Collaborative Research Center Officially Announce in China

The College of Education has one of the strongest commitments to international education of any U.S. university. Over the years, it has been a leader in forging research and development ties throughout the country. One of the most recent of these efforts is the United States –China Center for Research on Educational Excellence.

In November, President Lou Anna Simon led a delegation from MSU to China for the launch of the first-of-its-kind educational research partnership with the Asian country. Funded by the Hong Kong–based Sun Wah Education Foundation, the center was formally unveiled at a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The collaboration will involve two centers: the U.S.– China Center for Research on Educational Excellence at Michigan State University and the China–U.S. Education Research Center at Beijing Normal University. Professor Yong Zhao is director of the MSU-based center.

In his speech at the news conference, Jonathan Choi, founder and chairman of the Sun Wah Education Foundation, pointed out that the creation of a project of such
magnitude in the education field by a private organization was a first in China. The goal of the centers is to develop an effective model for basic education in China by combining the efforts and resources of MSU and Beijing Normal.

Zhao said that work at the U.S. center is well underway and plans are to publish a book titled, The Role of Government in Education. It will include educational findings and analysis from scholars and education specialists representing the wide range of perspectives from China, the U.S., and Australia.