On March 22nd to March 26th, Wen Xingsheng, secretary of the Party Committee of the school, led a delegation to visit the following campuses: Auburn University at Montgomery, University of Montevallo, and St. Clair College of Canada. They met and exchanged ideas with each other andenhanced mutual trust regarding the joint undergraduate education program,the development of AUM Confucius Institute, and communications between teachers and students.
On the morning of March 22,Wen Xingsheng met with Professor Carl A. Stockton, the president of Auburn University at Montgomery. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the leaders of two universities since professor Stockton became the president. The two sides respectively introduced the development of the school, and conducted in-depth discussions on deepening joint undergraduate education programs in information management and information systems and expanding other cooperative projects. Mr. Wen said that both sides have a good foundation for cooperation so that we can explore further cooperation and strengthen the promotion for existing cooperative projects. We will spare no effort to promote and are full of confidence in carrying out more extensive cooperation which is beneficial to the growth of students between both parties. Wen Xingsheng and Stockton signed a supplementary agreement to carry out joint undergraduate education programs in information management and information systems.
Wen Xingsheng attended the sixth board meeting of the Confucius Institute at Auburn University at Montgomery. He listened to the Confucius Institute's work report for 2017, reviewed the work plan and budget for 2018, and met Mr. Marinal Varma, the board chairman of the Confucius Institute, and Mrs. Shanta Varma ,the dean of AUMCI. The board members included: Mr. Y.T. Tsai, Mrs. Chen Shaojuan, etc. Mr. Wen expressed sincere gratitude to all the board members for their hard work in the development of the Confucius Institute. He hoped to further strengthen the mission of Confucius Institutes and use it as a link to enhance Sino-US cultural exchanges. Through activities in schools and local communities, Confucius Institute has been well integrated intothe community, and will further expand the impact and promote Chinese culture.
On the morning of March 23, Wen Xingsheng and his entourage visited our students studying at Auburn University at Montgomery to learn more about their study and life in the United States. He said that during the adjustments and efforts in their first half year in America, the students worked hard and overcame many difficulties, and now become more independent and confident. Wen Xingsheng emphasized that obtaining a high-quality learning experiences is an important point for internationalization process. He asked the program-related schools and departments continue to be problem solving-oriented and goal-oriented, improve management and organization skills, and consolidate and develop the cooperation projects, thus effectively benefiting students and maximizing their prospective.
During his visit to the Auburn University at Montgomery, Wen Xingsheng and his delegation also visited the Vice Provost Sameer Pande and the Dean of Business School Rhea Lngram to make detailed teaching arrangements for this semester.
Wen Xingsheng visited the University of Montevallo on the afternoon of March 23, and visited the St. Clair College of Canada on the morning of the 26th. This is the first time that the university has conducted exchange activities with the two universities. Wen Xingsheng respectively met Jim McDonalds, Vice President of the University of Montevallo, and Ronald Seguin, Vice President of St. Clair College, introduced the basic situation of the school, expressed their willingness to cooperate and communicate, signed a memorandum of understanding, and opened up a good beginning for cooperation between the schools
This visit to United States and Canada is not only a relay journey, but also a journey of deepening cooperation and a journey of exploration. It is of great significance to introduce more high-quality international cooperation resources and accelerate the progress of school internationalization.