The Fourth Annual MPCC-UIC Presidential Lecture Series was held in Room B101 UIC On November 17. Prof. Chen Guangju, President of Beijing Norman University in Zhuhai and Council Member of UIC, Prof. Jack Ohle, President of Gustavus Adolphus College, and Prof. Dan Bruss, President of Bethany Lutheran College gave speeches on liberal arts education and Whole Person education respectively. UIC faculty and students participated in the discussion. Seven Fulbright scholars led by Dr. Glenn Shivte, Director of the Hong Kong-America Center (HKAC) attended the presentation. Prof. Ng Ching-Fai, President of UIC and Prof. Kwok Siutong, Executive Vice President of UIC were also in attendance.
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The 4th MPCC-UIC Presidential Lecture Series was held in UIC
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Prof. Chen Guangju addressed on "Reform in innovative model of talent cultivation based on independence of student choice". He talked about two problems and related solutions.
Firstly, he pointed that the current situation of college education in China emphasizes too much on major study, which blocks students' attention in developing other knowledge and skills. Meanwhile, he believed importance of students' innovative thoughts that is significant to nourish their creativity. He suggested that colleges should offer a combination of general elective courses to maximize students' exposure to different areas.
Secondly, he talked about the fixed system of operating a class. In his opinion, teachers should introduce flexibility into class, interact with students, and invite their questions. This educational mode places students as the center of class, so they would be motivated and learn more spontaneously. It also improves width and depth of class content.
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Prof. Chen Guangju, President of Beijing Norman University in Zhuhai
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Prof. Jack Ohle, President of Gustavus Adolphus College, gave a speech on "The Importance of Internationalization of Liberal Arts". He said that education is best way to understanding different cultures. General education could help us understand and appreciate different cultures in the age of globalization. General education has been prevailing in the U.S. for over a hundred years, hopefully UIC students could also benefit from it, Prof. Ohle said.
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Prof. Jack Ohle, President of Gustavus Adolphus College
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Prof. Dan Bruss humorously opened his lecture entitled "Faculty and Student Professional Development in the Liberal Arts". He held that students can benefite a lot from community and society. Therefore, he advised UIC students to develop awareness of their community and how to serve it. In order to serve a wider international community, he said the partnership between UIC and Bethany helped overcome obstacles of communication between different places and cultures.
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Prof. Dan Bruss, President of Bethany Lutheran College
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After listening to the presentations, a sophomore from International Journalism raised a few questions. Is taking general courses without a direct connection with major study a waste of time? Since the expense of general courses is higher, does it mean only elites can afford them, and as a result, does it generate unfair teaching resources distribution? Prof. Ohle answered that time is fairly distributed on major courses and general electives in his college. Those students having critical and comprehensive thinking usually excel in the job market.
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Mr. Paul Cerkvenik, President of MPCC
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MPCC visitors, Fulbright scholars and UIC faculty had group discussion on "high impact of teaching methods". They agreed on the significance of students' participating in community activities.
UIC students and students from Minnesota shared their experience of joining MPCC-UIC exchange programs. By pictures and the presentations, they established an abundant college life in MN and UIC campus.
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Sharing between exchange students of UIC and MPCC
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UIC established cooperation with MPCC in 2007. Collaborative activities cover annual MPCC-UIC Presidential Lecture Series, summer/winter programs, student exchanges. So far there are six universities in MPCC maintaining collaboration with UIC. 387 UIC students have experienced summer programs organized by MPCC and UIC. 46 UIC students have joined exchange programs.
Reporter：Yao Lu, Lijuan Yu, Liwei Zheng, Micky Mai
Translator：Micky Mai
Photo: Hufang Yang
(Four-Point Communication Club)
Editor: Echo Li/MPRO
