Becoming the national leader in experiential ... - Keuka College

All-English
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Gary Smith did not need to take a
crash course in Chinese before he traveled
to China. English is the language
of the day in the classroom and English
language textbooks are also used.
“The Chinese students want to
speak and read English in order to get a
better grasp on the language,” said
Burke, who added that tutors assist the
students with their understanding of
English.
Despite the fact that China is under
communist control, there are
no restrictions on what is
taught and discussed in the
classroom.
“We insisted that there be
academic freedom in the classroom,”
said Burke.
All courses are taught by
full-time Keuka faculty, such as
Smith; existing and new degree
completion adjuncts; and faculty
from other colleges and universities
around the country.
Currently, organizational
management is the lone
degree completion program
offered in China, but Burke
said there is great interest
among the Chinese for education
and nursing, two mainstays of the
Keuka College curriculum.
Future Plans
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Keuka and Armstrong are hopeful of
establishing a program that would bring
Chinese high school students to the
Keuka campus in the summertime.
“We have many faculty members
who want to teach Chinese students,”
said the president.“In addition to
exposing the students to our academic
program and providing them with a
taste of American college life, we would
like to expose them to American culture
via trips to New York City,
Washington, D.C., and other locales.”
Burke estimated that 100 Chinese
President Burke, who
visited China with wife
Diane last year, believes Keuka’s partnership with Armstrong University will have
a positive impact on U.S.-China relations.
students could spend the summer on the
Keuka campus.
“It could happen next summer or
perhaps not until the summer of 2004,”
he explained.
Another possible program resulting
from the Keuka-Armstrong connection
would send Keuka students, as well as
students from other colleges, on tours of
China.
“Our faculty members would lead
the tours and the students would receive
academic credit,” said Burke,
Keuka and Armstrong have also held
preliminary discussions about establishing
a distance education program in
Asia.
Long-Term Benefits
I
In addition to meeting the educational
needs of Chinese students, Burke
believes Keuka’s partnership with
Armstrong University could have a positive
impact on U.S. relations with
China.
“I believe that the more Chinese
we educate in the American system, the
closer our countries will become,” he
said.“Many of the people we teach will
go on to leadership positions in China.
Over the course of a few years, we may
have a couple of thousand of Keuka
College alumni shaping the future of
one of the most powerful countries in
the world.”