Pact reunites President McPhee with friend from
Confucius Institute’s founding
HANGZHOU, China — A new
agreement between Middle Tennessee State University and a Chinese science
university signed Thursday (May 12) allowed President Sidney A. McPhee to renew
an old friendship.
The pact with Zhejiang
University of Science and Technology allows MTSU to begin discussions about
student exchanges, joint faculty research and degree programs to help boost
international enrollment on the Murfreesboro campus.
It also allowed McPhee to
catch up with ZUST President Ye Gaoxiang, who led Hangzhou Normal
University in 2009 when it helped MTSU create its Confucius Institute. Ye
joined ZUST in 2013.
McPhee also lectured to
ZUST students interested in studying in the U.S. and Ye held a dinner at his
residence for the MTSU president.
“It is my great pleasure
to again partner with President Ye on what could be the beginning of a
fantastic relationship between our universities,” McPhee said.
“President Ye has been on
our campus many times, lectured to our students and stayed in my home. It is
wonderful to be reunited with him.”
Ye honored McPhee by
wearing a True Blue tie with a pattern of MTSU logos.
“My good friend,
President McPhee,” exclaimed Ye in English, when he walked into the signing ceremony.
ZUST, founded in 1980,
has an enrollment of more than 16,000 students. It has 10 bachelor's
degree and four master's degree programs, focusing primarily on sciences,
engineering, economics, marketing and digital media.
Ye said Zhejiang places a
priority on scientific research, boasting a variety of institutes, including
automation engineering and structural engineering, which aligns well with
MTSU's programs on mechatronics and concrete industry management.
ZUST boasts an
international population of about 1,000 students from more than 100 countries.
Its primary international ties are with Germany, with 25 partner institutions
in that country. It ranks No. 2 in China among universities with ties to
Germany.
However, during a
presentation to McPhee and his delegation, ZUST officials made clear that they
are eager to establish ties with American institutions. Of note was MTSU's new
$147 million Science Building, which opened in October 2014.
“We know you have a great
relationship with Hangzhou Normal,” said ZUST Vice President Yougu Zheng. “We
hope we can establish similar ties with our university.
“I think we need to
select some excellent students to come and study at MTSU.”
Ye said he hoped McPhee
would give ZUST students some encouragement about studying abroad, particularly
at MTSU.
“You will find our
students are excellent,” Ye said. “More and more students are going to study in
the United States. Please give them good suggestions.”
“Don't worry,” McPhee
said. “I will.”
McPhee’s visit to China
will include stops at several partner institutions, as well as a lecture in
Nanning to present MTSU’s ongoing research on the study of traditional Chinese
herbs for medicinal purposes.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday,
McPhee met with officials from Dongcheng Educational Group in Hangzhou to
discuss plans for a July trip to China by Rutherford County schoolchildren,
teachers and administrators. It will be the third such overseas trip that
McPhee and his wife, Elizabeth, will have coordinated.
“What makes these trips
different is that they are not vacations,” McPhee said to Dongcheng Board
Chairman Lin Zhengfan. “While we get to experience the culture, the majority of
our time is spent in classrooms, so that students and teachers from both
countries learn from each other.”
Lin also introduced
McPhee to about 30 Chinese schoolchildren who will visit the Murfreesboro
campus for English-language immersion training in July and August.
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