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A Letter From Founder Ben Nelson to the Minerva Community 来自Minerva创始人的一封信 Dear Minerva Community, 亲爱的Minerva成员们， Five years ago, Minerva existed only as a bold concept for redefining what the best higher education institution could and should be. Today, Minerva stands as proof positive that a new program can not only attract and retain some of the world’s brightest students, but that it can also surpass the offerings of the world’s most well-regarded traditional universities. 五年前，Minerva只是一个重新定义高等教育可能性的大胆设想。今天，Minerva已经成为一份证明，证明一个新兴项目不仅能够吸引和招收到一些全世界最优秀的学生，还能够超越传统意义上的顶尖大学所能提供给学生的价值。 This choice of words is deliberate; proof positive — definitive confirmation of our original hypothesis with verifiable facts — reflects what the past five years have meant for us. 我仔细推敲了“证明”一词的使用，因为它代表着这些证据对我们原来假设的绝对肯定，并折射出过去五年对我们来说意味着什么。 We have been humbled by the applicant demand for our first three classes of students. Fifty thousand students from 179 countries have applied to be admitted to Minerva — more than twenty thousand for the Class of 2021 alone. To put that in perspective, Minerva received more applicants for the incoming class than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) or Dartmouth, a nearly 250-year-old Ivy League university. Perhaps more telling, we also received more international applications than nearly any other university in the United States. 回望这三年我们收到的申请的数量，我们也感到受宠若惊。这三年来，我们收到了来自179个国家的5万名学生的申请——仅仅2021届一年就有超过两万名学生递交了申请。Minerva收到的申请书比麻省理工学院，或是有250年历史的常青藤名校达特茅斯学院还多；或许更能展示我们的特殊性的数据是，我们收到的国际生申请比几乎任何一所美国大学都多。 Furthermore, for the third year in a row, we selected just 2% of those applicants to join Minerva, with the majority — 57% of those admitted — deciding to enroll. These markers make us both the most selective undergraduate program in the Western World and among the top 0.5% of U.S. institutions for enrollment yield. 除此之外，我们已经连续三年只招收2%的申请人，其中大多数（57%）被录取的学生都决定要加入Minerva。这些数据都标志着Minerva不仅是欧美国家中竞争最激烈的本科生项目，也是美国入学率前0.5%的学校。 As life on earth grows more complex, ideological clashes abound, and national borders tighten, I am proud to see the population of Minerva students continue to expand and diversify — proof positive that our belief in global citizenship resonates with top students the world over. 在这个思想日益繁荣、碰撞，国家界限却越发明晰的世界里，看到Minerva的学生群体不断扩大和多样化，我觉得非常自豪。这也是一份证明，证明了我们对于世界公民的理念和全世界各地最优秀的学生们的要求恰好吻合。 Minerva marked another milestone this year: the first with classes in multiple cities at once. As the Class of 2020 embarked on its Foundation Year in San Francisco, the Founding and Inaugural Classes united as the Class of 2019, spending the first semester in Berlin and the second in Buenos Aires. In each city, students worked with a range of civic partners to develop solutions for some of the most vexing regional challenges. From addressing homelessness in San Francisco to integrating new refugees in Berlin to improving public educational outcomes in Buenos Aires, Minerva students are doing precisely what we envisioned: they are engaging deeply and making a concerted effort to help improve each location. What the student community achieved this year is impressive — still more proof positive of Minerva’s impact on the world. 今年，Minerva创造了又一个里程碑：课程第一次同时在多个不同城市开展。当2020届学生刚从旧金山踏上了他们的Minerva之旅时，创始届和第二届的学生们合并为2019届，分别在柏林和布宜诺斯艾利斯度过了第一个和第二个学期。在每个城市，学生们和各种各样的市政合伙机构合作，致力于解决最为棘手的地区问题。从安顿旧金山的流浪汉到帮助难民融入柏林，再到提高布宜诺斯艾利斯的公共教育质量，Minerva的学生所践行的理念正是我们所期望的：他们深深融入一个地区的事务，并且通过合作来提高整个地区。今年，学生团体们达到的成果是令人振奋的——这又是一份Minerva对世界带来影响的证明。 And there is still a great deal to look forward to. In the coming year, the classes of 2019 and 2020 will be living and learning together in two new residential locations, Seoul and Hyderabad. I am confident these cities will continue to feed the intellects, capabilities, and character of our students, as they continue to make meaningful contributions to these places they come to call home. 我们还有很多值得期待的。在接下来的一个学年，2019和2020届学生将会在首尔（韩国）和海德拉巴（印度）两个新的城市一起生活、学习。我相信这两个城市将继续滋养学生们的智力、能力和性格的成长，而他们也会同时继续对这些让他们渐渐产生归属感的城市作出贡献. Back in San Francisco, we continue to progress as well. This summer, our professional development team enabled three times as many student internships as last summer, with many of these positions not accessible to undergraduates from any other institution. Our academic and student experience teams are working to finalize new courses for students about to begin their third year, refine the second-year courses, and welcome the newest members of our growing community. The Class of 2021 is the first that is made up of two cohorts, which compounds the evidence that our mission has taken hold. 在旧金山的本部，我们也在不断进步。今年暑假，我们的职业发展部门提供了比去年暑假多三倍的学生实习机会，其中很多实习岗位甚至不对任何其他学校低于研究生的学生开放。我们的学术和学生体验团队正在为准大三生的课程设计做最后的准备，优化大二的课程，并欢迎最新一届的成员们。2021届首次由两队学员组成，证明了我们的目标正在稳步实施。 We have also reached new milestones in philanthropic support for our students. This year Minerva became one of only two American universities to be approved by the Al Ghurair Foundation to offer full scholarships for deserving students from Arab League countries. Minerva student scholarships were also the first grantee of the newly established Taizo Son Foundation, which is the most significant of three Japanese foundations supporting Minerva students. Additional commitments have come from China, Hong Kong, and the United States, providing further proof positive that what we are doing resonates worldwide, with those who value improvements in higher education. 我们在慈善募款方面也建立了一些新的里程碑。今年，Minerva成为了阿拉伯古赖尔基金认证的唯二两所美国大学中的一所，这个基金会将为优秀的阿拉伯学生提供全额奖学金。Minerva还是新成立的孙泰藏基金会的首个受颁赠校，这个基金会是支持Minerva学生的三个日本基金会中最显著的一个。除此之外，Minerva还收到了来自中国大陆、中国香港和美国的捐款，充分证明了Minerva的理念得到了全世界各地希望推动高等教育优化的人的响应。 This type of financial support for Minerva students is particularly crucial. Despite our overall costs being significantly lower than other top universities, our truly need-blind admissions process has admitted a student body with more than 80% of individuals requiring some form of financial aid. Without current and future supporters for these students, the kind of transformational education Minerva provides will not be broadly accessible. We and our students are forever grateful for such support. 这份给予Minerva学生的财政补助是非常关键的。尽管我们的学费远低于其他顶尖大学，我们实打实的资金需求无关录取政策（need-blind）使得我们80%的学生都需要某种程度上的助学金。如果没有目前和将来的这些捐助人，Minerva提供的变革式的教育的机会可能不会像现在这样对那么多的学生开放。学校教职工和学生将永远感激这份支持。 Reflecting on the past five years, the proof that we are on the right path is evident and the ability to fulfill our mission is all but inevitable. However, the speed with which we can accomplish that mission rests largely on the shoulders of the broader Minerva community. Together, we will ensure that students continue to learn, grow, and succeed for centuries to come. With that, I want to thank you for joining us on this extraordinary journey. 回顾过去的五年，我们更加坚定我们走在一条正确的道路上，目标的实现也变得触手可及。然而，我们能够如此快速地向目标迈进，很大程度上都归功于广大支持Minerva的群体。在我们的共同努力下，我们可以确保学生们在接下来的几个世纪中持续学习、成长和取得成功。以上，我非常感谢大家加入这个美妙的旅途。 Best, Ben Nelson 此致，祝好 本·尼尔森 |
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