By Demetra Chornovas
Special to the Reporter

UMass-Boston has recently signed a letter of intent to establish a Confucius Institute planned to launch in Fall 2006 making the Bay State's public university the first in New England to house the such a program, and only the sixth in the United States. The Chinese Ministry of Education is funding the three-year, $1.7 million grant aimed at promoting Chinese language and culture, and supporting local Chinese teaching.

The collaboration between UMass-Boston and the China National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL) will focus on the creation and management of programs and services that will incorporate Chinese culture with the teaching of the Chinese language, the training of teachers of Chinese from primary to college level, curriculum development, and cultural events.

The program is aimed at enriching community leaders, professors, and students with a greater understanding of Chinese culture and language. Participants will be able to access the concentrated program through a variety of resources including online and classroom courses, public lectures, exhibits, and study abroad programs. The Division of Corporate, Continuing, and Distance Education (CCDE) will house the Institute and plans to offer twelve new courses in the Fall semester, six of which will be offered online, and six within campus classrooms.

Dr. Dirk Messelaar, Dean of CCDE at UMass-Boston, authored and presented the grant proposal to the Ministry of Beijing in China last December. Messelaar says that the programs that will soon be available through the Confucius Institute will be launched "all with the intent of fostering respect and understanding between two unique cultures."

One sequence of courses to be offered through the program will be based on preparing learners for taking the HSK or Test of Chinese Proficiency. Messelaar claims that New England will need three hundred new Mandarin teachers in the next three years, and the United States will need two thousand.

The Institute will also be a center where business leaders and government officials can learn how to further business relations with China, how to attract Chinese investment in American business, and how to respond to Chinese policies and economics&emdash;resources that will be available through courses, workshops, and conferences with Chinese political figures and individuals associated with the business sector. UMass-Boston is planning a fall conference for the region's biotech and medical device sector with the purpose of bringing together prominent business and political leaders from Massachusetts and China. One of the many speakers at the forum includes Senator Edward Kennedy.

According to Messelaar, UMass-Boston also plans to offer a major in Asian Studies with a host of courses in Chinese literature, media, and language. The proposal for establishing an Asian Studies major is currently undergoing the approval process at the university. Presently, UMass-Boston offers a seven-course East Asian Studies Program, similar to a minor. Messelaar adds that the East Asian Studies Program is very popular at UMass-Boston with courses usually reaching the full capacity of thirty-five students. Introductory Chinese language courses also fill quickly leaving many students on a waiting list.

The Confucius Institute is a non-profit public institute with the mission of promoting Chinese language and culture and supporting local Chinese teaching. The headquarters will be established in Beijing where it will overlook the program's progress over all thirty-five institutes across the world.