Confucius In Sanford
Growth of NC State's Confucius Insitute
                                                                                                                             by Anna Lamm      

      Confucius was a great philosopher that lived during the 6th Century B.C. but his principles of wisdom and education were very much alive at the grand opening of the Confucius Classroom at Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) on September 18. 

      The Confucius Institute (CI) at NC State opened in 2007 and has had many opportunities to interact and share diversity within the North Carolina community. The CI at NC State was the first in North Carolina and benefits students, businesses, and the community through Chinese language and culture classes. As the CI continues to grow, its influence will reach much further than just Wake County.  One such avenue is the creation of Confucius Classrooms, which are local hubs to stimulate and support innovative teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture. They are cooperative projects between an existing Confucius Institute and local educational institutions based on their common goal of enhancing inter-cultural understanding. By nature, the Confucius Classroom at CCCC  is a branch of the CI at NC State and they will carry out the same mission.

      On September 18, through the partnership of NC State and CCCC, a Confucius Classroom was opened in Sanford, extending NC State’s influence to Chatham, Harnett and Lee counties.  A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in April 2009 to establish the classroom and just a few months later saw the plan come to fruition.

     The opening ceremony was widely attended by leaders of CCCC, local government and business leaders, local educators, members of the CI and even Miss North Carolina. CCCC’s President Dr. Bud Marchant opened the ceremony and said that the creation of a Confucius Classroom will contribute to the growing relationship between North Carolina and China. Dr. James Zuiches, NC State’s Vice Chancellor for the Office of Extension, Engagement and Economic Development, represented NC State and expressed the excitement for this partnership and extension of NC State throughout North Carolina to help young people understand the important economic connection with China.

    The CI presented CCCC with a large wall plaque in Chinese and English that was unveiled at the ceremony. Guests were able to enjoy Chinese snacks and enjoy the aesthetics of Chinese decorations.

    The purpose of this Confucius Classroom will enable CCCC to offer continuing education and curriculum classes in Chinese language and culture.  The partnership will expose local middle schools, high schools, college students and the community to diversity and the opportunity to become more globally involved.  The Confucius Classroom will be supplied with 1,000 teaching and reference books from the Chinese Department of Education (Han Ban) and will have access to programs by the CI at NC State such as art exhibitions and other cultural shows.

    The Han Ban provided CCCC with Dr. Shuya Che, associate professor of Chinese linguistics and literature at Nanjing Normal University, to teach at CCCC and provide language and culture classes for the local community. Dr. Che just arrived to North Carolina in August and said that she is happy to be at CCCC and hopes that as more Americans learn about China that they can be friends forever.

    The creation of a Confucius Classroom at CCCC, falls within NC State’s mission to provide leadership and integrate global perspectives within the state, nation and world. The CI is benefiting  different regions of North Carolina, the CI at NC State was the first in North Carolina and globally this provides a great opportunity to improve mutual understanding and friendship between China and the US.

   This year marks the 30th anniversary of US- Sino Relations (1979-2009) and the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China (1949-present) . An important part of this relationship has been the cultural and social exchanges between the two countries. The mission of the Confucius Institute (CI) at NC State is to spread Chinese language and culture throughout the North Carolina community and the grand opening of the Confucius Classroom at CCCC provides far reaching affects that benefit both the NC State and CCCC community.