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Beijing Forum 2007: University Mission
and Student Cultivation—Special
Interview with Provost of McGill
University Prof. Anthony Masi
By Wang Yi
PKU NEWS 2007--11--04
http://ennews.pku.edu.cn/news.php?s=194115755
Peking University, Beijing, Nov. 3, 2007: In the panel session on Social Change and
University Development on the afternoon of the second day of Beijing Forum 2007,
Professor Anthony Masi, Provost of McGill University made a commentary on the
mission differentiation among universities, the distinction between education and
training and university accountabilities. After the session discussion, PKU NEWS
had the opportunity to hear Prof. Masi‘s observation of university missions and
student cultivation.
PKU NEWS: The conflict between teaching and research is a common problem all
over the world. In your opinion, how should we handle the relationship between
teaching and research?
Prof. Masi: It is important to remember that the best researchers are almost always
the best teachers. So the two things are not necessarily incompatible. It‘s just finding
the right balance of time to allow the researchers to pursue their research interest,
while at the same time, play an active and important role in educational programs,
whether that‘s the undergraduate or graduate level. So the two things are not
incompatible by themselves. It‘s just the time constraint. And in fact, we haven‘t
thought through well enough all of the economies related to teaching and research at
the same institution. Universities have to conduct research, they have to teach. And
we want all our professors to inform their teaching with their own research.
PKU NEWS: Then how should we view the relationship between the faculty‘s
academic work on campus and their social work?
Prof. Masi: The teaching and research mission are fundamental. The third
fundamental mission is community service. And that means the universities have to
be attentive to the environment in which they operate. But not all universities operate
in the same environment. So some universities by their very nature are local, they
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