Visit by Chinese University Official Sets Stage for New Lincoln College Program
Dr. Kevin Wang in Lincoln to Discuss Visiting Student Program

 

[February 06, 2019] 

Dr. Kevin Xing Wang, director of the International Office of Shenyang Jianzhu University was in Lincoln Friday, Feb. 1, to tour the Lincoln College campus and discuss a planned visiting student program with Lincoln College to be launched next fall.

The visit was an outgrowth of a similar visit to Shenyang Jianzhu University in December by Dr. Hamin Shabazz, Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Lincoln College, and Dr. Jonathon Pierce, Division Chair of the MacKinnon School of Business at Lincoln College.

Current plans are for Lincoln College to host between ten to twenty Chinese students beginning next fall. Lincoln College’s central Illinois location has been identified as a key opportunity for Chinese students interested in an immersive experience in the United States.

“This program will not only be a great asset for Lincoln College, but we believe it will have tremendous benefits for Lincoln and Logan County, as we build ties with a premier educational institution in the world’s second largest economy,” Lincoln College President Dr. David Gerlach said. “Our ties to Abraham Lincoln, a figure who is revered in China, as well as our location in the agricultural center of the nation with ready access to state government, manufacturing and the ag industry, offers visiting students opportunities that are unavailable elsewhere.

“In addition, the small campus size and welcoming environment affords students one-on-one attention they would not receive at larger institutions and our diverse student body gives them the opportunity to build bonds with students of many different backgrounds,” Gerlach added.

While in Lincoln, Dr. Wang met with Lincoln officials Tracy Welch, Ward 1 Alderman; Morgan Gleason, Director of the Logan County Tourism Bureau; and Mark Miller, Fire Chief. He toured downtown Lincoln and also met with Weilun Lee, the Associate Director of the China Institute at Lincoln Christian University. He toured the Lincoln College campus, visited classrooms, visited the Campbell Creekside environmental center and stopped by Lincoln College’s WLNX and LCTV studios.

Dr. Wang with Lincoln College officials (from left)Michelle Baldwin, Dean of Faculty and Instruction; Susan Boehler, Vice President for Enrollment Mgt and Student Services; Dr. Jonathon Pierce, Divison Chair of the MacKinnon School of Business; Dr. Wang; Dr. Gerlach; Dr. Hamin Shabazz, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Greg Eimer, Vice President for Finance and Administration; Deb Ackerman, Vice President for Institutional Advancement; and Amy Gallagher, Administrative Assistant to the President and Board of Trustees.

Shenyang Jianzhu University was established in 1948 as the Shenyang Architecture and Civil Engineering Institute. While the University continues to give priority to civil engineering and architecture, it is now a comprehensive university offering multi-disciplinary education in literature, administration, nature science, agronomy and law.

It is located in Shenyang, a city of eight million in Liaoning Province in northeastern China. The province borders North Korea.

Current enrollment at the University consists of nearly 18,000, including 11,634 undergraduates and 1,600 graduate degree candidates as well as doctoral students and students enrolled in adult and professional schools. Since 1956, Shenyang Jianzhu University has been enrolling foreign students, and every year there are over 200 foreign students, mainly from Korea, Russia, the United States, Germany, England, Finland, Austria, Cameroon, Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan.

Due to its campus planning, modern simple concise building form and functional facilities, Shenyang Jianzhu University was awarded the “China Model Habit Environment of 2008.” The university was approved as an experimental school to cultivate athletes specializing in snow skiing and gymnastics in 2002. Shenyang Jianzhu University has set up sister relationships with more than 54 universities in 30 countries around the world.

[Mark Gordon
Public Relations and Media Manager
Lincoln College]