Release
Party Secretary Li
Yuanchao of China Tours UAlbany's College of
Nanoscale Science and Engineering as Part of
Economic Development Mission
Li Addresses School of Business Graduates at
Commencement Ceremony;
University announces agreement for men's
basketball team to play in China
Contact: Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980
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UAlbany President Kermit L.
Hall, center, accepts a gift from Party
Secretary Li Yuanchao of Jiangsu Province. |
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ALBANY, N.Y. (May 22, 2006) -- The University at Albany welcomed Li Yuanchao, party secretary of Jiangsu Province in China, to address the School of Business commencement ceremony and tour UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. Secretary Li brought a delegation from Jiangsu Province on an economic development tour, which included stops in New York City and Albany. University at Albany President Kermit L. Hall and State University of New York Chancellor John R. Ryan were on hand to greet Secretary Li's delegation. Hall also announced that UAlbany's 2006 America East Champion men's basketball team is planning to tour China and play Chinese university teams.
"This is a fortuitous time for Secretary Li to address our School of Business students and faculty, given the remarkable economic expansion of China and its accelerating emphasis on higher education," said Hall.
Secretary Li is the highest-ranking official of Jiangsu Province, home to the cities of Nanjing and Suzhou and approximately 75 million people. Jiangsu Province is also home to several major research universities, including Nanjing University, which the University at Albany is currently partnering with to develop an international education center. While in New York City, Secretary Li signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ryan, to partner with SUNY. He also met with Governor George Pataki and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
President Hall has focused on China in his endeavors to internationalize UAlbany as a higher education institution. On May 11, Hall signed a comprehensive agreement with President Lizhong Yu from East China Normal University (ECNU) to expand research collaborations, joint degree and curricular programs, and provide regular student and faculty exchanges. The University has also entered collaborations with Fudan University, Sichuan University, and Nanjing University in Jiangsu Province. UAlbany will host 150 students from China in the summer of 2006, as well as 30 university presidents from throughout Jiangsu Province.
UAlbany is developing research collaborations with Chinese universities in nanoscale science and technology, atmospheric sciences, East Asian studies, life sciences, urban studies, education, social welfare and public policy, computing and information science, and information science-related business disciplines among others. UAlbany's Atmospheric Sciences Research Center has reached a research agreement with Wuhan University, through the effort of ASRC director and Ray Falconer Endowed Chair in atmospheric sciences Kenneth L. Demerjian.
The University also conducts exchange programs with colleges in Brazil, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Israel, Japan, Russia, Thailand, Tanzania and the United Arab Emirates. Blanca M. Ramos, education core director of the Center for the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities at UAlbany and associate professor of the School of Social Welfare has initiated exchange programs for study, research, and teaching with several universities in Peru beginning in 2002, including the Universidad Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo in Chiclayo, and the Pontificia Universidad Cat�lica del Per� in Lima. In 2006, Hall signed cooperative agreements with the Universidad de Piura and the Universidad Nacional de Piura, the two largest universities in the northern city of Piura, Peru.
