Special to UM News

Participating in the signing ceremony were, from left, Donna Arbide, associate vice president of Alumni Relations and executive director of the UMAA Division of University Advancement; Guoxiang Zhao, vice chancellor of Henan University; Thomas J. LeBlanc, UM executive vice president and provost; and Jean-Pierre Bardet, dean of UM’s College of Engineering.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (January 10, 2017)—Representatives from Henan University, one of the oldest universities in China, visited the University of Miami last week to celebrate the creation of the $1 million Henan University Endowed Professorship Fund in the UM College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and to commemorate a recently finalized partnership between the two schools.

“Both universities will benefit from shared engineering knowledge through this partnership,” said Jean-Pierre Bardet, dean of UM’s College of Engineering. “It also presents a tremendous opportunity for students and faculty from both institutions to explore and develop new solutions to global issues. It’s an excellent opportunity for us to collaborate on real-world projects.”

Work on the partnership actually began under the administration of former College of Engineering Dean James Tien. On April 24, 2014, representatives from the two schools met in Beijing to sign a Memorandum of Understanding related to collaboration. Bardet continued the discussions when he became dean, finalizing the partnership with Henan University last year.

Located in Kaifeng, a famous historic city that was the capital of China during several dynasties, Henan University is a comprehensive institution with 11 branches of learning: agriculture, economics, education, engineering, history, law, liberal arts, management, medicine, philosophy, and science.

Henan University has selected 10 students who will attend UM in the near future. In preparation, they are enrolled in an intensive English training program. The Henan University delegation’s visit to UM included a tour of the Coral Gables campus, a formal gift-agreement signing ceremony, and a luncheon at the Newman Alumni Center.