President Machen's Asian tour to promote education

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
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<p>University of Florida President Bernie Machen is headed to Asia this week.</p>

<p>Hoping to convince more international students to study in the U.S., Machen will join U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings on a trip to China, Japan and South Korea.</p>

<p>Joined by eight other university leaders, Machen will serve as a sort of ambassador of education, working to share ideas about education with government officials and encouraging international students to study at schools like UF.</p>

<p>Since Sept. 11, 2001, universities have worked to send the message abroad that international students are welcome in the U.S.</p>

<p>The American Association of Universities, an elite and prestigious group to which UF belongs, also has encouraged the U.S. government to be more proactive in recruiting international students in the wake of 9-11.</p>

<p>"Part of the image we got after 9-11 was the U.S. didn't want these students, and we're hopeful that we can turn that around," Machen said.</p>

<p>Machen will fly into Kyoto, Japan, on Friday. He'll then take a train to Tokyo before heading on to Seoul, South Korea, and then to Beijing, China.</p>

<p>"It's sort of whirlwind," he said. "Three countries in eight days is pretty hairy."</p>

<p>In China, Machen is slated to give a presentation about how major research universities operate in the U.S. Machen said he would emphasize that Chinese universities will have to allow researchers and students the freedom to pursue ideas if they hope to compete with scholars in the U.S.</p>

<p>"The freedom of inquiry is fundamental to the sum of the successes that we have," Machen said.</p>

<p>While some see competition on the horizon between China and the U.S., Machen said he thinks education can be an area where both countries mutually thrive. UF in particular can gain from having Chinese students study on its campus, Machen said.</p>

<p>"We believe education is the area where we cooperate, and we both benefit from that," he said. "We have more Chinese graduate students at UF than from any other country, and that's been the case for a number of years. They are some of our best graduate students, and we want them."</p>

<p>Machen said Spellings called him about a month ago to ask that he accompany the delegation.</p>

<p>He said UF was likely selected because it's a major research institution with a strong international program.</p>

<p>"In our ever-flattening world, international education and exchange is more important than ever," Spellings said in a news release. "... We want the international community to know that our doors are open to the many foreign students who seek the benefits our higher education system has to offer."</p>

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<p>GAINESVILLE - Fresh off a whirlwind trip across Asia, University of Florida President Bernie Machen says it's time to expand the Gator Nation's research enterprise into one of the world's oldest - and most mysterious - societies.</p>

<p>Machen is pushing for a research partnership with Tsinghua (pronounced "Shing Wah") University, a Beijing institution that's commonly equated with some of the most elite universities in the United States.</p>

<p>With more Fortune 500 companies opening operations in China - a country of more than 1.3 billion people - Machen believes it's crucial for UF to establish a foothold in the far-off nation if the university hopes to solidify research partnerships with the major players on the world stage.</p>

<p>"If I could draw up the world, I would just have those companies come over here and do their research. They're not doing it. They're over there now," Machen said. "The eyes of the corporate world are now focused on Asia, and they're recognizing the opportunities for research in those countries. So, the reality is I can't just wave my hand and have them come over here. I've got to go there to enter into these collaborations, or I'm not going to be a party to them."</p>

<p>Machen has just returned from a trip to China and several other Asian countries. Accompanied by presidents from some of the premiere universities in the United States, Machen joined U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings on a diplomatic journey to encourage foreign students to study in the U.S.</p>

<p>After 9-11, American universities saw a downturn in international student enrollments, and the trip was designed to send a signal to China, South Korea and Japan that their students are still valued in the U.S. Machen said he participated in the trip because he thought it was important on an international level, but he didn't waste an opportunity to do UF's bidding while overseas. Machen took a private meeting with Tsinghua University President Bing-Lin Gu, and a partnership with Tsinghua now seems increasingly likely.</p>

<p>"We're working on a deal with Tsinghua University (and) a noted top-tier American university that would establish a research program between the three institutions, and we would be able to contract with U.S. or other multi-national corporations."</p>

<p>Machen was mum about which American university would be part of the collaboration, citing the fluidity of the deal. But UF and the other American university would likely provide most of the operational costs for research and supply faculty. In turn, Tsinghua would give the American universities a base of operations in a booming center of commerce in China. Tsinghua faculty would also participate in the research, which would likely begin with a focus on engineering, Machen said.</p>

<p>Tsinghua, which is mentioned in New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's seminal book, "The World is Flat," is home to a research park that boasts more than 400 U.S. companies. Google just bought a building there.</p>

<p>"All the Fortune 500 companies are in China now," said Sherman Bai, director of UF's Center for International Studies in Beijing. "As a result, a lot of collaborative research is going on there. So it is to UF's advantage to build up a big program there to join the research."</p>

<p>UF's Beijing Center was established in June 2005 to establish a foothold for the university in the burgeoning economic area.</p>

<p>Robert Frank, dean of UF's College of Public Health and Health Professions, has relied on the center to help build bridges between his college and Tsinghua.</p>

<p>Frank has been interested for years in developing a collaborative degree program with the university, but it wasn't until the center was established that such a partnership became realistic, he said.</p>

<p>"Now we have people in China who pay attention to this day in and day out, and they're very good," Frank said.</p>

<p>Frank is ironing out a proposal that would create a joint master's degree in public health. Chinese students would take their first courses at Tsinghua, following UF's curriculum, then come to UF to take 27 credit hours. They would then return to China to do a practicum at an organization like China's Centers for Disease Control.</p>

<p>Since the SARS epidemic broke out in China in 2002, there has been increased interest by the Chinese government in establishing a more robust public health enterprise, Frank said. There is going to be a "huge explosion" of job opportunities there, and UF would like to already be established there when that happens, Frank said.</p>

<p>U.S. companies are drawn to China in large part because of cheaper labor and, in some cases, fewer environmental restrictions. During his 2 days in Beijing, Machen said it "was hard to see the sun" because of the pollution. As such, China may seem an unlikely partner for Machen, who has pledged to reduce carbon emissions on campus and is working to convert much of the university's vehicle fleet to alternative fuels.</p>

<p>Asked if a partnership with Beijing undermines his green platform, Machen knowingly shakes his head and flashes a look that suggests he's considered this dilemma.</p>

<p>"If I'm going to pick my research partners based upon their energy source, that would be a pretty strict requirement," Machen said. "At this point, we're free-flowing based upon where the best collaborations occur."</p>

<p>There are other ethical quandaries that come with establishing a UF footprint in China. The Chinese government takes a keen interest in university curriculums, and reprisals against Chinese scholars who speak out about oppression are still reported even as the once-isolated nation becomes more open.</p>

<p>"I don't want to sound naive," said Frank of UF's College of Public Health and Health Professions. "We understand China is a complex place with a much more regimented and potentially oppressive government."</p>

<p>China's legal system also favors corporations over professors when it comes to intellectual property rights, Machen said, and that in part has been what's drawn American companies there. But Machen said he does not plan to enter into a deal with Tsinghua that wouldn't offer faculty and the university necessary protections.</p>

<p>"Going in, we have not modified our understanding of and our expectations for intellectual rights," he said. "No. 1, the right to publish your findings, the right of intellectual property patents, those are issues that are being openly discussed and agreed to going forward."</p>

<p>While there may be details yet to be worked out, Machen asserts that UF is going global one way or the other. In recent years, the university has established partnerships with U.S. research hubs like Scripps Research Institute and the Burnham Center for Medical Research. Last year, UF raked in $519 million in research awards - the largest payday in the school's history. In the future, cultural and geographic distance will not be an impediment to establishing research relationships with other groups, Machen said.</p>

<p>"UF is no longer a research base that's unique just to Gainesville," he said. "We will do research wherever the research opportunities exist. Whether it's Burnham in Orlando, whether it's Scripps in Palm Beach or whether it's Tsinghua in China."</p>

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