San Diego State University to Promote Chinese Culture and Education

By Mario Conde

San Diego State University inaugurated last Friday the Confucius Institute that aims in promoting Chinese culture and education.

We are the Confucius Institute at San Diego State University, a non-profit institute with Xiamen University as our partner university in China. Their mission is to present Chinese culture, make Chinese language and cultural resources available to the public, and to promote cultural diversity and harmony.

SDSU Dean Stephen Roeder said Friday having the Institute partnering with the Calexico Campus is step in the right direction in improving the education quality in the Valley and announced that Mandarin will be taught at SDSU Calexico very soon.

Dr. Paul Wong, Dean of the College of Arts and Letters and Executive Director of the Confucius Institute said that this Institute is one of the most important initiatives the Republic of China bring the education world internationally. Wong announced that another Confucius Center will be opened in Mexicali, a city that has a long history with Chinese culture.  He said that the partnership of San Diego, Mexicali, and the Imperial Valley will make it easier to make people learn Chinese.

Also, Dr. Lily Cheng, Managing Director of the SDSU Confucius Institute at the main campus, said that last year she took three students to China and when they submitted their report they changed her life. Cheng announced that this year they will take seven students from the Imperial Valley. She stated that by working with Mexicali universities they are training the global students of the 2st Century.

Also at the ceremony was Dr. Fernando Leon Garcia, Rector of CETYS in Mexicali and Aaron Bernal, Vice Rector of the Autonomous University of Baja California. Both Universities will work with the Confucius Institute in cultural and educational exchange.