Move to the head of the class. After nearly a decade of strengthening relationships with Asian nations, University President Richard Levin wrote an essay about the rise of Asian universities that will be published in Foreign Affairs magazine Wednesday. The piece, titled “Top of the Class,” outlines the fast-paced proliferation of world-class universities in China, Asia, Singapore and other countries across Asia.

“Such initiatives suggest that governments in Asia understand that overhauling their higher-education systems is required to sustain economic growth in a postindustrial, knowledge-based global economy,” Levin wrote.

Yale is already involved in partnerships with several Asian universities, including Peking University in China, which hosts a Yale study abroad program, and the new National University of Singapore, which Levin visited this spring.