Educational partnerships with China, part two
The second of a two-part series on the University of Nebraska’s growing exchange of educational opportunities with China, this article further discusses the challenges associated with cross-cultural education and the potential of future relations between the university and China.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) has hosted academic exchanges with Japan and China for more than 25 years and has also previously collaborated with Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM) and the Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. This interaction culminated with the formation, in 2005, of the Asia Pacific Rim Development Program. In 2007, the Xi’An Jiaotong University Health Science Center was added to the group. The Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing partnered with UNMC to launch its First Symposium of the China-U.S. Research Center for Life Sciences, with four UNMC researchers among the presenters. Dr. Jialin Zheng is the director as well as the associate dean of Graduate Studies -International Affairs at UNMC. Dr. Zheng, as professor of the Center for Neurovirology and Neurodegenerative Disorders, had a compelling argument endorsing collaboration with China, as well as international collaboration in general. He said, “The problems which face us today are extremely broad and complex, requiring cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary teamwork, with researchers, administrators, and professionals working together to find solutions. This means researchers need to broaden their literature base, too.”
Recent academic collaboration has resulted in the October 2008 announcement by SJTUSM and UNMC of the first-ever M.D./Ph.D. program involving a Chinese and an American university. Under the program, students take the first two years of medical school at SJTUSM, then travel to UNMC for four years to earn their Ph.D., before returning to SJTUSM to finish the last two years of medical school. Dr. Zheng’s investment in his students has resulted in an annual International Student Research Forum, with graduate students from China, India, Japan, Australia, Russia and Nebraska presenting their work. The first forum was held in Omaha in June 2008, and this year’s forum was held in June in Beijing.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is a member of the American Association of Universities, and is noted for eminence in teaching, research and outreach. UNL’s online Fact Sheet lists Chinese student enrollment as 100 undergraduate Chinese students and 288 graduate students, for a total of 388 Chinese students on the UNL campus.
Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UNL, Dr. Barbara Couture, emphasized that outreach to China is an outgrowth of UNL’s desire to become more active in international work, whether in research at UNL with international implications or in collaboration with international research partners. She pointed out that the creation of more study abroad opportunities for University of Nebraska students and faculty has immense immediate benefit for all in our Nebraska communities. When Nebraska’s students in China see Chinese students working incredibly hard to learn English, they grasp the importance of communication and begin to value the role a second language (Chinese, or any language) could play in their lives. After all, although English can be used to clinch an initial contract, in this increasingly global world being able to relate to a client through use of his language might be necessary to compete for—and keep—that contract. This summer, there are 30 University of Nebraska business and political science students participating in a study abroad program at Xi’An Jiaotong University. Vice Chancellor Couture stated that it has been fascinating to read their journals about their experiences and adventures.
Vice Chancellor Couture also believes that there are long-term gains for all Nebraskans through the bidirectional exchange of services and cultural experiences between Chinese universities and the University of Nebraska. Vice Chancellor Couture related that China is able to offer a college education to only about a third of its high school graduates. It is due to this that many Chinese are interested in furthering their education here in the U.S.; and because the U.S. is interested in how they develop educationally, fostering institutional relationships with China is strategically important for us all.
As a second point, she added that UNL’s approach in its China initiatives is one of focus on a few excellent Chinese universities rather than “spreading our international efforts thin like peanut butter across the entire world.” With this focus in mind, UNL has chosen to partner with Zhejiang University and Xi’An Jiaotong University. The partnerships are secured by involvement of the faculty, student affairs personnel, administrators, deans and the vice chancellors. Curricular areas for study encouraged for Chinese students here are business, finance and engineering, but the Chinese students themselves have expressed interest in a wider variety of curricular areas with an increased scope of choices.
Vice Chancellor Couture cited the Confucius Institute as another notable feature of UNL’s outreach to China. The Confucius Institute wishes to help the University of Nebraska establish a good relationship in China, forging institutional relationships in areas where expertise is strongest, or “working with what you can do well.” It was sponsored by the Chinese Language Council International in Beijing and was established almost two years ago as one of nearly 20 in the U.S. Dr. David Lou is director of the Confucius Institute and also the Office of China Initiatives. The Confucius Institute’s role is to promote the teaching of Chinese language and culture. Chinese classes at the beginning and intermediate level will be offered this fall. For more information, please call (402) 472-5370 or find more information on their Web site at http://confuciusinstitute.unl.edu/. The institute also serves as a bridge between interested parties in the U.S. and China who wish to participate in cultural or educational exchange. The Confucius Institute assists with a scholarship program and study abroad programs in China, with 50 Nebraska students studying culture, history, engineering, business and political science in Xi’An, Shanghai and Beijing this summer. The Confucius Institute is also involved with an English Language Teacher Partnership Program involving almost 150 Chinese students. The teacher candidates study in China for their first two years, receiving English training and support there (as well as orientation to life at UNL), then transfer to UNL for the last two years, finishing with a degree from UNL.
All administrators and faculty interviewed mentioned English language proficiency as an area of concern, because the level of English skill determines whether a Chinese student can perform successfully in his classes. Chinese graduate students are normally adequately prepared to study in English and are not admitted conditionally. However, the Intensive English Program (IEP) at UNL can be a conduit to move a growing number of conditionally admitted Chinese undergraduate students into the university. IEP Director Dr. Michael Harpending credited International Affairs at UNL with providing essential support for all international students. In addition, international students at UNL already receive support from the English Department’s Writing Lab, but with this new China initiative at UNL, greater effort is being made to train faculty and staff to assist the arriving Chinese students. Dr. Harpending also stated that close to 90 percent of the IEP students finish the IEP program and enter UNL. He added that most IEP students are undergraduates and that it does matter at what level of English they enter the program, as it usually requires a year to a year and a half to move from the lowest levels to the finish: “Some students have the staying power and some do not.” Classes are small, with daily classes in “Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, American Culture and Usage (Grammar),” in intensive eight-week sessions. Although there has been an increase in Chinese student enrollment, it is not unusual to have 14 or 15 countries represented in the classes. The IEP works to provide an educationally enriching experience along with stress-releasing recreational activities, such as a picnic, bowling and recent trips to the Omaha Zoo and a Salt Dogs game.
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln promotes the E. N. Thompson Forum on World Issues, a cooperative project with the Cooper Foundation and the Lied Center for Performing Arts. The focus for this academic year is “Encountering China,” with lectures by Doug Bereuter, Kaiser Kuo, Rob Gifford, Chuck Hagel and others. Tickets are required but free and available by phone, 402-272-4747 or 800-432-3231, or online at http://enthompson.unl.edu/.
The great State of Nebraska has just begun to scratch the surface of the kind of relations we need to develop with China, both politically and economically. “One of the greatest concerns China has is about resources, concerns about climate, about water, and it’s for sure that China will be a primary user of all natural resources,” contended Vice Chancellor John Owens of UNL’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR). He acknowledged a close tie between the University of Nebraska and the state’s residents, offering an insight about Nebraskans and the state’s fundamental focus on agriculture: “Nebraskans are aware as anyone in the country about the importance of international trade from the viewpoint of agricultural communities. Nebraskans understand globalization and that the things we manufacture are plants and animals using some process of photosynthesis and use of water.” Dr. Owens promoted the excellence of the agricultural programs as rationale for the Chinese interest. He also pinpointed one specific Chinese need, a way to develop the dry, far western regions of China. “We have major national expertise in issues of water quality and quantity here at Nebraska,” he added, “and supposedly have the best faculty with breadth of scope in research interests and use of technological applications.” He was accompanied by Associate Chancellor Dr. Susan Fritz, who added that IANR is partnering with Zhejiang University and has established the Joint Zhejiang University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Extension and Research for Advanced Agriculture and Natural Resources Technology in China. IANR departments participating in a 3+1 program of studies for Chinese students (three years in China, one year at Nebraska, leading to a nonthesis master’s degree) present “a buffet” of programs: Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication, Animal Science, Biochemistry, Biological Systems Engineering, Entomology, Food Science and Technology, Plant Pathology, School of Natural Resources, and Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences.
So what are the projections for the future of the University of Nebraska’s partnerships with their Chinese counterparts? The annual statistics gathered by the Institute for International Education show that during the 2003–2004 academic year, there were 61,765 Chinese students at institutions of higher education in the United States. U.S. Chinese college student enrollment dipped after 2001, possibly due to Sept. 11 restrictions, visa delays or because Chinese graduate programs are expanding, but numbers should rise again as there simply are not enough institutional spaces in China for the total number of undergraduate Chinese college students.
All campuses report that more students from China come to the U.S. than U.S. students go to China to study. Dr. John Owens, vice chancellor of IANR at Lincoln, expressed deep concern over the lack of American students studying in China or pursuing Chinese language study as preparation for future study. Dean Goutierre of UNO identified funding as one of the key obstacles to U.S. students studying abroad and faculty international training opportunities, and noted that the current economic downturn has meant less study or travel for both Nebraska students and faculty. Matching students with available resources for travel and study is problematic at all times, but technology, in the guise of the Internet, has proved very useful for UNO.
Therefore, support for language programs and investment in China study abroad initiatives are key, as Dr. Elizabeth Dahl, assistant professor of political science at UNO, pointed out, “…China-related initiatives make good business sense particularly given the downturn in the economy. What better way to equip our students for the future than to have them prepared to deal with one of the few growth areas in the world?” However, an overarching theme that was heard repeatedly in interviews was that more resources and recruitment of Nebraskan students for study of Mandarin and study abroad in China are needed and that the critical period for such study is now. Some of the most compelling words, heard from both Dr. Murray and Drs. Owens and Fritz, were that it is necessary to match Nebraska universities with Chinese universities of similar interests and geography. It may appear intuitive, but when cultures share a prairie lifestyle, producing livestock, wheat and cereal grains in a semi-arid region where water issues are of vital concern, communication and sharing can occur at a very fundamental level. Moreover, Chinese students who come here from such an environment should be happier and experience less culture shock, according to Dr. Finnie Murray. Chinese administrators need their students to return to take up the many opportunities that await them in burgeoning China and feel that Nebraska offers their students an acceptable and familiar study environment.
The recently retired but oh-so-experienced traveler Dr. Finnie Murray shared that his own international interests and travels began when he saw a fellow student realize a dream to travel and study abroad. He added, as an aside to administrators and students, “International outreach to China requires openness, a willingness to invest oneself, and to think positively about what can be.” The University of Nebraska, on all campuses, certainly appears to be working to reach out to China and its university partners, and it is clear that all involved know there is much more in common than a strong preference for the color red.
I’d like to thank the following for their time and support in writing this article, in the order in which I was able to interview or confer with them: The office of Chancellor Harvey Perlman, specifically Michelle Waite, assistant to the chancellor for community relations; Dr. Finnie Murray, former senior vice chancellor of academic and student affairs and interim director of international education, UNK; Dr. David Lou, director of the Confucius Institute and the Office of China Initiatives, UNL; Dr. Jialin Zheng, M.D., UNMC; Dr. Barbara Couture, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, UNL; Dr. Michael Harpending, director of the Programs of Intensive English as a Second Language, UNL; Dr. John Owens, vice chancellor of the IANR and Dr. Susan Fritz, associate chancellor, UNL; Tom Goutierre, dean of international studies and programs, UNO; Dr. Elizabeth Dahl, assistant professor of political science, UNO; Dr. Halla Kim, associate professor of philosophy, UNO; Dr. Yongshi, Charles & Margre Durham Distinguished Professor of Information Technology, College of Information Science and Technology at UNO; as well as their wonderful staff members.
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