Suny Hosts Undergraduates From Sichuan Province, China

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1st August 2008, 07:24am - Views: 732





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SUNY Hosts Undergraduates From Sichuan Province, China


ALBANY, New York, August 1 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --


           Program to Train Young Leaders to Rebuild Earthquake-ravaged

                     Communities and Sino-U.S. Links


    Twenty two campuses of the State University of New York’s 64-campus system are

opening their doors for the next year to 150 Chinese undergraduate students from the

Sichuan Province of western China, site of a massive earthquake in May. The majority of

these students come from 40 counties around Wenchuan, the center of the quake.

 

    The students, primarily sophomores and juniors, will study for two semesters as full-

time students at SUNY state-operated and community college campuses, beginning this

fall. The goal is to build a team of young leaders based on their common experiences in

the U.S. 


    When they return to China, these talented men and women from diverse Chinese

ethnic groups will help re-build the local economy and infrastructure in the region

impacted by the earthquake. Each student has committed to return to China upon

completion of the program in May/June 2009 and to a period of national service in

Sichuan to help with the rebuilding effort. 


    SUNY students and faculty will benefit from the presence of the Chinese students, who

will contribute to the growing global presence of the State University and lead to long-term

friendships and important connections between communities in New York and China. 


    “On behalf of all New Yorkers, we are pleased to welcome these students to our State

University system and to ensure that there is no interruption in their college studies

despite the tragic natural disaster that hit Chengdu in May,” said New York Governor


150. “SUNY will provide these students with valuable leadership training, which will help

prepare them to return to China to assist with rebuilding efforts and the aftermath of the

earthquake. SUNY’s deep educational ties with China allow our state university

campuses to play a global role -- and to be at the forefront of international educational

experiences.”


    “The State University of New York has a long and mutually productive relationship with

a number of Chinese Universities, particularly in Jiangsu Province,” said Carl Hayden,

Chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees. “This initiative further strengthens SUNY’s ties

to China even as it provides desperately needed humanitarian support for students from

Sichuan Province displaced by the devastating earthquake of last May.  It enjoys support

at the highest levels of both the Chinese government and our own.”


    “We see this program (the SUNY China 150 Program) not only as a way to grow

educational cooperation and exchanges with SUNY, but also as a critical first step in

helping to expand mutually beneficial economic and commercial relations between

Sichuan Province and New York State,” said Wang Fengxiong, Vice Director of the

Education Department of Sichuan Province.


    “SUNY has been collaborating with Chinese universities for more than 25 years,” said

Interim Chancellor Dr. John B. Clark. “I commend Governor Paterson for his support of

People Education State University Of New York 2 image

China 150 and thank each of the SUNY campuses for their participation in this most

important international initiative.”


    “Broadening our international relationship with China benefits SUNY and New York

State, as it will benefit the rebuilding effort in the Sichuan province,” said Dr. Denis Simon,

provost at SUNY’s Neil D. Levin Graduate Institute of International Relations and

Commerce in New York City and one of the organizers of the initiative. “Using education

and partnership in response to such a disaster seemed a natural for SUNY.” 


    Read the entire press release at


31%20final%20China%20150.htm

.



     SOURCE:    State University of New York


     CONTACT:  Megan Galbraith

               Office of Public Relations of the State University of New York, 

               +1-518-443-5311

               Megan.Galbraith@suny.edu




  

               http://www.suny.edu








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