Dean Kummler travels to China with other WSU officials seeking educational partnerships

A delegation of Wayne State University faculty and officials is traveling this month to China to meet with university and government officials. Wayne State University is expanding its broad global education programs through new collaborations with several Chinese universities. The trip is intended to boost the university's international enrollment, solidify relationships with Chinese universities and create opportunities for Wayne State students to study abroad.

"Wayne State has a rich tradition of providing learning opportunities for international students," said Wayne State President Irvin D. Reid. "As we meet with Chinese leaders, educators and students, and as we initiate joint programs, access for our own students and faculty will expand significantly. The programs that ensue from these visits will help prepare our students for careers in an increasingly interconnected world."

Wayne State has strong ties to China through its international student body. From January 2000 through June 2005, 123 Chinese students received PhD's from Wayne State, for about 11 percent of total graduates. The delegation's visit to China is expected to assist with the recruitment of additional Chinese students to Wayne State. Moreover, this is seen as an important component of the university's increasing activity abroad designed to prepare students for globalization.

Historically, the university had early connections to China through Leonard Woodcock, a member of Wayne State's Board of Governors from 1959 to 1972. Woodcock, former president of the United Auto Workers, also was an envoy and served as the first United States ambassador to China from 1979-1981. He was instrumental in establishing normalized diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

A major accomplishment during the China trip is the completion of an agreement with officials of Tongji (Tong-jee) University in Shanghai. This agreement will stimulate shared academic and corporate research, and enable students from the Chinese university to earn a master's degree in engineering from Wayne State University.

The agreement, which begins in fall 2006, involves Tongji University's School of Economics and Management, its College of Civil Engineering and Wayne State's College of Engineering. Reid described the initiative as "a major global partnership between Wayne State University and Tongji University that will open the door to new educational opportunities for students in both China and the United States."

After completing 12 credits of course work at Tongji, Chinese graduate students may transfer those credits to Wayne State and take 20 additional credits in such subjects as civil and environmental engineering; electrical and computer engineering; mechanical engineering and industrial and manufacturing engineering. These students will receive master's degrees from Wayne State upon completion of the program.

Ralph Kummler, dean of Wayne State's College of Engineering, said the agreement makes sense and has promise because Tongji is an urban institution just like Wayne State and has an excellent reputation in engineering. "This program adheres to Wayne State's global mission and will enable our students and faculty to engage with the students from Tongji," Kummler said. "Our goal in the next five years is to bring 200 students to Wayne State from Tongji."

Hilary Ratner, dean of the Graduate School, added that the drop in international students following 9/11 hit many of Wayne State University's graduate programs very hard, similar to other universities around the country. "The agreement that President Reid and President Gang Wan of Tongji University will sign will form a template for rebuilding our international enrollments at all levels that could serve as a model for recruiting students from other countries such as India," Ratner said.

In addition to the memorandum of understanding with Tongji, members of Wayne State's delegation will meet with representatives of Fudan University in Shanghai and Tsinghua (Ching-wah) University in Beijing to explore similar collaborative programs.

Wayne State University and Fudan University are both major research universities located in large metropolitan areas. They share a prior affiliation agreement to assist each other in understanding how to solve the challenges associated with urban environments.

Representatives from Tsinghua University and Wayne State also are discussing the possibility of joint academic programs. Tsinghua is known as the "MIT of China."

Wayne State University already is involved with Tsinghua University regarding the "Poverty Alleviation through Education Project," an innovative scholarship program partnering American and Chinese students. This summer, students from Wayne State will be among a group of 50 Americans helping launch this project to deliver educational resources to the poorest regions of China. Students from the two nations will learn about each other's cultures while working in various E-Learning Centers throughout China. These E-Learning Centers provide Web-based training, online study, and instruction to under-served areas of the Chinese countryside via the Internet.

During the delegation's visit, members of Wayne State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Office of International Programs will be visiting E-Learning Center sites and examining the potential for expanding the program in China. Tsinghua University is administering the program and The Wang Foundation is a co-sponsor. The Wang Foundation was established by Wayne State alumni Peter and Grace Wang.

Wayne State also has been operating its own "Summer Home-Stay Program - China" which places students in rural areas of China that are not well-known or tourist attractions. This gives students the opportunity to experience life as do most Chinese, who live in the countryside. Since the program's inception in 2004, approximately 10 students have participated.

"Wayne State University and the Department of Near Eastern Asian Studies, through involvement in student service learning projects and rural home-stay experiences, expects in coming years to stimulate growth in study abroad programs," said Robert Thomas, dean of Wayne State's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.