MIT校长公开信：是学校与南科大合作，不是陈刚个人
1月14日，麻省理工学院华人科学家陈刚在美被捕，后被保释。图源：http://meche.mit.edu/people/faculty/gchen2%40mit.edu
在美国司法部门对华人科学家、麻省理工学院（MIT）教授陈刚的起诉书中，其中一条称陈刚接受了2900万美元的海外经费资助，其中1900万美元来自中国的南方科技大学。
2021年1月22日，MIT校长拉斐尔·赖夫（L. Rafael Reif）就MIT与南方科技大学的合作以及陈刚在其中的作用进行澄清：合作得到了MIT的支持，合作涉及到的2500万美元用于双方的合作研究和教学活动以及MIT的建筑翻新和研究生奖学金。
翻译｜邓志有
校译｜陈晓雪
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致麻省理工社区的信
关于麻省理工与南科大的合作关系和陈刚教授的几点澄清
2021年1月22日
致麻省理工人，
自上周陈刚教授被捕以来，我们的社区一直非常关心陈刚及其家人，深切关注与此案有关的更大问题。除了上周的分享之外（指1月14日校长的第一份公开信Distressing news about professor Gang Chen, 译者注），我想提供一些想法。
由于案件正在审理中，所以我不会谈具体细节。但是，由于政府的指控以及随之而来的媒体报道都提到了麻省理工与南方科技大学的合作，因此，我想就这一合作的性质作出澄清。
正如《麻省理工新闻》当时所报道的，麻省理工学院于2018年与南科大建立了合作关系，在两所高校创建了机械工程教学科研中心。虽然陈刚教授是麻省理工方的首任主任，但这一合作并不是他个人的合作，而是院系的合作，并得到了校方的支持。
该协议提供2500万美元，分五年支付给麻省理工学院。其中1900万美元用于合作研究和教学活动，600万美元作为捐赠用于支持我校的建筑翻新和研究生奖学金。迄今为止，我校已收到该协议承诺金额的一半左右，款项已分配用于支持机械工程系的科研和教学活动，以及奖学金和各种运营费用。换句话说，这些资金被用来推进了一批同事的研究工作以及学校的科研和教学任务。
与南科大的合作是教职工主导的我校与其他学术机构的众多合作之一。众所周知，合作，包括国际合作在内，对于推进前沿科学至关重要，这在学术界很常见。
与此同时，麻省理工会认真对待在复杂的世界中不断变化的国家安全要求，以及外国对科研的不当影响带来的特定风险。麻省理工作为一个群体，我们认为保持科研的诚信与严谨是一项基本责任。这一承诺是我们所有政策和实践的基石。
最后，我想对我们的华裔和华裔美国人群体说——我们的本科生、研究生、博士后、学者、研究人员、员工、教职员工、校友和华裔校董事会成员：我听你们中很多人跟我讲过你们在社会上不断增长的不信任与怀疑氛围中的经历，这种氛围让我们的日常生活和工作变得困难、痛苦、疲惫不堪。
因此，我想明确地申明，就像之前那样，你是我们麻省理工社区必不可少的关键一员。我们珍视你们作为学生、同事、老师、创新者和领导者所做的贡献；作为个人，我们珍视你们这样的朋友——正如我们珍视麻省理工全球大家庭的每一位成员，包括陈刚教授和他的家人。
在这个艰难时刻，让我们以尊重和体贴，彼此照顾。
真诚地，
拉斐尔·赖夫（L. Rafael Reif）
LETTERS TO THE MIT COMMUNITY
Letter to the community re. SUSTECH Relationship and Professor Chen
To the members of the MIT community,
Since last week’s arrest of Professor Gang Chen, our community has been deeply concerned – for Gang and his family, and about larger issues surrounding the case. I would like to offer a few thoughts beyond what I shared last week.
Because the legal case is proceeding, I will not address its specifics. However, since the government’s complaint and the resulting media coverage touch on MIT’s collaboration with the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China, I would like to clarify the nature of the SUSTech engagement.
As reported at the time in MIT News, MIT established a collaboration with SUSTech in 2018 to create the Centers for Mechanical Engineering Research and Education, at MIT and SUSTech. While Professor Chen is its inaugural MIT faculty director, this is not an individual collaboration; it is a departmental one, supported by the Institute.
The agreement provides $25 million to be paid to MIT over five years. Of that sum, $19 million is for collaborative research and educational activities, and $6 million is designated as a gift to support MIT building renovation projects and an endowed graduate fellowship. To date, MIT has received about half of the amount committed under the agreement, which has been allocated to support research and educational activities of a number of Mechanical Engineering faculty members, as well as fellowships and various operational expenses. In other words, these funds are about advancing the work of a group of colleagues, and the research and educational mission of MIT.
The SUSTech relationship is one of many faculty-led collaborations MIT maintains with academic institutions. As we all know, collaborations, including international collaborations, are crucial to advancing frontier science, and they are common in academia.
At the same time, MIT takes seriously the evolving demands of national security in a complex world, and the specific risks of inappropriate foreign influence on research. As a community, we believe the integrity of our research is a fundamental responsibility. That commitment is bedrock to our policies and practice.
Finally, to our Chinese and Chinese American community – our undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, scholars, researchers, staff, faculty, alumni and Corporation members of Chinese descent: I have heard from many of you about your experiences with a growing atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion in our society, an atmosphere that can make daily life and daily work difficult, painful and exhausting.
I would therefore like to state clearly, as I have before, that you are essential and integral members of our MIT community. We value your contributions as students, colleagues, teachers, innovators and leaders, and we value you personally as friends – just as we value every member of the global family of MIT, including Professor Chen and his family.
In this difficult moment, let’s take special care to treat each other with respect and thoughtfulness.
Sincerely,
L. Rafael Reif
制版编辑 | 卢卡斯
