On March 30, Dr. William Antholis, the Managing Director of the Brookings Institution, engaged in a seminar discussion with IMPA and MID students. The forum was hosted by Professor Wang Feng, Director of Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy. Professor Meng Bo and more than 30 international students attended the seminar.

In the meeting, Dr. Antholis first introduced the Brookings Institution in a humorous and upbeat tone. Then, he handed the floor to students. Students showed great enthusiasm in engaging in in-depth discussions with Dr. Antholis on a variety of topics, such as research foci of John L. Thornton China Center, academia’s participation in government decision making, “independency” of Brookings Institution, and roles which think-tanks play in resolving global conflicts. After the forum, Dr. Antholis commented: “It was a great opportunity to meet the students, and to have them put some very challenging questions to me. I enjoyed all of the questions, and it is a great group of very articulate students. The exchange with the student from Rwanda was very moving one for me personally, as it brought to life directly the very hard global issues that scholars at Brookings work on, and the real life implications of that work.”

 

Dr. Antholis earned his Ph.D. from Yale University in politics in 1993. He was director of international economic affairs at the NSC and NEC, where he served as the chief staff person for the G8 Summits in 1997 and 1998, and also was the deputy director of the White House Climate Change policy team. Prior to joining Brookings, he served for five years as the director of studies and senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, a U.S. grant-making and public policy institution devoted to strengthening transatlantic cooperation.