Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Zhuhai, China- Teaching at the United International College

I had the opportunity to be part of the Fulbright Scholar lecture series in China. This series was arranged and coordinated by the Hong Kong Fulbright Commission office and maintained in part by the Hong Kong America Center. The course is taught for a semester by several Fulbright scholars and themes vary from arts, science to business and leadership. My portion was to introduce the student to leadership concepts and give them an opportunity to discuss exemplars in leadership. I chose to bring the life of Frances Hesselbein as an example of a great leader in the United States. She was responsible for the vitality and reach of the Girls Scout Organization. As the CEO of the GS, she provided vision and change for millions of girls across the United States. Upon introducing the highlights leadership lessons unfolded. Discussions about what is leadership? Defining leadership within the context of those listening and learning.

Zhuhai is a beautiful coastal city that is near to Hong Kong by ferry. It is a city that is fast growing where the United International College has found its home. UIC is part of a university alliance linked to the Beijing Normal University providing a quality higher education to the young people of China. UIC is unique in its education structure. It is one of the first universities in China exploring the concept of a "liberal arts" education. Because of this development in education, an interdisciplinary course was introduced a few years ago. The Fulbright scholars in Hong Kong are now part of this great collaboration, providing the interdisciplinary experience for these wonderful students.

Working with colleagues from around various parts of the US- University of San Francisco, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, University of Boston and William and Mary, makes this collaboration so enriching. In collaboration with my colleagues, a journal will be published on the content of the course and the themes of each topic discussed.

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