building digital smart cities with the world,” Guan adds.

A Lab for the Cities of Tomorrow

“At our new state-level NYU Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urban Design and Urban Science, students will use advanced technology, such as big data and artificial intelligence, to undertake a multidisciplinary exploration of this digital urban transformation through urban studies, data science, urban planning, urban ecology, urban geography, urban economics, and real estate development,” Guan says. It’s a great platform for PhD students, with three main research areas:

Planning for sustainable postpandemic cities
Planning for the growth of climate-responsive low-carbon cities in the context of greenhouse gas mitigation
Planning for environmentally sensitive urban green and blue infrastructure using social sensing techniques

The NYU Advantage

Like many of NYU Shanghai’s master’s and PhD offerings, the PhD in Public Administration builds upon the academic resources and research communities within NYU’s global network. Admitted students pursue their coursework at NYU Wagner in New York City for one to two years before relocating to Shanghai for research under the supervision of NYU Shanghai faculty. Students mostly spend summer terms, especially during their first two years, in Shanghai as well. All PhD candidates earn an NYU doctoral degree upon graduation.

NYU Wagner is among the top-ranking public policy schools in the United States, especially in urban planning and policy, where the school ranks first in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. Admitted students have many opportunities to study and conduct research with some of the world’s top faculty in the field.

In Shanghai students can participate in research conducted at the NYU Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urban Design and Urban Science, the Center for Applied Social and Economic Research, and the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence as well as access the abundant resources at the Center for Global Asia.

“Faculty across NYU Shanghai are researching the intelligent design of cities. Our emerging interdisciplinary strength in this area made establishing a doctoral program in partnership with NYU Wagner perfectly apt. Students in the program analyze how urban centers around the world like Shanghai are shaped in today’s era from scientific and policy perspectives, all while gaining a unique, global, two-campus experience that only a university like NYU can offer,” says Eric H. Mao, the NYU Shanghai dean of graduate and advanced education.

All admitted students are fully funded under the NYU Shanghai Doctoral Fellowship, which covers tuition and fees and provides students with international health insurance, travel funds, and an annual stipend. Since fall 2015, 50 students have enrolled in NYU Shanghai PhD programs.

Story repurposed (and updated) with permission from NYU Shanghai News and Publications.