In late June, President Mary Sue Coleman and Provost Paul Courant led a delegation to China to finalize agreements for educational relationships with leading Chinese universities, and to further U-M’s century-long ties to the country. While there, President Coleman also received an honorary degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, only the second ever conferred by the 110-year-old institution.
“Cultural and economic globalization is our shared future,” Coleman says. “Collaborations between the University of Michigan and Chinese universities open opportunities for educating U.S. college graduates who are fluent in both languages and possess the skills for performing in a global economy. And these collaborations help us create global leaders who can translate our political and economic systems to their home countries.”
Agreements were finalized with three Chinese universities:
The U-M’s Center for Chinese Studies (CCS) is one of the largest and most diverse in the world outside China itself. Professors and Center associates include over 40 faculty members who have received awards in such fields as demography, sociology, social science, history, and Asian and Chinese studies.
The CCS faculty has an international reputation for government service. Three past directors or affiliated faculty members have served as special advisors to the President of the United States on national security and foregign policy.
The U-M Office in China (UMOIC) in Beijing was founded in 2003, and is supported jointly by the U-M Center for Chinese Studies and the International Institute. UMOIC maintains an independent computer server as well as a U-M mirror website in Chinese, and provides email service for all U-M faculty and students in China.