SUNY Plattsburgh Welcomes Delegation from China (Updated)

The delegates from the Chinese university will be on campus beginning Thursday, June 7 to meet with SUNY Plattsburgh deans, faculty, and other college representatives.  Their discussions will focus on the details of academic programs that will allow students from both schools to study and earn credit in their respective programs. The major goal of this visit is to stimulate academic collaboration with ZWU in three key realms: English/American Studies, Environmental Studies/Biology, and Business.

The highlight of the four-day visit culminates with a ceremony on Friday, June 8, at 1:15 p.m. that will include signing an agreement at the Valcour Conference Center in Plattsburgh.  The ceremony will reaffirm the general agreement first signed in October 2006 by Bryan Higgins, director of International Education, and will provide members of the media an opportunity to meet the delegation and ask questions of representatives from both institutions.

The welcoming of the seven representatives of Wanli caps a flurry of activity by SUNY Plattsburgh to create new opportunities for students. "SUNY Plattsburgh has aggressively pursued international links with prominent institutions of higher education like Wanli University to emphasize our commitment to the global future of education," said Dr. Robert Golden, provost and vice president for academic affairs at SUNY Plattsburgh. "These links are being pursued by our Global Education Office and by the faculty deans, especially Colin Read, dean of the School of Business and Economics."

In addition to the agreement with Wanli, SUNY Plattsburgh has recently signed articulation agreements with Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, and the Universidad de Monterrey in Mexico.  "These three new agreements will permit their students to gain international academic and cultural experiences through study outside of their countries," said Read.

The agreement with the Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM), one of Mexico's most prominent universities, will allow UDEM students to complete a bachelor's degree at UDEM and a bachelor of science in Global Supply Chain Management from SUNY Plattsburgh in little more time than that required for one bachelor's degree.  This is an opportunity for SUNY Plattsburgh to further internationalize its programs and at the same time attract top students to the campus.

Other agreements include one with Concordia University in Montreal, Canada that will provide SUNY Plattsburgh business students with the ability to complete two master's degrees in as little as two years. This innovative agreement allows students to use up to seven courses in the new Leadership track in SUNY Plattsburgh's master's of arts in liberal studies toward completion of the 15 courses in Concordia master's in businesses administration program. Concordia, a university that is also accredited by the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), is widely recognized as having one of the strongest MBA programs in all of Canada.  The partnership between SUNY Plattsburgh and Concordia in particular builds upon the relationships already established between the North Country and Quebec and recognizes the importance of cross-border alliances in an increasingly global world of commerce.

"These agreements are a reflection of the 'flat world' in which we find ourselves," said Golden. "Our students will be more prepared for that world thanks to these agreements.  Also, the courses and programs chosen for the partnerships with Concordia and Monterrey are aligned in recognition of the importance of trade within the NAFTA countries."

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