Inauguration an International Affair
Dr. Nguyen Trong Do, rector, Vietnam National University—International School, Hanoi.
The inauguration of Dr. Jorge L. Díaz-Herrera as Keuka College’s 19th president May 4 was truly an international affair.
Delegates and guests from a number of foreign countries traveled to Keuka Park for the ceremony including Madame Hiam Sakr, president of the American University of Science and Technology (AUST) in Beirut, Lebanon.
“I was honored that Madame Sakr and Dr. Nabeel Haidar, vice president for academic affairs at AUST, joined us for the celebration,” said Díaz-Herrera. “I am particularly pleased to have the pleasure of welcoming Madame president to Keuka Park and the Lucina, where she was the guest of honor at a small, family-oriented reception. In a short time, I have developed a real affinity for her school and Lebanon; quite simply, Beirut is a most enchanting place.” (more…)
What’s New: Keuka China Program
Currently, Li Sixian ’14 has no plans to study in Keuka Park, but if he finds his way here from Xiamen, China, he won’t have any trouble finding student employment in the alumni or development office.
He seems a natural for advancement work.
When asked what question he’d like to ask a Keuka Park student, Sixian, a Keuka China Program (KCP) student at Jimei University (JMU), came up with a pair.
“What did you learn from Keuka College?” said Sixian, and then, “What can you do for Keuka to make it better?” (more…)
His Energy Comes From Commencement Smiles
KM: What was it about Keuka College that convinced you that this partnership could work?
MH: We had the same mission and vision to create excellent educational opportunities for Chinese students. I discovered that Keuka College was student-centered and valued experiential education, which meshed with the focus of my professional career. Our partner relationship is interdependent; like “I need you as much as you need me.”
KM: Back in the formative stages KCP, did you ever envision that Keuka College would one day be the largest provider of an American education in China?
MH: No, but I am not surprised that it has. Keuka came into China at just the right time. It is a trend of the times.
(more…)
Collaboration with Malaysian University Taking Shape
During his recent trip to Malaysia, Dr. Gary Smith met with various UUM administrators, including Prof. Dato' Dr. Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, vice chancellor of the university.
A year after the start of preliminary talks and six months after the schools signed a memorandum of understanding, a collaboration between Keuka College and Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) is taking shape.
After a recent visit to Malaysia, Vice President for the Center of Professional Studies Dr. Gary Smith confirmed that three marketing students from UUM will enroll at Keuka College for the 2012 spring semester. (more…)
YUFE Marks 60th Anniversary
YUFE President Xiong Shuxin (l) receives a gift from Keuka President Dr. Jorge Díaz-Herrera and Vice President for the Center for Professional Studies Gary Smith.
One of Keuka College’s four partner universities in China—Yunnan University of Finance and Economics (YUFE)— recently marked its 60th anniversary.
Keuka President Dr. Jorge L. Díaz-Herrera, Vice President for the Center for Professional Studies Dr. Gary Smith, and Administrative Chancellor for China Campuses Dr. Michael Hwang were on hand for the celebration.
“It was a great opportunity for us to show our commitment to this relationship,” said Smith.
Jorge Díaz-Herrera; John Dai, CEO of TEI, Australia; Michael Hwang; Prof. Simon Jarvis, vice president of the University of Greenwich; and Gary Smith.
As part of the celebration, President Díaz-Herrera delivered a presentation on “Global Learning and Exploration: A Reality.”
“The internationalization of education is today an institutional imperative,” said the president. “Today’s graduates need skills that allow them to be resilient and agile, global, and cross-functional capable.”
Díaz-Herrera said a global higher education ecosystem was needed to provide all students “global intelligence,” and key components of that ecosystems are study and work abroad exchanges.
“That will help prepare graduates for success in a global society,” he said.
Meet New Faculty: Patricia Speers
Editor’s Note: This is the fifth in a series of profiles on new, full-time faculty members.
Patricia Speers can relate to the international students in her classes. English isn’t her native tongue either.
A French-speaking native of Belgium, Speers has taught ESL (English as a Second Language) to international students from China and Vietnam since early July, when Keuka’s first ESL Summer Institute program launched. The Institute was developed to better prepare undergraduate and graduate students entering Keuka’s international business programs to adjust to differences in the language and academic culture of an American classroom.
“I’m a language teacher. I tend to bring everything back to language, because what the international students are challenged with is language. That’s what causes communication problems or challenges in the classroom,” she explained.
Embracing China, Up-Close-and-Personal
Keuka junior Matt McFetridge said this man yelled “Hello!” as he bicycled down the street and asked if the two could snap a quick photo together. Often, the Chinese will be eager to speak with Westerners, McFetridge said.
In China, almost everything is different. There’s a premium on space, and the language is totally different, right down to the alphabet characters. But junior Matt McFetridge can’t wait to go back to China for his second semester as an exchange student.
While Keuka College has hosted several Chinese exchange students on its home campus in Keuka Park in recent years, McFetridge is the first Keuka student to study in China. McFetridge started classes Aug. 28, 2010 in what he calls the “Keuka corner” of the Yunnan University of Finance and Economics (YUFE) in Kunming, in the Yunnan province in the south central area of mainland China. YUFE is one of four Chinese universities that have partnered with Keuka College to offer Keuka business management degrees to Chinese students. McFetridge enrolled in business and marketing classes, where he found himself one of about 60 students and the only American student in the classroom. In his three other classes – Chinese history, comprehensive Chinese language, and a Chinese listening and speaking class – McFetridge was the sole student, something he relished because it forced him to improve at a new language, he said.
According to McFetridge, the “Keuka corner” of the YUFE campus has two academic buildings, an administrative building, and two dorms, all within the same amount of space as if between Lightner Library and Space Hall on the home campus. Beyond that area, however, the rest of the YUFE campus is “absolutely huge, five to seven times the size of Keuka,” he said.
At first, he would need Chinese friends to help him communicate with the locals, or to pay for a package of Oreo cookies in a campus store, for example. The fun really started when he ventured off-campus to explore nearby parts of the city.
Chinese Delegation Visits Campus
A three-member delegation from Tianjin University of Science and Technology (TUST)—one of the Keuka’s partner universities in China—visited the Keuka Park campus Oct. 28-29.
From left: Wu Zhenjun, director of international services and dean of international students at TUST; Wendy Gaylord, dean of China programs; Anne Weed, vice president for academic affairs; Li Xuyan, chairman of the TUST Council; Gary Smith, vice president, Center for Professional Studies; and Ma Lei, director of the president's office at TUST.
The delegation included Dr. Li Xuyan, chairman of the TUST Council; professor Wu Zhenjun, director of international services and dean for international students; and Dr. Ma Lei, director of the president’s office.
The group met with Dr. Anne Weed, vice president for academic affairs; Dr. Gary Smith, vice president for the Center for Professional Studies; and other members of the College community to discuss current and future cooperation between the two institutions. (more…)
Center for Global Education Stages Open House
The Center for Global Education showed off its new Allen Hall digs earlier this week at an open house.
Vernon Larson, associate vice president of the Center, welcomed guests along with Yang Zhao, adviser to international students (left) and Wendy Gaylord, dean for China Programs.
International Experience
Dean for International Programs Wendy Gaylord lived in Indonesia for 25 years.
“I worked for the National Planning Agency, National Institute for Public Administration and other agencies on projects funded by the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British Council,” said Gaylord. “The projects all had the goal of improving Indonesian education and human resources planning. I worked with great Indonesian colleagues at universities and government agencies and always hoped I helped make a small impact on improving education quality.”
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