Kettering University

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Seeking a presence in China

By Patricia Mroczek

What’s in a name? When the name is Kettering/GMI – a lot!

A recent trip to China by a small Kettering delegation is proof that the Kettering/GMI "name brand" is strong internationally. President Stan Liberty, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Harris and Director of the International Office Luchen Li traveled to China in late March and early April and brought back some very reinforcing news – that the quality of a Kettering/GMI education is world renown.

"Kettering University has good name recognition in China, especially in the automotive field," said President Liberty. "We went to China feeling that Kettering was way behind in its international development plans, but what we found there was very impressive. There are economically strong and culturally vibrant cities and universities in China that are highly interested in having a relationship with Kettering. Once again, our fundamental commitment to work-integrated learning using the co-op model holds the key for our future success."

That’s good news because the Chinese economy is predicted to pass the U.S. economy in less than 20 years. Even sooner than that, World Bank is predicting China will cast a financial shadow over the United States with economic growth rates of 3 percent (U.S.) vs. 10 percent (China).

Kettering’s delegation, which received a warm welcome during the visit, focused on enhancing international activity through student recruitment,study abroad opportunities, faculty exchange and joint research projects. Events began March 30 when an old friend helped host an alumni reception in Shanghai. Dr. James Koerschen, formerly of Kettering’s Enrollment Management division and now head of Concordia’s International School in Shanghai, coordinated an alumni reunion with the assistance of Juliann Leonard, Michael Richardson, Suzanne Brandt and Kettering’s International Office. President Liberty updated alumni from GM, Johnson Controls, Ford, Chrysler and Delphi.

The next day it was on to the Dalian University of Technology (DUT), which was founded as a school of Engineering half a century ago and is renown for its academic style of: "Be Diligent, Rigorous, Practical-Minded and Creative." Today, the school has broadened into a university of Science and Technology with 17,000 undergraduates, 6,000 graduate students and agreements with 110 colleges and universities around the world. Science and Engineering remain its major fields of devotion. The city of Dalian is the sixth largest port in China and is located across the Bohai Gulf from Beijing.

President Liberty and DUT President Jinping Ou signed a "Memorandum of Understanding on International Exchange" to promote mutual interests in education, research and professional training. DUT anticipates sending its first four students to Kettering for two terms of study, beginning in October 2008. In Summer 2009, it is anticipated that Kettering’s first faculty-led class (15-20 students) will travel to DUT for up to one month. DUT will send two faculty members to Kettering for up to three years to team-teach and conduct collaborative research. In the meantime, DUT will help recruit both undergraduate and graduate students. The day’s events included a meeting with professors from DUT’s School of Automotive Engineering.

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