Partners announce new exchange programs between two
universities
HANGZHOU, China — Middle Tennessee State University and
Hangzhou Normal University, already partners in the operation of a Confucius
Institute on the Murfreesboro campus, took steps Tuesday (May 10) to strengthen
the relationship.
HNU President Du Wei, speaking during the annual
board meeting of the joint institute, said his university would send graduate
students to MTSU to work at the new Center for Chinese Music and Culture and
attend master’s-level classes.
The center, which opened in March in MTSU’s Andrew
Woodfin Miller Education Center with great fanfare from both universities, was
made possible by a $1 million gift from Hanban, the worldwide network of the
Confucius Institutes.
“These students will work for the center and, with
your blessing, we will pay for them to take courses and have a unique academic
experience,” Du said.
HNU will also donate more than 50 different Chinese
music instruments for use and display at the center, Du said. Also, he added,
HNU faculty members will regularly visit Murfreesboro to perform in Chinese
music ensembles organized by the center.
Meanwhile, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee also used
the board meeting to announce the establishment of four full scholarships for
HNU students to study on the Murfreesboro campus.
In addition, a “true exchange program” has been
established with HNU’s Alibaba Business College and MTSU's Jennings A. Jones
College of Business. In the summer, a group of MTSU students will come to HNU
for the “international business” study-abroad program led by Jones College Associate
Dean Kim Sokoya.
MTSU Confucius Institute Director Guanping Zheng
said the new program will allow students and faculty in business and computer
sciences from both institutions to travel to the different campuses.
“Our partnership continues to grow and produce
further opportunities for educational and cultural enrichment,” McPhee told Du.
“We treasure our friendship with Hangzhou Normal.”
Confucius Institute, named after the ancient Chinese
philosopher Confucius, is sponsored by China’s Education Ministry to promote
Chinese language, history and culture through tours, exchanges and university
partnerships. There are more than 440 institutes in 120 countries.
McPhee and Du signed a five-year pact in 2014 to
extend operations of the Confucius Institute at MTSU. The extension of
partnership means $1 million in grant funding over its 10 years.
MTSU Center for Chinese Music and Culture Director
Mei Han outlined her goals, saying HNU’s gift of instruments will help her
organize music ensembles that will help grow interest in Chinese music and
visibility for the venture.
“We are going to use music as part of language
learning,” she said. “This gift, along with the visiting professors, will help
us build an audience base that will be crucial to the success of the center.”
MTSU will employ graduate assistants in history and
music to help operate the center and assist in outreach to local schools and
community groups, Han said.
“That is a very good idea,” Du offered.
Zheng reported that MTSU’s institute successfully
negotiated with Tennessee’s Department of Education to secure credentials for
the volunteer Chinese language instructors provided by the institute, allowing
them to teach for school credits.
He said the institute will soon release
instructional modules for primary and secondary teachers who offer Chinese
cultural or language instruction.
“We have been ranked by Hanban at the very top for
our educational and cultural outreach,” Zheng told the institute’s board.
McPhee’s visit to China will include stops at
several partner institutions, as well as a lecture at an international
conference in Nanning to present MTSU’s ongoing research on the study of
traditional Chinese herbs for medicinal purposes.
Under McPhee’s presidency, MTSU’s international
student enrollment has more than doubled and has about 40 exchange agreements
with about 20 institutions around the world.
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