Jackson State University administrators hosted their sister Chinese institution, Nantong University, last week on the main campus to discuss their ongoing partnership and foreign exchange programs.
Dr. Evelyn J. Leggette, JSU’s provost and senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs, hails the relationship as one of JSU’s greatest collaborations.
“Jackson State University and Nantong University share common goals. We appreciate the commitment from our Chinese academic leaders in helping us to expand our reach so that the world can see that JSU acts locally and globally. Together, we are equipping students with the tools to compete successfully in a worldwide marketplace while broadening their cultural awareness about destinations beyond U.S. borders. The future of our students is promising, and the destiny of the world remains positive.”
Nantong’s delegation included its university president, Cheng Chun. Last year, the two institutions signed a formal memorandum of understanding.
At that time, Cheng said, “The university should act as a very important road in globalization. As educational sectors, both institutions play a very important role.” He said the success of the partnerships would depend significantly on “the educational departments and researchers of both universities.”
The collaboration between the institutions has been in place nearly a decade, and Dr. Thomas C. Calhoun, associate vice president for Academic and Student Affairs, describes the relationship as “outstanding because it fits in with the mission of JSU to train our students to become globally competent and prepare them for a diverse working environment.”
Calhoun said JSU collaborates with Nantong in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology; College of Education; and working on the College of Liberal Arts.
JSU’s academic programs graduate students of Nantong at all degree levels, and Calhoun said, “We look forward to increasing that number. We are establishing an exchange program where our students can go to Nantong University to study there.”
He indicated that JSU has 42 students from Nantong studying at the Mississippi urban institution. Along with that, he said JSU participates in faculty exchanges from the Department of English and Modern Foreign Languages.
Calhoun attributes the success of its ongoing relationship with Nantong to JSU Global, an initiative that allows JSU students to travel abroad to China and other geographical locations. Plans are in the works for greater expansion between JSU and Nantong.
“We’re currently partnering with them in an attempt to establish the first Confucius Institute,” said Calhoun, who predicts approval in early 2017 from the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning.
With the Confucius Institute, Calhoun said he expects business leaders and other industries to become exposed to the cultural practices of China while presenting our Chinese partners with opportunities available in Mississippi.
While JSU was formed in 1877, Nantong was developed in 1912. The Chinese institution – colloquially known as Tong da – is located in Nantong, Jiangsu province, China. It has 35,000 full-time students and collaborates with more than 50 other overseas universities, including such places as Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.