唐宁：国际化的人文教育给我人生以支点

　　文/新浪财经意见领袖（微信公众号kopleader）专栏作家 唐宁

　　美国中部时间10月12日，宜信公司创始人、CEO唐宁先生被其美国母校南方大学授予荣誉博士学位，唐宁在授予仪式上发表了题为“国际化的人文教育给我人生以支点”的英文演讲。

　　以下为唐宁在荣誉博士授予仪式上的演讲实录：

　　尊敬的各位校董事会、理事会成员，尊敬的全体教职员工、老师们、同学们，各位贵宾：

　　大家好！感谢各位！

　　很荣幸今天在这里获此殊荣，受宠若惊之余，我的心中更是满怀感激。回到母校，与各位欢聚一堂的感觉真好。

　　1995年夏天，我从中国北京大学转学过来，第一次来到这里。在此之前，我所有的时间都在学习数学，最终于1992年入选奥林匹克数学竞赛中国国家集训队。遗憾的是当时我只获得了第八名，而只有前六名的同学才能去莫斯科参赛，当年他们都拿到了金牌。所以，当我来到南方大学时，对于人文学科会教什么一无所知。但是今天，我可以很肯定地说，人文教育是一个人全面发展的关键，是一个人更好地认识世界、欣赏世界的关键，更是一个人在面对日益增多的挑战时能承担起重要责任的关键。我在这里所学的课程，文学、艺术、音乐等等，在我后来成为风险投资人和企业家的道路上发挥了巨大的作用。从2003年起，我开始做风险投资，当时中国的风险投资公司还很少。我的工作是去辨识一家初创公司能否在未来十年成长为商业巨擘。2006年我创办了宜信。如何以有限的资源，实现公司从零到卓越的成长，是我当时的主要工作。是什么成就了伟大的企业呢？我想，并不是商业模式，而是人，是诚信正直、社会价值、多样性、开放性和创新的文化。所有的这一切我都从在南方大学的学习中汲取了巨大的能量。我的好友——中国顶尖风险投资家、IDG资本管理合伙人周全曾说，基于他25年的阅人经验（识别创业者和投资人），具有人文教育背景的人更有可能在商业世界和人生中获得成功。对此我非常之赞同。就我看来，一名人文学科的毕业生可以胜任各类工作，并脱颖而出。他/她不会因不具备某项专业技能而受到局限，因为技能是可以后续学到的。

　　也正是在南方大学，我得到了很多课外活动机会，包括极大拓展了我的视野的暑期实习。在连续的两个暑假中我经历了四段实习。前两段实习内容主要是研究工作，这让我更清楚地了解到学术研究并非我的兴趣所在。尽管当时我跟随的两位教授都很喜欢我，希望我继续为他们工作。后两段实习机会我分别去了日本和孟加拉，这两个国家的差异之大，令人惊讶。回首过去，我为能有这样的机会接触到更大的世界感到幸运。今天，国际化视野对于个人和机构的成功至关重要，我很欣喜地看到南方大学正变得越来越国际化。当我第一次得知施康德教授的新头衔、2015年成立全球化教育办公室并于2016年更名为全球公民办公室时，我非常激动。我相信在21世纪，虽然每个人都有自己的国籍，但也都是全球公民，在受益于全球资源的同时也面临着来自全球的挑战。在南方大学求学期间，我有一段特别棒的经历，是在一个名为“跨文化理解团体”（Organization for Cross-Cultural Understanding）的学生组织任主席，成员来自于世界各地，包括非洲、欧洲、印度、中国，当然还有美国本土。因为不同背景的人往往有不同的观点，有时候我们很难做出一个决定，所以我必须学会倾听，学着妥协。现如今，我带领着宜信的国际化团队，不仅在中国大陆开展业务，还将业务拓展到了香港、新加坡、以色列、美国东西海岸、英国，乃至非洲。我想我已经和来自不同国家的同事实现了跨文化理解。我们的团队配合非常好。

　　当时的我并未意识到，我未来的事业已深深地根植于南方大学。我还记得上过Yasmeen Mohiuddin教授的一门课，她向我们介绍了一个非常有趣的社会企业——格莱珉，创始人尤努斯博士就是教授的校友。当我了解到格莱珉向孟加拉偏远乡村数百万的贫穷妇女提供小额贷款进而改变她们的生活时，我非常着迷。我对自己说，我一定要去亲眼看看它是如何运作的，于是在南方大学奖学金的支持下，我出发了。1997年夏天，我从纳什维尔飞往华盛顿，再飞到苏黎世、新德里、加德满都，最终抵达孟加拉国首都达卡，当时的孟加拉国是世界上最贫穷的国家之一。我大部分的时间都在乡村田野中度过，走访借款人家庭、查看项目、参加信用教育和能力提升研讨会，在一线开展工作。这段经历令我眼界大开，我发现金融不仅是指华尔街，而商业在赚钱的同时还可能创造巨大的社会价值。在这个意义深远的暑期实习项目结束九年后，宜信成立了，它是一个非常独特的机构，它既服务于中国最富有的人，也为中国最贫穷的人提供服务，利用科技在两者之间架起一座桥梁，从而使金融服务更有包容性、最具价值。如今，我们使这样的做法成为可能，一位公益爱心投资者可以通过我们的数字平台向一位贫困的农村女企业家提供资金，也许仅仅100元人民币（约合15美元），积累成为解决该企业家农业项目几百美元资金需求的来源。投资者可以查看所有的项目和企业家，从中选择符合他个人标准的项目来投资。归功于我们行业领先的风险管理能力，该计划启动9年以来，未发生过一起违约事件。投资一年后，投资者即可收回资金，再出借给其他人。同样是在现在，我们也可以令富有的投资者， 如房地产和制造业等传统行业的成功企业家，通过风险分散的方式将财富投资到中国新经济领域的初创公司，如教育、医疗保健、人工智能、大数据等，等待他们十年后成为巨头。这两项创新在中国都处于领先地位，并因金融创新获得了区域和全球的最高奖项。

　　1998年毕业后，我去华尔街工作，那在当时是非常酷的工作，因为互联网的繁荣正在到来。在我的职业规划过程中，南方大学的很多人都给我提供了巨大的帮助。在南方大学的那些年，我们国际学生有一位特别好的导师——琼·威廉姆森（Joan Williamson），她给予我们无微不至的关怀和指导，她与丈夫萨姆·威廉姆森（Sam Williamson）校长招待我们在校长官邸度过了非常美好的时光，令我们感觉就像在自己家一样。我还记得琼帮我准备面试，教我穿着得体适合职场，而在那之前，我对如何参加投行面试几乎一无所知。在我进入华尔街的过程中，我非常依赖校友网络。所有的校友都热情而友善，给予我很大帮助。在此我想说，南方大学的校友们在商界发挥着关键作用，并且我认为商业和人文学科可以很好地互补。如今，做大做强商业的能力与经营非政府组织或政府机构是高度相关的。做慈善也需要对投资回报做细致的考察，从而以有限的资源来更高效地行善。因此，我很高兴得知学校计划在课程中增加更多的商业课程，并为学生提供更多的商业资源来扩展其教育经历。我相信，这样的举措会让南方大学变得更强大，也将令学校的人文根基历久弥新。

　　平淡的语言无法尽述我此刻的感受。多么希望当初我多修一些莎士比亚课程啊！就在几个月前，我在北京接待了来自南方大学的师生代表团，他们刚刚顺利结束了在中国东部地区的暑期研究项目。校长John McCardell教授当时也在场，我想告诉大家的是，他关于人文教育的分享得到了中国学生和家长的热情回应，他受到了像电影明星一样热烈的欢迎。在那之后，宜信财富和南方大学共同招募了一群来自中国的优秀中学生，20位青年学生来到了南方大学，开展了为期一周的学习，了解美国的高等教育，接受南方大学杰出的人文教育。我们正共同努力，让南方大学扬名中国和全世界。我希望在不久的将来不会再有人问我这个问题： 南方大学？ 哪里的南方？ 我想说我为能成为南方大学——这一伟大学校的一员而由衷地骄傲。南方大学，不仅仅是美国南部的顶级学府，更是全球人才的理想之地。在这里，人才受数年人文教育之浸染，将肩负全球公民之责任，造福社会。

　　非常感谢大家，回家的感觉真好，每一刻都如此美好。谢谢！

　　以下为英文版实录：

　　Distinguished members of the board of regents and the board of trustees， distinguished members of the faculty， staff， students of the College and the School of Theology， other distinguished guests：

　　Thank you． Thank you very much．

　　It’s my great honor to be here and receive this very special recognition． I am truly humbled and grateful． It’s so nice to be back home with all of you．

　　I first came to the mountain in summer 1995， as a transfer student from Beijing， China． Before coming to Sewanee， I had spent all my school years studying mathematics and eventually made to China’s national team for the 1992 mathematical Olympics． Unfortunately， I was No.8 and the top 6 fellow students went to Moscow and all won gold medals． So， when I made it to Sewanee， I had no idea about what a liberal arts education could offer． Today， I can say for sure： a liberal arts education is key for someone who wishes to develop into a full person， someone who can appreciate the world better and also shoulder key responsibilities that an increasingly challenging world demands． The courses that I took， in Shakespeare， Fine Art， Music， etc． helped me tremendously when I later became a venture capital investor and an entrepreneur． I started to invest in early stage companies in 2003， when there were very few VC firms in China． My job was to figure out whether a startup could become giant 10 years down the road． When I founded CreditEase in 2006， my job was to grow it from zero to great with very limited resources． What makes a company great？ I do not think it’s business model； I think it’s about people， about integrity， social purpose， diversity， openness， innovative culture， and for all those I have drawn great strength from what I learned at Sewanee． My great friend and leading venture capitalist in China， Quan Zhou， Managing Partner of IDG Capital， once said that， based on his 25 years of experience in reading， judging entrepreneurs and investors， people with liberal arts background stand a better chance to succeed in business and in life． I cannot agree with him more． In my view， a liberal arts college graduate can do anything and excel． He or she will not be limited at all by lacking specific skills which can always be learned later．

　　Also at Sewanee， I was introduced to great extracurricular opportunities， including summer internships， which profoundly expanded my horizon． I did totally 4 internships in consecutive two summers． The first two were related to research and they helped me discover more about myself that academic research is not my interest， although the two professors both loved me and wanted me to go back work for them． The following year I went abroad， making my way to Japan and Bangladesh． The contrast between the two countries was just huge and amazing． Looking back， I feel blessed that such opportunities exposed me to the whole world． Today， global perspectives are essential to personal and organizational success， and I am really glad to see that Sewanee is becoming increasingly global． When I first learned about Professor Scott Wilson’s new title and the creation of the Office of Global Education in 2015， renamed the Office of Global Citizenship the following year， I was thrilled． I believe in the 21st century， every person， although having his or her own nationality， is a global citizen， benefiting from global resources and also facing global challenges． When I was at Sewanee， I had the great experience of serving as president of a student organization called the Organization for Cross-Cultural Understanding． Its members included students from all over the world， from Africa， from Europe， from India， from China， and of course from the US． It was not easy for us to make a decision sometimes， as people had very different views as a result of their diverse backgrounds． So， I had to learn to listen and compromise． Today， I lead an international team at our company CreditEase operating not only in mainland China but also in Hong Kong， Singapore， Israel， east coast and west coast of the US， the UK， and our global fintech investment team also covers Africa． I think I have reached cross-cultural understanding with my colleagues from different nationalities． We work very well together as a team．

　　Although I did not know at that time， my career was deeply rooted at Sewanee． I remember taking a course from Professor Yasmeen Mohiuddin， during which she showcased a very interesting social enterprise called Grameen whose founder Dr． Muhammad Yunus happens to be her alum． I was fascinated to learn that Grameen had been able to offer life changing micro loans to millions of poor Bangladeshi females in remote villages． I told myself that I would have to go see it working in real life， so I went， supported by a Sewanee fellowship． In summer 1997， I flew from Nashville to Washington DC， then to Zurich， New Delhi， Kathmandu， and finally to Dhaka， the capital city of Bangladesh， then one of the poorest countries in the world． I spent most of my time in the field， visiting borrower families and projects， participating in credit education and capability development seminars， making my hands very dirty． Through this eye-opening experience， I learned that finance can be much more than just Wall Street and business can do tremendous social good on top of being commercially successful． Nine years following that meaningful summer program， CreditEase was founded， as a highly unique organization serving both the richest and the poorest in China， utilizing technology to build a bridge between the two thereby making financial services more inclusive and most value-adding． Today， we’ve made it possible for a philanthropic investor to lend， through our digital platform， as little as 100RMB or about $15 to a rural poor female entrepreneur who needs to borrow about a few hundred dollars for her agricultural project． The investor can see all the projects and entrepreneurs out there and choose from them the ones that meet his personal criteria． One year later， he will have his money back- as a result of our industry leading risk mgt capability， we’ve had zero default in 9 years since the program’s inception- and the investor can lend it out again to different people． Also today， we’ve made it possible for a wealthy investor， most likely a successful entrepreneur in traditional industries like real estate and manufacturing， to invest his wealth， in a risk diversified way， into China’s new economy startups doing education， healthcare， AI， big data， etc． and wait for them to become giants 10 years down the road． Both innovations are pioneering in China and have won global and regional top awards for financial innovation．

　　I graduated in 1998 and went to work on Wall Street． That was among the coolest jobs at that time， as the Internet boom was well on the way． So many people at Sewanee were greatly helpful to me during my career planning process． For all the years on the mountain， our international students had a great mentor， Joan Williamson， who graciously gave us her care and guidance． We all have very fond memories about the time spent with her and Professor Sam Williamson at the Clement Chen hall． It certainly felt like home to us． I remember Joan dressing me up like a young professional． Until then I had had little sense about how I should appear for investment bank interviews！ I heavily relied on alumni network as I found my way to Wall Street． All the people I spoke to were kind to me and offered their help． Here please allow me to say that Sewanee alumni have played key roles in the business community， and it’s my view that business and liberals arts can be very complimentary． Today， the capability of doing great business is highly relevant to running an NGO or a government agency． Doing good also requires closer examination on its return on investment， which will make it so much more efficient to get good things done with only very limited resources． So， I am very excited about the school’s recent plans to add more business courses to its curriculum and build more resources for the students to expand their education experience． I believe such initiatives can only make Sewanee stronger and its true liberal arts roots current and long lasting．

　　Plain words cannot express my feeling at this moment． I wish I had taken more Shakespeare courses． Just a couple of months ago， I greeted a group of Sewanee faculty and students in Beijing． They had just completed their highly successful summer research in east China． Vice Chancellor John McCardell was also there， and let me tell you he was greeted with strong enthusiasm by local high school students and parents like a movie star． Following that， a team of 20 Chinese high school students， a terrific group recruited with help from CreditEase， came to Sewanee for a week， to learn more about the US high education and great Sewanee liberal arts education． We are together making Sewanee very famous in China and all around the world． I hope soon in the future there will be no one asking me this question： University of the South？ South of what？ Let me say that I am real proud to be part of this great institution， not just a top school in the south of the US， but an ideal destination for worldwide talents who will， after several years of liberal arts education， become responsible global citizens ready to serve and contribute to society．

　　Thank you． Thank you very much． It’s great to be home and I enjoy every bit of it． Thank you．

　　(本文作者介绍：宜信公司创始人、CEO)