Southern Arkansas University played host in December to six delegates from Guizhou Normal University (GZNU) in Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province in southwest China. The purpose of the visit was to sign an agreement between the two universities to develop a future exchange program for students. This is expected to happen within about a year.
The delegation was met in Little Rock by Dr. Charles A. Keller, associate professor, Department of History and Political Science. After a brief tour of SAU, the delegation met with Dr. David Rankin, president of SAU and Dr. Brian Canfield, vice president for Academic Affairs. The delegation also met with Dr. Kim Bloss, dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Penny Lyons, director of International Student Services and SAU International Students. Later, they were treated to Magnolia’s version of Chinese cuisine at the China Star Restaurant.
The following day was spent at the Business/Agri. Business Building touring, observing, and meeting with various professors including: Dr. Lisa Toms, dean of the College of Business; Dr. Limount Zhao, professor of Accounting, Finance, and Economics; Dr. Zaidy Mohdzain, dean of the College of Education; and Dr. Joe Winstead, dean of the College of Science and Technology; and were hosted by both Rankin and Canfield at a formal lunch in the Reynolds Center.
GZNU has a business program, but no Masters of Business Administration degree (MBA), so the delegation was very optimistic about the MBA as well as the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) programs at SAU.
The Chinese delegation was composed of six people, five of whom are from GZNU. The delegation included: Li Cunxiong, vice president; Yang Shaoxian, professor, dean of the College of International Tourism and Culture; Pei Jun, associate professor, deputy director of the Department of International Relations; Zhu Weihau, deputy director, Department of Language Arts; and Zhang Xiaosong, professor, College of International Tourism and Culture and her husband, Zhang Shijun, retired vice president.
Guizhou Normal University, founded in 1941 as Guiyang Teacher’s College, is a leading teacher’s university with 50 undergraduate majors and 39 master’s degree programs. Well-known and respected throughout Western China, it draws students from 28 provinces of China as well as international students from several countries and regions, including the USA, UK, Korea, Japan, Holland, France, Nigeria and other nations. It has an enrollment of more than 16,163 students and approximately 1,991 faculty members.
GZNU has the many facilities of a modern city available. There are new buildings for the arts, multi-media and modern language labs, as well as a new gymnasium and athletic field. The GZNU Library is one of the largest in the province with more than 1,878,000 volumes. Recently, China’s central government implemented its “Western Development” program.
Vice President Li and the entire delegation from GZNU are very enthusiastic about working with SAU in the future. They were impressed with the southern hospitality and expressed gratitude for how well they were treated while in Magnolia and at SAU.
