June 4, 2012
For Immediate Release
Beijing University of Agriculture and Campbellsville University recently signed an exchange agreement allowing students from CU to study at BUA and vice versa. From left are: Dr. Chris Conver, recruiter and physical facilities coordinator and assistant professor of theology at CU’s Louisville Education Center (LEC); Dr. Keith Spears, vice president for regional and professional education at CU; Dr. Pat Cowherd, dean of CU’s Porter-Bouvette School of Business and Economics; Feng Tan, chairman of the International College at BUA; Xiaoyan Ma, dean and professor of BUA College of Landscape and Architecture; Zhang Zhiyong, BUA dean of International College, head of International Cooperation office and professor; Dr. Frank Cheatham, vice president for academic affairs at CU; Du Xiaolin, professor and vice president of BUA; John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president at CU; Chris Sanders, assistant dean for the Center for International Education at CU; Dr. DeWayne Frazier, associate vice president for academic affairs; Teresa Elmore, director of career services at CU; and Franklin Guo, graduate assistant at CU LEC. (Campbellsville University Photo by Christina L. Kern)
By Christina L. Kern, office assistant
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.— Campbellsville University and Beijing University of Agriculture (BUA) have signed an exchange agreement allowing students from BUA to earn a degree at CU.
The signing ceremony was held May 29 with four representatives present from BUA.
Additionally, BUA and CU have agreed to accept each other’s undergraduate students for summer exchange studies, according to Dr. Keith Spears, vice president for regional and professional education who has coordinated the exchange.
Three BUA students will attend courses at CU this year, and six CU students will study at BUA, according to Chris Sanders, assistant dean for the Center for International Education.
In addition, Dr. Shawn Williams, CU assistant professor of political science, will teach a history course at BUA.
The cooperation will allow students from BUA to “gain three degrees from three continents in a five-year period,” Spears said.
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| Dr. Frank Cheatham, left, CU vice president for academic affairs, and Du Xiaolin, BUA professor and vice president, exchange agreements. (Campbellsville University Photo by Christina Kern) |
Students fully accepted at BUA study business in China for the first three years, then study their fourth year at Harper-Adams College in Great Britain, where students will receive baccalaureate degrees from both schools. Upon completion, they will be accepted to CU for the master of business administration program or the master of arts in organizational leadership program at CU’s Louisville Education Center.
The students then complete six eight-week terms for one year to complete the requirements for a master’s degree from CU.
CU’s Porter-Bouvette School of Business and Economics is also working with BUA’s School of International Studies to develop the overall business curriculum to match the undergraduate program at CU, providing the appropriate courses for entrance into master’s degree programs at CU.
“There are over 300 international students represented at CU,” Dr. Frank Cheatham, vice president for academic affairs, said at the signing ceremony. “A number of these students are from China.”
Cheatham said he hopes CU will send many students to BUA as well. “Some students don’t realize the value of studying in a different country.”
Cheatham said he “looks forward to a long friendship.”
Du Xiaolin, professor and vice president of BUA, said usually he speaks Chinese and has someone translate, but at Campbellsville he “feels at home” so he would speak English. Xiaolin said he hoped the future would hold “more and more student exchanges,” and he thanked everyone for their work in teaching the students.
For more information on the exchange program, contact the Center for International Education at (270) 789-5051 or Campbellsville University’s Louisville Education Center at (502) 753-0264.
Dr. Frank Cheatham, second from left, and Du Xiaolin, third from left, sign exchange agreements allowing students to study at each others’ universities. At far left is Dr. Keith Spears, CU vice president for regional and professional education, and at far right is Zhang Zhiyong, BUA dean of International College, head of International Cooperation Office and professor. (Campbellsville University Photo by Christina Kern)
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering 63 undergraduate options, 17 master’s degrees, five postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.