WM Will Add Chinese Language Institute

By Amber Lester Kennedy Wednesday, August 24, 2011

The College of William and Mary announced Tuesday the formation of a new institute to promote the Chinese language and culture.

The William & Mary Confucius Institute (WMCI) is a collaborative program in partnership with Beijing Normal University (BNU) and the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban). Through the new institute, the college will offer Chinese language and culture courses, provide teacher training and support study abroad. The institute will also be a partnership between local school districts and educational opportunities with higher education institutions throughout Virginia.

“We are delighted to partner with Beijing Normal University and to prepare our students to be leaders in a rapidly changing global society,” said Provost Michael Halleran in a press release. “By fusing together some of our strongest academic assets, and at the same time, showcasing the college’s role as a resource for the Commonwealth, the Confucius Institute is an obvious next step to enhancing William & Mary’s international reach.”

Beijing Normal University is one of the top 10 universities in China. The university, founded in 1902, started its Confucius Institute program in 2004. Today, more than 300 institutes have been opened worldwide, including at George Mason University, the University of Maryland and North Carolina State University.

Hanban, the Beijing-based agency that oversees the institutes, provided $150,000 in start-up funds and will also provide annual support for the institute, which will be located on campus close to the Wendy and Emery Reves Center for International Studies.

Two Beijing Normal University professors and three graduate teaching assistants will be sent to William & Mary annually to teach Chinese language and cultural courses at the college and in the community. One of the professors will serve as the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute and work closely with a William & Mary faculty member who will serve as director of the institute. An advisory board of faculty and staff will select the director.

The Institute will also serve the region’s K-12 schools by providing certified teaching training and professional development for Chinese language teachers. The institute will also assist in offering language courses in Williamsburg-James City County middle and high schools, and also in the larger community.

The college has offered its Chinese Language and Culture program for more than three decades. This fall, the college also launches the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies program, a multidisciplinary initiative teaching both the languages and cultures of the regions.

The college plans to host an opening ceremony for the institute in early 2012.