Gustavus Adolphus College President Jack R. Ohle recently delivered a lecture in China as part of the fourth annual Minnesota Private College Council-United International College Presidential Lecture Series. He was visiting United International College (UIC) in Zhuhai, China, with a Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC) delegation, along with representatives from partner institutions. His speech was titled, “The Importance of Internationalism in the Liberal Arts.”
Gustavus is one of six MPCC member institutions that participate in an international education exchange program with UIC. When UIC opened in 2005, it was the first fully sanctioned liberal arts college to be established in China in more than 50 years. The agreement with the MPCC was the first such agreement UIC reached with an American college or group of colleges.
President Ohle and Bethany Lutheran College President Dan Bruss both delivered remarks on aspects of a liberal arts education at the MPCC-UIC Presidential Lecture Series and Sino-American Conference on Liberal Arts Education. Representatives from Augsburg College, Concordia College, Concordia University-St. Paul, and MPCC President Paul Cerkvenik were also part of the delegation.
In his lecture, President Ohle stated that “As we think together about ‘Internationalism in liberal arts,’ I want to remind us why we believe a liberal arts education is valuable. It enables our students to be well rounded and engaged, not only in their own work, but in their future, and in this case, the future of our two countries. It is imperative that we work together to make this a better world in which to live.”
President Ohle’s entire lecture will soon be posted on his webpage at gustavus.edu/president.
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