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Visiting Committee (VC) for academic departments according to my experience  of serving on several of them is an US invention not common in other countries. The VC is like an informal inspection team for an academic department that occurs regularly every two or three years. The VC is composed of members from outside the university that are experts in the field that the department serves. It is usually appointed by the president or the dean of the college to which the department belongs and reports directly to him. It is a good institutional mechanism for many reasons:

1. It forces the department to examine itself for goals and accomplishments regularly.

2. The organization and presentations for the visit of VC are good training  for the staff and faculty of the department

3. VC also provides a means of direct communication from citizens of a  department directly to higher administration by-passing the usual organizational hierarchy.

4. The members of the VC are usually faculty members from other institutions,  distinguished alumna, from industry or the public which the department serves; each having  attended distinctions or fame in their profession and presumably with no conflict of  interest with the department being visited.

5. The members of the VC also benefit by learning from each other and from  the presentations of the department. You as a member are exposed to information different from you day-to-day job and are required to make intelligent suggestions and decisions   based on the received information and that do not invite ridicule.  Again it is the“visibility and exposure” that I discussed in  previous  articles on academic life.

6. Member of VC serve voluntarily without pay except for reimbursement of travel expenses. It is considered a honor to be asked to serve.

7. The VC functions somewhere between an independent investigating commission  looking for crime and/or fraud in the organization and an advisory board that is only used when an organization requires some outside opinion. The former has  legal power and responsibilities and the latter usually serve a much weaker or  different purpose  (e.g. fundraising). In academia where there are plenty of tradition such as tenure and peer review, the VC serves a unique role.

8. VC meeting also serve to publicize the accomplishment of the department to the outside  world.

9. In Tsinghua, I personally know only one Center has a VC. In a period  of growth  and attempts to establish a world class environment, more VCs for the university  departments would be a good idea in my opinion.