CONWAY, Ark. (Aug. 7, 2009) – This afternoon, 38 students graduated from the second annual Hendrix-coordinated Summer Language Institute. The nine-week institute, hosted by Heilongjiang University in Harbin, China, provides students with an intensive language immersion experience in either intermediate or advanced Mandarin.
The selective program is funded by the U.S. Department of State, via the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC). The CAORC designated $1,110,000 to the Associated Colleges of the South to conduct two institutes in China, and ACS members Hendrix College and Furman University were chosen to facilitate those institutes. Furman’s takes place at Soochow University in Suzhou.
The Summer Language Institutes are part of the State Department’s push to help students learn “critical languages” such as Mandarin and Arabic. All expenses are paid for the students, including international airfare, room and board. In exchange, the students pledge to speak only Mandarin while in China.
Heilongjiang University, known for its excellence in teaching Mandarin to international students, offers a staff of 10 highly qualified language instructors, 12 teaching assistants and a resident dormitory advisor. Institute students live in the dormitories, eat on campus and take numerous excursions into Harbin as well as one longer trip to various sites around China.
So far more than 78 graduate and undergraduate students from around the country have participated, coming from a wide range of universities, including Princeton, Stanford, Georgetown University, Washington University and the University of Arkansas. Many use their language skills to pursue careers in government service, non-profit work, education and business.
"Hendrix has always been proud to help train leaders in international relations,” said Jay McDaniel, professor of religion. “It is now playing a small but important role in helping American citizens better know their Chinese friends across the Pacific. This is what liberal education is all about: building bridges between nations and encouraging cross-cultural communication."
From the Hendrix side, the language program is coordinated by director of international programs Peter Gess, assistant professor of history Han Zhao, and McDaniel. Xuelai Qiu serves as an assistant to the Hendrix directors, and Hendrix-in-China liaison Shane Nunn leads the mid-semester trip.
On the Heilongjiang side, the institute is directed by Xiaoguang Zhang, director of the department of foreign affairs, and co-directed by Wang Guowen, director international education programs.
Hendrix, founded in 1876, is an undergraduate liberal arts college emphasizing experiential learning in a demanding yet supportive environment. The college is among 371 colleges featured in the 2010 edition of the Princeton Review America’s Best Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.