Agreement promotes cultural, academic exchanges with students, faculty
MURFREESBORO — Leaders
of Middle Tennessee State University and Guangxi University in Nanning, China,
strengthened ties Tuesday with an agreement to pursue cultural and academic
exchanges between the two institutions.
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and Guangxi University
President Zhao Yanlin signed the memorandum of understanding following a
roundtable discussion inside the Cope Administration Building between executives
from both universities. Guangxi officials later toured campus and met with their
MTSU counterparts for further discussions.
“Guangxi University is one of the top universities in China
and has been designated as a key university by the central government,” McPhee
said Tuesday. “Its institution is very similar to Middle Tennessee State
University. We both have a major goal of internationalizing our campuses,
recognizing that we live in a world without borders.”
The memorandum signing and campus visit by the Guangxi
delegation followed a visit to Guangxi by McPhee in May. During the visit,
McPhee and an MTSU delegation that included state Sen. Bill Ketron announced
the opening of a student recruitment office at Guangxi University as part of
its efforts to boost international enrollment and strengthen ties in southern
China.
The office marked the university’s first overseas
representative office and reflects MTSU’s growing commitment to Guangxi, an
autonomous region on China’s border with Vietnam. The region is also home to
the Guangxi Botanical Garden of Medicinal Plants, at which MTSU works with as a
research partner and collaborator.
Through a translator, Zhao also emphasized the similarities
between the universities and expressed optimism that Tuesday’s memorandum will
lead to concrete initiatives being developed and implemented. Joining Zhao on
the campus visit were representatives from the business, forestry, civil
engineering and architecture disciplines as well as a representative from the
university’s international exchange department.
“It’s very important for both of us to have these
memorandums of understanding signed today,” Zhao said. “I believe this
cooperation between our universities will be a win-win cooperation.”
The agreement, which will last for five years, seeks to:
- Promote institutional
exchanges by inviting faculty and staff to participate in teaching and
research activities, and professional development;
- Develop exchange programs,
such as summer camps, in China and Rutherford County; and
- Organize symposia,
conferences, short courses or programs, and meetings on educational issues
or other topics of mutual interest.
The agreement can be renewed for another five years if both
institutions agree.
With translation assistance from Guanping Zheng, director of
the MTSU Confucius Institute, McPhee gave a PowerPoint presentation about
MTSU’s academic offerings such as its widely recognized aerospace, recording
industry, accounting and concrete industry management programs, to name a few.
Those programs and others attract students from across the globe, he said.
“We have graduates from all over the world,” McPhee said.
Founded in 1928, Guangxi University (GU) has an enrollment
of more than 24,000 students, similar to MTSU’s. Also like MTSU, most of its
students are undergraduates and it is known for its wide variety of majors
within its 30 colleges.
Its academic disciplines include various degree programs in
Public Management; Commerce: Culture and Mass Communication; Agriculture; and
Science, as well as specialties within Education, Science and Engineering.
GU boasts academic exchanges with more than 150 universities
or research institutes in 35 countries or regions, including long-term
relationships with Western Michigan University in the U.S.; Gifu University and
Mie University in Japan; and Cambridge University in Great Britain.
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