Articles tagged with "international visitors"

Special to the China Post --University of Iowa President Sally Mason led a delegation to Taiwan last month, meeting with several local university heads to discuss interschool cooperation and to promote international cultural exchanges.

There is a long history of Chinese students at the University of Iowa, Mason said, adding that two education ministers from the Republic of China — Yen Cheng-hsin and Wu Ching — graduated from the university.

President Sally Mason says that while University of Iowa officials are not planning to increase student enrollment, the university will continue to pursue international relations and make connections with alumni and prospective students overseas.

China may lie 7,500 miles away from Iowa City as the dragon flies, but walk around the University of Iowa campus during the school year and you’ll overhear myriad conversations taking place in Mandarin, Cantonese, and other Asian languages and dialects.

Asia, and China in particular, not only has the fastest-growing economy in the world but is home to a large number of students, scientists, artists, and educators who flock to Iowa City to study, conduct research, and forge important partnerships. More than half (53.7 percent) of the UI’s total international student population last year—more than 3,200 in all—came from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and more than 90 percent of all UI undergraduate international students in fall 2011 were from East and Southeast Asia, far outpacing the national average.

Iowa City has been welcoming people from all across the globe for years. Various cultures are orchestrated beautifully in this city and enrich its cultural heritage. This summer, the International Writing Program is bringing younger writers, between the ages of 16 and 19, from Russia and Arabic-speaking countries to the University of Iowa for their Between the Lines (BTL). Students participating in BTL will study creative writing and will be able to experience American culture during a two week stay at the university.

Why should the president of the University of Iowa—an institution serving the people of the state—travel so far from Iowa? The international connections we have established are an integral part of the future successes of the University, and this trip is an important investment to advance these successes for the benefit of the University and the entire state of Iowa.

Today, as never before, the University of Iowa must function as a global institution in order to fulfill its core missions of teaching, research, and public service in Iowa. As business leaders across the state recognize, what we think of as local is fully tied to global processes and trends.

With more than 1,700 University of Iowa students hailing from China, UI President Sally Mason and a number of university officials will travel to Asia in hopes of establishing new relationships and strengthening existing ties with alumni.

Mason will travel to Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing in China, and Taipei, Taiwan, from July 1-9. A handful of UI officials will accompany Mason on the trip, including Provost P. Barry Butler and UI Foundation President Lynette Marshall.