China Programs and Projects by School or College
While the programs and projects listed here are organized by academic unit, it is important to note that many of the activities are interdisciplinary in nature and benefit from the commitment of faculty and students engaged in a wide variety of scholarly pursuits.
ARCHITECTURE + URBAN PLANNING
A leader in pioneering international studios, the A. Alfred Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning (TCAUP) continues to strengthen its presence and collaborations in China through its association with Beijing Architecture Studio Enterprise (B.A.S.E.). B.A.S.E. is an architectural consortium founded by Saarinen Visiting Professors Robert Mangurian and Mary-Ann Ray, and it is situated in a former electronics factory in an area of Beijing called Dashanzi, currently an international hotbed of cultural production. At B.A.S.E., Professors Mangurian and Ray, along with Robert Adams, Assistant Professor of Architecture, lead UM architecture students and students from top architecture schools in North America and China in a series of workshops and projects.
Each TCAUP student enrolled in an international design studio or other approved international travel program during the Spring Term automatically receives a $1,000 travel grant from the Dean's Office, and students in the China program are no exception. Additionally, each Chinese student participating in the program is financially supported by Beijing Urban Investment & Development Company.
[ Back to Top ]
EDUCATION
Exchanges with Chinese institutions grew out of the School of Education (SOE)’s interest in considering ways to develop an international dimension to its instructional programs and the professional activities of two faculty members. Kevin Miller, Combined Program in Education and Psychology, has collaborated with researchers at Beijing Normal University and the Institute of Psychology in Beijing for nearly 20 years, and has taught students at both institutions. Jan Lawrence, Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education (CSHPE), has conducted short-term professional education programs for higher education administrators from Tianjin over the past five years. About 70 individuals participated in these 13-week programs that combined lectures and discussions by CSHPE faculty and UM administrators with visits to different types of postsecondary institutions in Southeast Michigan.
SOE - Tianjin Normal University Student and Faculty Exchange Program
The first three-week exchange occurred during May and June 2005 in Ann Arbor. Professor Guo from Tianjin Normal offered a seminar on Chinese education for University of Michigan students and Professors Roger Goddard and Lawrence taught a seminar on US education for the Chinese students.
In the summer of 2006, a UM group comprised of two SOE faculty members – Lawrence and Miller – and 11 graduate students traveled to Beijing and Tianjin. The group attended seminars, workshops and conferences at Beijing Normal University, Tianjin Normal University and the National Academy of Educational Administration. They also visited several other national universities, a private university in Tianjin and a school for migrant workers’ children. Having gained a deeper connection with China, the group returned to Ann Arbor with new insights as well as plans to pursue further collaborations with Chinese colleagues.
The funding for the 2006 exchange visit came from a variety of sources: fees paid by students ($1,500 per student), a $5,000 grant from Rackham, a $3,000 grant from the Center for Chinese Studies, and support from the SOE Dean’s Office.
[ Back to Top ]
LAW
UM Law School has long been a leader in internationalizing legal scholarship, and the China expertise of Professors Reuven Avi-Yonah and Nicholas Howson contributes to UM Law’s strength in comparative legal studies.
UM - Tsinghua University Law Exchange
For the past three years, two to three UM Law faculty members have traveled to Tsinghua University to teach a one-credit course on a specific US law topic every year. So far, seven UM Law faculty members have taught, with about 50 Tsinghua students taking the course on average. In addition, UM Law has hosted Tsinghua faculty members as visiting scholars at the Law School, and several UM law students have spent time at Tsinghua, all under the law exchange program. In 2005, UM Law and Tsinghua Law held a joint conference entitled, “Topics in US and Chinese Business Law,” on the occasion of Tsinghua Law's 10th anniversary, which was attended by nine UM Law faculty members and a similar number of Tsinghua Law faculty members. Papers presented at the conference will be published as a book in China.
Funding for this program has been shared between UM Law (budget of $10,000 a year for faculty exchange) and Tsinghua Law (who covers expenses in China such as meals and lodging for the conference).
Externally Funded and/or Collaborative Faculty Research
Theodore St. Antoine, James E. and Sarah A. Degan Professor Emeritus of Law
Project Title: Establishment of Alternative Labor Dispute Resolution Teaching Program in China
External Funding: $12,000
External Funding Source: US-China Legal Cooperation Fund
Duration of Funding: 11/01/2004 – 10/30/2006
[ Back to Top ]
MEDICINE
In addition to partnerships delineated in formal agreements, the University of Michigan Medical School (UMMS) has several long-standing collaborative relationships on both individual and institutional levels with Chinese partners. Additionally, UMMS is in the process of finalizing an agreement with the China Scholarship Council (CSC), which would allow five Chinese post-doctoral fellows annually to conduct research at UMMS under UMMS and CSC financial sponsorships. Additionally, UMMS is committed to fostering the Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training (MHIRT) Program, which has funded many research projects conducted in China (see section entitled “Study in China” for specific information on this program).
Current Externally Funded and/or Collaborative Faculty Research
Dr. David Stern, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Education
Project Description: Development of a Medical Education Research Center at PUMC through a series of traveling fellowships over the next five years
UM Co-Investigator: Tricia Tang, Research Investigator and Assistant Professor of Medical Education
External Funding: $490,411
External Funding Source: China Medical Board of New York
Duration of Funding: 08/01/2004 – 07/31/2009
Dr. David Stern, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Medical Education
Project Title: International Standard Setting in China
External Funding: $107,482
External Funding Source: China Medical Board of New York
Duration of Funding: 02/18/2005 – 12/31/2008
[ Back to Top ]
MUSIC, THEATRE & DANCE
The international reputation of the UM School of Music, Theatre & Dance has attracted a great number of Chinese students and scholars to the School. In 2001, Bright Sheng, Leonard Bernstein Distinguished University Professor of Composition, was named a MacArthur Fellow by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for his skillful interweaving of Chinese and Western musical traditions in his operatic and symphonic compositions.
Current Externally Funded and/or Collaborative Faculty Project
Joseph Lam, Professor and Chair of Musicology; Director, the Stearns Collection of Music Instruments
Project Title: Musiking Late Ming China: An Interdisciplinary Conference
External Funding: $20,000
External Funding Source: Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange
Duration of Funding: 01/01/2005 – 08/31/2006
[ Back to Top ]
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
Given the enormous environmental pressures created by the processes of rapid industrialization in China and the country’s growing demand for expertise in environmental conservation, the work of the faculty of the UM School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) will continue to be highly sought after. For example, in November 2005, Jimin Zhao, SNRE Research Investigator, completed an important study entitled, “A survey and examination of the Chinese’s view on their automotive future.” Funded by IBM, the study revealed a number of challenges faced by the Chinese automotive industry as the industry continues its expansion.
Current Externally Funded and/or Collaborative Research
Dan Brown, Associate Professor of Natural Resources & Environment
Project Title: Changing Responses of Land Dynamics and Vulnerability to Flooding Under Policy and Environmental Change near Poyang Lake, China
UM Co-Investigators: Shuming Bao, Senior Research Coordinator, China Data Center; Mark Wilson, Professor of Epidemiology, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Director, Global Health Program
Project Partner: Jiangxi Normal University
Funding Sources and Amounts: The Land Cover and Land Use Change Program, NASA: $530,000; National Science Foundation: $45,000
Duration of Funding: September 2005 - September 2008
[ Back to Top ]
NURSING
Funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Community-Based International Learning Programs between the Beijing Medical University Department of Nursing (renamed the School of Nursing, Peking University Health Science Center) and the UM School of Nursing was initiated in 1996 (grant renewed 2000-2003). The project had the following objectives: to provide information and materials to enhance nursing education with regard to the most effective community-based care that is relevant to the Chinese situation; and to build long-term faculty relationships that contribute to ongoing use of the most up-to-date, culturally relevant knowledge in effective health care.
In 1997, the School of Nursing commenced a long and productive relationship with China Ministry of Health and the Chinese Nursing Association. Over the years, there have been numerous exchanges of faculty and students, all in an effort to internationalize nursing education and to update international standards in nursing practices.
Current Externally Funded and/or Collaborative Research
Deborah Oakley, Professor Emerita
Project Title: Factors Influencing Utilization of Early Breast Cancer Detection in China
External Funding: $250,000
External Funding Source: Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
Duration of Funding: 05/01/2005 – 04/30/2007
[ Back to Top ]
PHARMACY
Recognized as an international leader in the development and implementation of innovations in pharmaceutical sciences, the College of Pharmacy has fostered the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge through sponsored exchanges with Chinese institutions in research and scholarship.
Current Externally Funded and/or Collaborative Research
Victor C. Young, Albert B. Prescott Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Project Description: Professor Young is leading a team of Chinese researchers to apply for a project within the national “973 Program”
Project Partners: Tianjin University researchers, including three Chinese National Academicians
Team Budget: RMB 29 million
Additional Information: In 2005, China Ministry of Education named Professor Young a Cheung Kong Scholar
[ Back to Top ]
PUBLIC HEALTH
As increasingly complex public health issues result from the globalization of the world's economies, cultures, production systems, transnational policies, and shared environments, many faculty members and students at the UM School of Public Health have strengthened collaborative research on China as part of their effort to gain a global view necessary for analyzing and solving problems.
Current Externally Funded and/or Collaborative Research
Noreen Clark, Myron E. Wegman Distinguished University Professor of Public Health; Marshall H. Becker Professor of Public Health; Professor of Health Behavior & Health Education; Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases; Director, Center for Managing Chronic Disease
Project Title: Asthma Self-Management: A Model for Controlling and Preventing Disease in Schools in Beijing, China
Project Partners: Beijing Heart Lung and Blood Vessels Center and Capital Institute of Pediatrics; in 2005, a total of nine Chinese hospitals associated with medical schools in six cities joined the dissemination team and planned to implement the short version of OAS in their cities.
External Funding: $290,505
External Funding Source: Thrasher Research Fund, Salt Lake City, Utah
Duration of Funding: 01/01/1998 – 12/31/2007
Brant Fries, Professor of Health Management and Policy; Research Professor, Institute of Gerontology; Chief, Health Systems Research, Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center
Project Description: A national pilot is planned to begin in 2006 that will apply a home care assessment instrument developed by Dr. Fries and his colleagues to approximately one million people in two provinces. Based on the results of this pilot, there is good chance that the assessment system will be implemented throughout China.
Project Partners: Professor Xiaomei Pei, Tsinghua University, Beijing, and Professor Jacob Gindin, Kaplan Medical Center, Israel
Jersey Liang, Professor, Health Management and Policy; Research Professor, Institute of Gerontology
Project Description: This project focuses on the effects of social relationship on physical and mental health of elderly Chinese
UM Co-Investigator: Lydia Li, Assistant Professor of Social Work
External Funding: This project is partially supported by funding granted to another one of Professor Liang’s projects, entitled “Health and Well-Being among Older Old in U. S. and Japan.”
Total direct costs: $1,536,471 provided by the National Institute on Aging. Additional matching funds of $1,160,000 are provided by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology and $354,000 is provided by the National Bureau of Health Promotion, Taiwan.
Funding Duration: 09/30/2004 - 07/31/2009
John Romani, Professor Emeritus, Department of Health Management and Policy
Project Description: A project focusing on family health and family planning issues in Tibet, the survey of ethnic Tibet women of child bearing age was completed in the summer of 2004. The research team has recently received permission to analyze the data and to hold a symposium on the results of the survey in Beijing.
Project Partners: Population Research Institute of Tibet University in Lhasa, and Capital University of Economics and Business Beijing
Ruth Simmons, Professor, Health Behavior and Health Education
Project Title: Scaling up quality of care initiatives in China
External Funding: $149,470
External Funding Source: Ford Foundation
Duration of Funding: 08/01/2005 – 08/31/2007
Mark Wilson, Professor of Epidemiology; Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology; Director, Global Health Interdepartmental Concentration
Project Title: Changing Responses of Land Dynamics and Vulnerability to Flooding Under Policy and Environmental Change near Poyang Lake, China
UM Co-Investigators: Shuming Bao, Senior Research Coordinator, China Data Center; Dan Brown, Associate Professor of Natural Resources & Environment
Project Partner: Jiangxi Normal University
Funding Sources and Amounts: The Land Cover and Land Use Change Program, NASA: $530,000; National Science Foundation: $45,000
Duration of Funding: September 2005 - September 2008
Zhenhua Yang, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology
Description: To develop and evaluate molecular method for rapid screening for multi-drug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates
Project Partner: Hong Kong Department of Health
[ Back to Top ]
PUBLIC POLICY
In 2003, the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy established a faculty exchange program with the School of Public Administration at Renmin University of China (Beijing). The first group of Chinese civil servants to earn a Master’s Degree in Public Administration through the Ford School completed their program in 2004.
In February 2006, 25 students and two Ford School professors visited China for one week to meet Chinese policy leaders and to learn more about the country's social and economic development. During the months prior to the trip, Ann Lin, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Associate Professor of Political Science, led the International Economic Development Program class of MPP, MBA, JD, and PhD students through an examination of China's history, political structure, and policy challenges. Students prepared policy memos on topics such as China's rural health care system, a comparison of India and China's economic reforms, and the management structure of China's Township Village Enterprises. After months of preparation and background research, students complemented their academic knowledge by visiting Beijing and Xi’an.
[ Back to Top ]
SOCIAL WORK
Recognized as a leader in research and public service, the School of Social Work supports and encourages the creation and dissemination of social innovations, both nationally and internationally, using interdisciplinary problem-solving efforts. Given China’s aging population and growing concerns resulting from large-scale migrations, social work services are becoming an important but understaffed field in China. In this regard, the School of Social Work has a great deal to offer.
Current Externally Funded and/or Collaborative Research
Lydia Li, Assistant Professor of Social Work
Project Description: This project focuses on the effects of social relationship on physical and mental health of elderly Chinese
UM Co-Investigator: Jersey Liang, Professor, Health Management and Policy;
Research Professor, Institute of Gerontology
External Funding: This project is partially supported by funding granted to another one of Professor Liang’s projects, entitled “Health and Well-Being among Older Old in U. S. and Japan.” Total direct costs: $1,536,471 provided by the National Institute on Aging. Additional matching funds of $1,160,000 are provided by the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology and $354,000 is provided by the National Bureau of Health Promotion, Taiwan.
Funding Duration: 09/30/2004 - 07/31/2009
[ Back to Top ]
