Office of Public Relations:                                           For more information, contact: Stephen E. Snyder

(229) 931-2028                                                                         (229) 931-2037 ssnyder@canes.gsw.edu

(229) 931-2072 fax

____________________________________________________________________________

Mar. 13, 2009

GSW, Chinese university form partnership

                 AMERICUS—Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is expanding academic opportunities across the globe. Recently, representatives from Liaoning University of International Business and Economics (LUIBE) in Dalian, China visited GSW. Visitors included LUIBE President Lu Hong Jun, Ph.D., Mr. Wang Long Long and GSW liaison Lynn Holmes, Ph.D, former president of Brewton Parker College in Mount Vernon. They came to further cultivate the relationship between the two institutions.

            Beginning fall 2009, LUIBE students with undergraduate degrees will have the ability to attend Georgia Southwestern and earn either a master’s in business administration or a master’s in computer information systems. The University anticipates as many as 12 to 15 new students from LUIBE. They will join the large group of Chinese students already here, pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees. Faculty exchanges are a part of the collaboration, as well.

            “The Chinese students are well qualified students,” said GSW Director of International Studies Lynda Lee Purvis. “They are diligent and committed to being successful academically.”

            According to Purvis, having foreign classmates is beneficial to all Georgia Southwestern students.

            “It helps internationalize our campus,” said Purvis. “Interacting with students from different cultures gives our students a chance to participate in global learning without having to leave GSW’s campus.”

            Including LUIBE, Georgia Southwestern has collaborations with 20 Chinese universities, some for graduate degrees in business and computer science and others for undergraduate degrees.

            Southwestern President Kendall A. Blanchard, Ph.D. and his wife, Connie Blanchard, Ph.D., visited seven of GSW’s partner Chinese institutions in October 2008.          

            “China sends more students to study in the United States than any other country,” said President Blanchard. “Currently, the Chinese are more likely to have money to study abroad than students from other Asian countries. This is why now is such a good time to recruit students from China. Not only do they help us increase our enrollment, they bring something special in that they give our native students an opportunity to make Chinese connections which in today’s global economy are extremely valuable.”

            LUIBE is a growing institution with approximately 12,000 students. Their intensive curriculum equips graduates with intellectual and practical capabilities allowing them to move into such fields as international economics and trade, marketing, e-commerce, business management and tourism.

            For more information, contact GSW University Relations at (229) 931-2037 or ssnyder@gsw.edu.