Provost Michael and President Oxholm Welcome Joint Jiangsu Students to Arcadia

By schwartzsa | July 16, 2012

President Tobey (Carl) Oxholm III and Dr. Steve O. Michael, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, were received by Jiangsu University on June 16, during a six-day whirlwind visit to China.

In addition to meeting with administrators of the university—including President Shouqi Yuan, Vice President Huaxi Xu, and Director of International Affairs Dianchen Lu—President Oxholm and Provost Michael also greeted 23 students who will be the first to graduate from Arcadia’s new Mathematics and Applied Mathematics Undergraduate Joint Education program.

Arcadia’s Mathematics and Applied Mathematics Undergraduate Joint Education program with Jiangsu University is a 3+1 program that was established in September 2011. Students who complete three years at Jiangsu and one year at Arcadia earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from both institutions. The first class is expected to arrive in Glenside in fall 2014.

Arcadia’s collaboration with Jiangsu is not limited to student exchange. Two members of Arcadia’s faculty spent a portion of the summer teaching a course at Jiangsu University. Dr. Xizhong Zheng, Assistant Professor of Math and Computer Science, a graduate of Jiangsu, taught Advanced Linear Algebra Computer Science. Dr. Yanzia Jia, Assistant Professor of Math and Computer Science, taught Computer Programmingin C++.

Jiangsu University is a comprehensive university with all kinds of academic disciplines, academically renowned scholars, innovative research teams, abundant advanced teaching and experimental equipment, and high-quality teaching resources. The university currently has 24 schools offering 83 undergraduate degree programs in 9 academic fields: Engineering, Science, Medicine, Literature, Economics, Law,Management, Education and History.

“Jiangsu University ranks among the top 100 universities in China,” says Provost Michael. “With a student enrollment of more than 42,000, Jiangsu University is a large, comprehensive university that boasts an impressive campus located in a historic and cultural city by the Yangtze River. Our relationship with Jiangsu University is one of the strongest co-operations possible among institutions. Our faculty, Dr. Xizhong Zhang and Dr. Yanjia Jia perform their teach-abroad duties by teaching at Jiangsu, while other faculty, Dr. Louis Friedler and Dr. Ned Wolff, are closely associated with the faculty and staff, as well as with the Arcadia-bound students.”

President Oxholm remarked, “Committed to the vision of internationalizing student and faculty experiences, Arcadia and Jiangsu University’s collaboration is built on their core overlapping interests. Our goal, through this relationship, is to serve as an international extension to each other’s students, staff and faculty. Through the arrangement we have forged, we have laid the foundation for students to benefits from the vast educational resources present in both institutions.”