Institute of International Education Selects Marymount Manhattan College for Partnership Program with China

New York, N.Y. – The Institute of International Education announced today that Marymount Manhattan College is among 10 U.S. colleges and universities selected to participate in the 2011 China initiative of the International Academic Partnerships Program (IAPP). This initiative is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), and is run by IIE’s Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education.

Associate Professor of History and International Studies Yu-Yin Cheng, Ph.D., worked with colleagues Cecilia Feilla, Ph.D., assistant professor of English, and Martha Sledge, Ph.D., associate professor of English, to apply for the IAPP. 

“China has become a rising country,” said Cheng, who teaches courses about Chinese and Asian culture. “Marymount Manhattan students are interested in world affairs. Our students are curious about the economic rise and political situation in China. We hope this program will help us develop new opportunities for our students to visit and learn about everything China has to offer.” 

An independent peer review panel of six experts selected the U.S. colleges and universities for the program based on an interest in building ties with institutions in China, a clear presentation of how the program would help them achieve their aims, and a demonstrated need for the assistance that the IAPP would provide. Marymount Manhattan College was selected along with Greenville Technical College, Jacksonville State University, Lake Washington Technical College, Saginaw Valley State University, Southern Methodist University, State University of New York at Fredonia, The College of New Jersey, University of Southern Indiana and Utah Valley University. 

Feilla said that this opportunity comes at an ideal time for Marymount Manhattan. “MMC is committed to providing an internationally-focused education for our students, and we welcome the opportunity to strengthen ties with higher education institutions in China and to enhance learning opportunities for students in both countries,” Feilla said. “In fall 2010, students formed the first Asian Studies Student Club on campus, and this year five students did or are currently doing independent studies on topics related to China. Partnering with a Chinese university will strengthen the Asian studies minor at Marymount Manhattan, and will create opportunities to enrich student learning through study abroad.” 

Marymount Manhattan College has on-going relationships with the Asia Society and the China Institute in New York City to cultivate students’ interests in China and the Chinese culture. Sledge said that the IAPP would enable the College to expand its efforts to develop opportunities to study abroad, participate in a student exchange program, and collaborate in faculty research projects. 

“I am personally interested in collaborating with faculty of American Literature at an institution in China to enrich my understanding of how American literature is viewed from abroad,” Sledge said. “This collaboration could develop into faculty exchange and/or a co-taught virtual class with students from our respective institutions. With whatever initiatives emerge, we hope to forward the College’s mission to ‘develop [in students] an awareness of social, political, cultural and ethical issues, in the belief that this awareness will lead to concern for, participation in and improvement of society.’” 

Over the next year, Marymount Manhattan will participate in an integrated series of training activities, focused on implementing and sustaining partnerships with institutions in China, and a study tour to China in spring 2011 to meet with potential partner campuses. Each participating institution has committed to forming a campus task force to work on prospective partnerships, conducting an institution-wide inventory of activities pertaining to China and developing a strategic plan focused on partnership with China. Partnership activities may include joint programs, student exchanges, or faculty linkages for collaborative research and teaching. Through IAPP programming, such as webinars, workshops and site visits, IIE seeks to establish a toolkit of best practices for international partnerships in different parts of the world. 

“Educational ties are key to strengthening the productive relationship between China and the U.S.,” said IIE President Allan E. Goodman. “Developing partnerships in higher education helps us understand and learn from one another in ways that have profound impact. For global leaders to innovate and solve problems together in the future, they must work together in classrooms, research labs and dormitories now. Through joint research, we will be able to find better solutions to shared global challenges.” 

The IIE Center for International Partnerships launched IAPP in 2009 as a two year initiative with the pilot group focused on building partnerships between the United States and India. Ten U.S. institutions participated in the first year as well, and their experience culminated with a study tour to India that coincided with President Obama’s Indian visit in November 2010. 

Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.

Published: January 14, 2011