President Neil L. Rudenstine will embark later this month on the first of two scheduled visits to Asia in 1998. He will travel to Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taipei in late March, and will return to Asia in June for visits to Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai.

The announcement of Rudenstine's trips was made this week as Harvard formally inaugurated its new Asia Center, launched to strengthen the connections among the University's varied and expanding programs related to various Asian countries.

"Harvard's academic ties with Asia date back more than a century, and over the decades we have built an unusually strong array of programs and resources that focus on a number of Asian countries and cultures," Rudenstine said. "Meanwhile, our University includes more faculty and students from Asian backgrounds, and more non-Asian faculty and students who have a deep interest in the region.

"There is also a growing community of Harvard alumni and friends living in Asia, as well as a large community of Asia-based scholars who work in close collaboration with members of the Harvard faculty," Rudenstine added. "I hope our journey will underscore the strength of Harvard's commitment to help deepen understanding of one of the world's most dynamic regions, and to broaden the avenues of academic exchange between Asia and the United States."

In Beijing later this month, Rudenstine will be hosted by Peking University and the State Education Commission. He will deliver an address to faculty and students at Peking University, which is celebrating its centennial, and will also visit Tsinghua University, members of which have had close ties to a number of Harvard scholars over the years.

In Hong Kong and Taipei, as in Beijing, Rudenstine expects to meet with groups of academic leaders and government officials. He will also visit with large and small gatherings of Harvard alumni and friends, including members of Harvard Clubs based in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He will be in Asia from March 21 to March 31, a period that coincides with spring recess for much of Harvard.

Rudenstine and his wife, Angelica Zander Rudenstine, will be joined on the trip by a group of Harvard colleagues, including Professors William Kirby and Ezra Vogel. Kirby is the chairman of the History Department and a leading scholar of the history of modern China. Vogel, the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences and an expert on both modern China and Japan, is director of both the John K. Fairbank Center for East Asian Research and the University's newly inaugurated Asia Center. The March trip will also encompass academic panel discussions featuring Kirby and Vogel.