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Release
Hall Brings Models of Successful
University-Government Collaboration to China
UAlbany delegation joins
Arizona State, Ohio State to help create blueprint
for modernization of Chinese higher education
Contact:
Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980
ALBANY, N.Y. (May 26, 2005) -- President Kermit
L. Hall and University at Albany faculty will
join a delegation to Chengdu, Sichuan Province,
China to form an Institute of University Design
aimed at helping the higher education community
and government redefine the role of the modern
university in China. At the heart of the discussions
will be the role of the academic institutions
in regional economic development.
The formation
of the Institute is spearheaded by President
Michael Crow of Arizona State University,
at the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of
Education and President Xie Heping of Sichuan
University. Hall will be accompanied by Peter
Bloniarz, dean of the School of Information
Science and Policy and associate provost for
informatics, and Edward Cupoli, head of the
Nanoeconomics Constellation at the University's
College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.
"We've been asked to help rethink and
recast the universities in the province, and
also offer expertise on economic development
issues," said President Hall. "Our
inclusion in this group and the interest of
the Chinese in having us participate is a genuine
affirmation of the growing international stature
of the University at Albany."
The group departs on Friday, May 27 and will
engage in meetings through June 2, joined by
representatives from such institutions as Ohio
State University, Louisiana State University,
Colorado State University-Pueblo, University
of Idaho, and some two dozen Chinese universities.
The UAlbany delegation stop in Hong Kong to
meet with officials from Hong Kong University
and with Professor Chris Smith of the UAlbany
Department of Geography and Planning and informatics
faculty, who is on sabbatical at Chinese University.
Among the themes the Chinese government seeks
to tackle are human capital building and training
for emerging industries, entrepreneurial collaboration
between universities and local or regional
government, use-inspired research and technology
transfer, sustainability and environmental
protection, fostering innovation, and addressing
diverse local needs.
Hall will lead the discussion "The Role
of the University in Local and Regional Economic
Development -- Universities and Government." He
will emphasize the key role the University
at Albany has played in developing partnerships
with state government, citing existing examples
from Albany NanoTech and the College of Nanoscale
Science and Engineering, as well as the University's
IT Commons initiative.
The president, a constitutional scholar and
author of The Oxford Companion
to the Supreme Court of the United States, will also give
a presentation on the U.S. Supreme Court to
students at Sichuan University.
Ultimately, the Institute of University Design
plans to expand engagement to other nations
and public universities, and the May-June forum
will focus on the production of a "toolkit" for
innovative public university design. The book,
the Institute's first publication, will comprise
chapters by each of the U.S. and selected Chinese
university presidents, and will be distributed
internationally.
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