Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø, Huazhong celebrate 36-year (and still going) teacher exchange program

Huazhong (Central China) Normal University in Wuhan recently hosted a celebration of the 36th anniversary of the signing of its teacher exchange agreement with Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø. Professor Emeritus of Geography Dr. Norm Moline  ¡¯64, who attended the 1988 agreement signing with Professor John ¡°Jack¡± Hullett and an alumni group, attended the anniversary celebration.

According to Dr. Moline, at that early time of China¡¯s ¡°opening up,¡± this kind of agreement was quite uncommon. It came after six years of student and alumni visits to that university, beginning in 1982. Huazhong was a university of 20,000 students; now it is almost 40,000.

¡°From the beginning, the size discrepancy between our schools has made no difference,¡± Dr. Moline said. Huazhong, like many Chinese universities, wanted its students to become more fluent in English. Under the agreement, Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø would recommend recent graduates to go to Wuhan to teach English as a second language. They were joining recent graduates from Yale  University. Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø graduates quickly earned the reputation of being talented teachers and accessible to Chinese students in classes and informal settings, Dr. Moline said.

In addition to recent graduates, Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø professors Dr. Marsha Smith and Harry Stelling taught at Huazhong for a full year. Huazhong, in return, sent professors or administrators to Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø for a year, serving as assistant teachers to Dr. Jen-mei Ma in the Chinese program.

During the program¡¯s 36-year history, 85 Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø graduates taught at Huazhong, including Mykaylo Kelly  ¡¯20, who is currently teaching at the university. Seventeen teachers from Huazhong have taught at Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø during that time.

¡°Students at both universities have gained much from these exchange teachers,¡± Dr. Moline said. ¡°Since Yale moved its connections to another university several decades ago, ours is the longest of Huazhong¡¯s several exchange connections. In the context of the Chinese tradition of treasuring long-term relationships, the anniversary event was most celebrative.¡±

The Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø delegation at the formal banquet included Dr. Moline and his wife, Janet Ahlstrom  ¡¯66 Moline; Lisa Eck  ¡¯88 (the first Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø graduate to teach at Huazhong in 1988); Emily Stanevicious  ¡¯16 (who taught there for three years); and Mykaylo Kelly. Huazhong's Vice President Ren Youzhou hosted the banquet.