NEWS

Fisk partners with 9 Chinese universities

Adam Tamburin
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Fisk University this summer announced new partnerships with nine Chinese universities, a move the school’s academic leader called the first step toward reinvigorated international programming there.

Provost Rodney S. Hanley traveled to China for a week and met with 21 universities and institutes. The partnerships established with nine of them should make it possible for students to study and work in China while pursuing degrees at Fisk.

The partnership agreements span a broad range of disciplines in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences and fine arts, according to a statement from the university.

Jubilee Hall, Fisk University campus

“We are determined to produce graduates that have a global perspective and who will be leaders within a global environment,” Hanley said. “It’s a tight marketplace out there for graduates, but having that international component, we believe, is going to be a difference maker.”

Hanley said he hopes to deepen existing partnerships, perhaps by establishing transfer pathways that allow Chinese students to finish their degrees at Fisk. He added that he expects to announce more partnerships in the future.

The ultimate goal is to establish an international center at Fisk that would serve as a hub for those programs, said Hanley, who began working at Fisk about a year ago.

“We’re really excited about reinvigorating our international program here at Fisk,” he said.

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-726-5986 and on Twitter @tamburintweets.