A taste of Harvard in Shanghai
This is part of a series about Harvard’s deep connections with Asia. SHANGHAI, China — Jeffrey Williams stood in the Harvard Business School (HBS) classroom, facing a semicircle of dark-paneled desks. His back was to the room’s multiple blackboards, mobile so they could be moved when full, letting faculty members continue writing on blank ones behind. The room had been organized to take advantage of the School’s case method of teaching, spacious yet intimate, with clear sightlines to the instructor from any point. Williams nodded at two clocks on the back wall, one with the local time and another labeled “Boston.” “In Boston, you’re unlikely to have a clock with Shanghai time,” Williams said. Williams’ HBS classroom was half a world away, in Shanghai, the biggest city in the world’s most populous country. Williams is executive director of Harvard Center Shanghai, a foothold designed to assist the University’s involvement in China by providing local knowhow, administrative support,...