President Machtley to visit China to continue forging educational partnerships

President Machtley will be the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the annual Confucius Institute conference in Beijing.

Read a fact sheet about the trip

Bryant President Ronald K. Machtley will spend the next four days in China to continue to develop opportunities with education and business leaders there. Professor Hong Yang, director of Bryant’s U.S.-China Institute and the Confucius Institute, will also be traveling.

President Machtley will be the keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the annual Confucius Institute conference in Beijing. In attendance will be more than 2,000 leaders from around the world, including 200 presidents of institutions that host a Confucius Institute. The event, which will take place on Tuesday, December 9, will be held in the Great Hall of People at Tiananmen Square, the most widely recognized convention venue in China.

Trip highlights

Machtley and Yang will present the Bryant University U.S.-China Institute China Earthquake Relief Fund to Sichuan officials.
Bryant’s Confucius Institute submitted a proposal to Hanban, the Chinese government entity charged with promoting Mandarin education throughout the world, to create Confucius classrooms in public schools – two in Smithfield and one in North Attleboro. Smithfield Public School Superintendent Robert O’Brien and other schools administrators will join Machtley and Yang on visits to corporate, educational, and historical sites in China.
A sign will be unveiled recognizing the Jianchuan-Bryant Educational Center at the Jianchuan Museum Complex, the largest private museum in China. The idea for the educational partnership was developed last May when Fan Jianchuan, museum founder and president of the Jianchuan Group, was awarded an honorary degree at Bryant. During his visit, a memorandum of understanding was signed to create a student/faculty exchange program at one of his museums.

(L-R) Bryant President Ronald K. Machtley and Professor Hong Yang, director of Bryant’s U.S.-China Institute and the Confucius Institute.

“These partnerships will open more doors for students to experience what it’s like to study and live in China,” says Yang. “This immersion process is an invaluable learning opportunity for our students.”

Machtley and Yang will also meet with representatives of the Palace Museum (Forbidden City) about Bryant’s plans to create a replica of the Shu Fang Zhai building on campus. The replica will be the first built outside of China with the permission and cooperation of the Chinese government. Once completed, Bryant’s Shu Fang Zhai (pronounced SHOO FONG JAI) will become the new home of Bryant’s U.S.-China Institute.

During his visit to China, Machtley will stay in a historic hotel and sleep in a bed used by Chairman Mao and President George H.W. Bush.

Grand celebration

Machtley and Yang will meet with Hanban officials to finalize plans for a February event to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of the establishment of formal U.S.-China diplomacy. Activities will be held on the Bryant campus and in downtown Providence on February 6, and the program will be co-sponsored by Hanban, the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and the World Affairs Council of Rhode Island.