BEIJING -- In a ceremony today on Peking University's campus, the University of Pennsylvania and Peking University announced an agreement recognizing shared academic interests between the two universities. The memorandum of understanding builds on several existing partnerships between the two universities, namely between the Wharton and Guanghua schools of business. In addition, Penn's School of Dental Medicine and Peking's School of Stomatology will sign an agreement of understanding to facilitate research and educational programs. As part of the day's events, Penn and Peking faculty are gathering on campus, convening discussions on international relations, oral health, management and leadership and globalization.

"Penn and Peking share a devotion to the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom across academic boundaries and national borders," Penn President Amy Gutmann said. "Our two universities -- and our countries -- have benefited from rewarding student exchanges and from our research partnerships in management, law, communications and oral health."

Established in 2007, the Guanghua-Wharton Strategic Partnership is designed to promote academic collaboration as well as faculty and student exchanges between the two business schools. The schools have established a research facility on the campus of Guanghua to facilitate research conducted by Wharton faculty when they visit. The faculty collaboration includes a research initiative on firms and markets in China. Other research projects include studies of large family businesses and ownership and performance of Chinese corporations.

Faculty and student exchanges between the two business schools have been productive. Six faculty members from Wharton visited Guanghua in 2009 to exchange research ideas, and Wharton Professor Z. John Zhang organizes a yearly consortium for junior scholars on the Guanghua campus. More than 80 participants in Wharton’s MBA program for executives were hosted by Guanghua on its campus during an immersion tour to learn about the Chinese economy. And the schools have a vibrant student-exchange program both at the MBA and undergraduate levels.

Penn’s School of Dental Medicine and Peking’s School of Stomatology are strengthening faculty and student ties through a new memorandum of understanding, to be signed on campus, which outlines exchange of students and faculty, exchange of learning resources and the possibility of joint research projects between the two faculties. Today, Peking will host a day-long symposium on oral health which will include sessions on smoking and oral health, modern endodontic therapy, maxillofacial surgery, implants and prosthetics.

The University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League institution with a distinctive past. Founded in the 18th century by Benjamin Franklin, Penn has a longstanding reputation for excellence in graduate and professional education, with a number of its 12 schools ranked at or near the top of their fields. The University is located in Philadelphia on an attractive urban campus that serves a diverse, 20,000-member student body from around the nation and the world.

Founded in 1898, Peking University is China’s first comprehensive national university, where people of great talent gather in a rich academic atmosphere of dynamic intellectual pursuit. In this place, a spirit of diligence, rigor, realism and creativity has been passed from one generation to the next. The University has now developed into a large-scale institution of higher learning with a comprehensive range of disciplines. It has a sound academic structure and diverse forms of education, advanced scientific research and a spirit of service to society. Peking University has become a leading force in the internationalization of higher education in China. It is building a truly international campus to welcome scholars and students from all over the world. Currently Peking University has 36 colleges and departments and offers 110 undergraduate programs, 258 postgraduate programs and 211 doctoral programs. The University has 5,866 full-time faculties, of whom 1,701 are professors and 2,037 are associate professors. There are 36,510 students, including 2,780 degree-seeking international students from 103 countries and regions around the world. The University has signed agreements with more than 200 universities in 50 countries and regions to further strengthen academic exchange and cooperation with foreign universities.