November 2002

UNF launches exchange program with China

By INGRID ROEBUCK
Contributing Writer

From left, Jeff Michelman, BSFLU Associate Dean Xiaomu Li, Mauricio Gonzalez, BSFLU Dean Yuliang Li, Jeff Steagall, Earle Traynham, BSFLU Associate Dean Yuan Bai, and a BSFLU student.

UNF's international academic outreach now stretches as far as China with the signing of a faculty/student exchange agreement between the University's Coggin College of Business Administration and the Beijing Second Foreign Language University.

The agreement allows for student/faculty exchanges to begin as early as the spring 2003 semester, according to Dr. Jeffrey Michelman, CCOBA associate dean and director of graduate studies, and Dr. Jeff Steagall, director for the Center for International Business Studies.

Michelman, Steagall, CCOBA Dean Earle Traynham, and Vice President for Student Affairs Mauricio Gonzalez recently returned from a visit to China to begin work on implementing the agreement. The trip was also an effort to ensure Beijing officials that UNF was serious about its commitment. "This is part of the Chinese culture," explained Steagall. "We're sending signals here."

The agreement, which was signed by representatives of both universities earlier this year, covers a period of five years and is another significant step in UNF's efforts to bolster the University's international reputation.
"International agreements between universities have the potential of producing well-prepared students with a broad view of the world around them," said Gonzalez. "This of course translates to students that can play a key role in the progress of international businesses and other disciplines." Dr. Tim Robinson, director of UNF's International Center, plans to meet with other UNF faculty to determine the level of interest for additional exchanges with BSFLU, Gonzalez added.

The idea of an exchange agreement began after both Traynham and Steagall met Yuliang Li, dean of the BSFLU School of International Economics and Business, in 1995. Li visited UNF as a Fulbright scholar. From there, the idea blossomed into an agreement that will allow both students and faculty from each university to learn and teach in very different environments. Li will return to UNF in November to talk about his school and what it has to offer.

In addition, Michelman said, a group of about 20 MBA students from UNF will go to BSFLU for a 10-day study abroad experience in March. After the students return, Michelman and Steagall said, they plan to use the students as ambassadors to encourage other students to take advantage of the opportunity to study in China.

"They (the CCOBA student body) are concerned about the language. They are concerned about the culture and they just don't realize the benefit of it," said Steagall. "We think we do a really good job in class and we do. But there's no experience that will be as life-changing as going abroad... We all make assumptions about places and people. That's why they have to go. You don't have those assumptions anymore,"
said Steagall.