A delegation of university professors and scientists from UALR’s sister institution in Sichuan Province in China will visit Little Rock Wednesday, April 20, for what may be a prelude to more faculty exchanges.

The five member delegation from Southwest University of Science and Technology (SWUST), located in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China, will spend most of the day Wednesday with UALR officials, meeting with Chancellor Joel E. Anderson, taking a campus tour, and meeting with faculty in the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology and the Nanotechnology Center of UALR.

The delegation is scheduled to tour Heifer International headquarters at 2 p.m. and the Clinton Library at 3 p.m.

“We signed an exchange agreement with SWUST in 2010,” said Dr. Jeff Kyong-McClain, UALR assistant professor of history. “Since then, two students from their school have come to UALR and one of ours went there to study Chinese.”

The Southwest University of Science and Technology offers 70 undergraduate degree programs, 67 master degree programs, and 13 engineering master degree programs in eight subjects: engineering, science, economics, law, arts, agriculture, management, and education.

In addition, the university offers four joint Ph.D. programs with the Chinese Academy of Engineering Physics.

With the growing process of internationalization, SWUST is involving in active exchanges with overseas colleges and universities, according to information distributed by the visiting delegation. Currently, the SWUST maintains close links with universities and institutions in
Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania.

Kyong-McClain, who has visited the Chinese campus, is coordinating the visit with Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Jerry Stevenson, director of the Office of International Studies, and Wang-yun Chao, also of the Office of International Studies.

For more information on the visit, contact Kyong-McClain at 501-569-8393.