MU celebrated the opening of the Confucius Institute on Friday with a musical concert in the morning and an opening ceremony in the afternoon.
At the opening, Chancellor Brady Deaton, Senator Kit Bond, and former Governor Bob Holden, who is the chairman of the MidWest US-China Association, spoke about the benefits of opening a Confucius Institute at MU.
The Confucius Institute is a program started by the Chinese government that promotes Chinese language and culture learning, economic understanding and research opportunities. The program is non-profit and is funded by the Chinese Ministry of Education. There are currently 82 other Confucius Institutes in the United States, and there are many others around the world.
The Confucius Institute is collaborative and pairs MU with Shanghai Normal University. Students from SHNU performed traditional folk music at both ceremonies, and SHNU President Jin Li spoke at the opening ceremony.
“The world needs to understand each other and the countries need to communicate with each other,” Li said through a translator. “People from different countries need to improve their friendship, and the universities need to have cultural collaboration.”
MU went through a yearlong application process in order to receive a Confucius Institute.
“We would not have been as competitive had it not been for the work the J School did,” said Handy Williamson, vice provost for International Programs at MU. “The ties built a foundation of understanding between our countries.”
During the opening ceremony a slide show was presented to explain the long history that MU has with China. Since the 1920’s, MU and specifically the School of Journalism have had a close relationship with the Chinese government. The 600-year-old stone lions outside of the J School are symbolic of this and were given to MU by the Chinese government in 1931. MU alumnus and journalist Edgar Snow’s work in China also solidified the relationship.
Being chosen by the Chinese government to have a Confucius Institute is a high honor for MU, said Wen Ouyang from the Office of Vice Provost for International Programs. She also said it will benefit the university and Columbia in many ways.
The institute will provide and fund Chinese language teachers for MU and Columbia K-12 schools. The institute will also train Chinese language instructors and provide teaching resources, and provide information and consultative services on Chinese education, culture and economy.
This institute will also promote MU’s international relations, hopefully increasing the number of international students in the future and providing more opportunities for MU students to study abroad.
“We are neighbors, whether we are separated by the Pacific Ocean or not,” Bond said.