Confucius Institute a coup for KU

Nancy Hope, Bill Tsutsui and Sheree Willis

When the president of China visited Seattle last month, guests overheard the governor of Washington making a pitch for a Confucius Institute in her state. Little did she know that the University of Kansas was set to open the nation's fourth Confucius Institute, joining three others in or near New York, Chicago, Washington D.C.

KU and China's Ministry of Education dedicated a Confucius Institute at KU's Edwards Campus in Overland Park this month. China's vice minister for education, Wu Qidi, lead a Chinese delegation to KU May 4 for a dedication ceremony that featured Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, g'80, and Chancellor Robert E. Hemenway.

"KU was one of the first universities in this nation to establish direct exchange programs in China," Hemenway said. "This will give this state and region a competitive advantage now as China is emerging as a leading economic force in the world."

Chinese delegation led by Vice Minister Wu Qidi, second from left, tours the Lawrence campus.

The Confucius Institute at KU will serve communities, businesses, schools, governments, nonprofit organizations and the media throughout Kansas, the Great Plains region and the U.S. by offering community-based Chinese language instruction, providing professional development for Chinese language teachers and promoting outreach programs on Chinese culture. KU's Confucius Institute will occupy several offices in Regnier Hall and start offering courses this fall.

With a booming economy, China has rapidly risen up the ranks in the past few years to become the third leading buyer of Kansas products. The country purchased more than $300 million in Kansas goods and services in 2005, according to the state's Department of Commerce.

Formal portrait of entire Chinese and KU delegations at dedication ceremony in Regnier Hall auditorium on the KU Edwards Campus.

China plans to create 100 Confucius Institutes worldwide by 2010 to increase trade and tourism and encourage better understanding of Chinese language and culture. The first three Confucius Institutes in the U.S. opened at the University of Maryland, the Chicago Public Schools system and New York's China Institute.

KU, which enrolls more than 200 Chinese students, was selected as a site because of "its historic commitment to studying China and its extensive outreach programs related to East Asia," said Bill Tsutsui, who will serve as the institute's executive director.

Tsutsui is an associate professor of history and director of KU's Freeman Foundation Undergraduate Asian Studies Initiative programs and the Kansas Consortium for Teaching About Asia at the KU Center for East Asian Studies in Lawrence. Assisting Tsutsui will be associate executive directors Nancy Hope, g'93, and Sheree Willis. Hope is the associate director of KU's Kansas Consortium for Teaching about Asia, Kansas Asia Scholars and Kansas Asia Community Connection. Willis is the China program director for the Kansas Asia Scholars program. She was previously a Chinese-English interpreter and translator for more than 10 years and a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State.

"The institute's public programs in Chinese language, culture and business practices will help Kansans master the challenges and opportunities of our increasingly integrated world," Tsutsui said.

Bill Tsutsui, executive director of the KU Confucius Institute, speaks during the dedication ceremony May 4 at Edwards Campus.

For more information, visit www.confucius.ku.edu and http://www.oread.ku.edu/Oread06/Apr24/confucius.shtml