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University of Central Arkansas est. 1907

International Programs

Confucius Institute

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UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas Grand Opening

Image 2The grand opening of UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas will be held on September 18-20. Delegations from China include the East China Normal University and Chinese Consulate General in Houston. 

The grand opening also includes the following activities:

September 18, official Arkansas welcome at Billy Harden residence in Little Rock

September 19, CI board meeting, ribbon cutting, and public announcement

September 19, matinee and evening shows by "Gold Dragon Acrobats," as part of the Public Appearances Program of the UCA Reynolds Theater  

September 20, a luncheon in the Clinton Presidential Library for Arkansas state officials and businesses.  Madam Qiao Hong, Consul General, Chinese Consulate in Houston,  will speak at the luncheon. 

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Chinese Education for Arkansas Public Schools


Image 1UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas helped form a five-year partnership between Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) and Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) to enroll Chinese teachers in the non-traditional licensure program.  An Arkansas education delegation led by UCA Confucius Institute directors visited China in February 2008 and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hanban.

In the fall of 2008, five teachers with Master's Degrees in Teaching Chinese as a World Language, Shuo Jasmine Han, Jing Nikkie Liu, Jin Image 5 Sophia Ma, Jie Min, Shanchun Susan Wang, are teaching Chinese on a two-year contract in six Arkansas school districts, Greenwood, Waldron, Hot Springs, Harrisburg, Wynne, and Cross County.  Before starting teaching, they received three-week concentrated professional training through the Arkansas non-traditional licensure program on July 14-August 1, 2008.  While teaching, they continue the formal training under certified mentors and take classes on weekends.  More 300 students are taking the classes taught by these five teachers.  UCA Confucius Institute acts as the service agent, coordinating all activities and providing cultural and regional training before the teacher candidates start the licensure program. 

The teachers attracted much attention from the media, such as District Administration: the Magazine of School District Management, Baxter Bulletin, Texarkana Gazette, and Greenwood Democrat, etc.  They were also interviewed by the biggest newspaper in Arkansas - the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.

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Seminars on Teaching about China


Image 3UCA Confucius Institute supported and collaborated with the UCA History Department to hold a two-day state-wide teacher conference on infusing China into the social studies curriculum at mid to Image 4 high school levels in summer 2008.  Dr. Jonathan Spence, a prominent scholar in Chinese History at Yale University served as the keynote speaker. UCA faculty members, Drs. Bi-ling Chen, Jim Detrieck, David Neilson, and Hui Wu, also conducted training sessions.  This conference is also partially supported by a Title VI federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education, which is directed by the CI director as well.

Ninety community patrons listened to Dr. Spence's speech, and seventy-five teachers attended the conference. 

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Another Chinese visiting professor Joined UCA


Li Li, visiting lecturer from East China Normal University, joined UCA in fall 2008 to promote CI projects and teach Chinese at UCA and in the Community Language School. She is the second Chinese professor co-sponsored by Hanban and UCA.  The first one is Shi Mei who has been with the Department of World Languages since fall 2007.

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Projects & Services


Currently, a number of projects are underway which include:

  • Recruiting and training Chinese language teachers to teach Mandarin within the Arkansas public school system
  • Providing scholarships for Arkansan college students to study Mandarin in China
  • Serving as Arkansas' Chinese resource center
  • Hosting (a number of) cultural events and Chinese performances in Arkansas
  • Producing a quarterly newsletter for Arkansans interested in China

In addition, the UCA Confucius Institute provides many support services and consultation on many China-related subjects including: 

  • Chinese etiquette
  • Executive travel training
  • Translation assistance
  • "Doing Business in China" seminars
  • "Best Practices in ..." professional group travel series
  • Cultural exchange
  • Group travel