President Looks to Expand University's Far East Connections

By Daniel Walsch

George Mason President Alan Merten is China-bound. For three weeks this fall, Merten travels to the Far East to raise the university's international profile and help strengthen and explore new educational links with institutions in China, Korea, and Taiwan. He will be meeting with representatives from universities, business, and government; community leaders; Mason graduates; and even prospective students.

His itinerary includes stops in Shanghai and Beijing, China; Seoul and Busan, Korea; and Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan. “This is a great opportunity for George Mason to further solidify the many partnerships our faculty has been creating,” says Merten. “I am looking forward to helping give this significant aspect of our institution greater visibility.”

As is the case with many large universities and colleges in the United States, according to Madelyn Ross, China coordinator in the Office of the Provost, Mason has developed a number of longstanding connections with the Far East over the past 20 years. These include everything from study-abroad programs, student and faculty exchanges, and joint research projects to cosponsorship of conferences and joint academic programs.

Ross, who assumed her coordinating position last year, says, “One of the exciting things about Mason's various Asia connections is that so many of our academic areas are represented.” These include the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education and Human Development, College of Nursing and Health Science, College of Visual and Performing Arts, School of Computational Sciences, School of Information Technology and Engineering, School of Management, School of Public Policy, and the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.

“Higher education in China is expanding rapidly, and many Chinese universities are reaching out to foreign schools to help strengthen course offerings and raise their prestige,” says Ross. “At the same time, Mason's own international vision is growing, particularly as it applies to the Far East. Currently, we have approximately 230 students from China and Taiwan, many in advanced graduate programs. And our Chinese language courses now enroll nearly 300 students.”