COE Builds Valuable Relationships Abroad - University of Houston
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COE Builds Valuable Relationships Abroad

Zou, McPherson and Rolle Yali Zou, founding director of the Asian American Studies Center (AASC) and recent Global Leadership Endowed Professorship recipient, has trained over 2,000 students to become global leaders. To further prepare these future leaders, AASC, Dean Robert McPherson and the College of Education’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (DELPS) have made strides in cultivating valuable relationships with several Chinese universities.

“The Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies in the College of Education strives to be among the nation's premier departments of graduate study for the development, management, and evaluation of K-20 educational organizations,” said Anthony Rolle, chair of the department. “A part of this effort is establishing a global network that maintains and pursues mutually beneficial partnerships to improve educational environments, organizations and learning outcomes for all students.”

In a recent trip to China, DELPS Rolle, McPherson and Zou traveled to Shanghai, Changchun, Tianjin and Beijing. There, they met with colleagues at the Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences, Jilin HuaQiao University of Foreign Languages (Changchun) and Beijing Normal University. At these meetings, the leaders discussed strategies to improve the preparation of all students through global partnerships.

“This trip to China was very productive in laying the groundwork for long-term partnerships between the College of Education and top Chinese institutions and government agencies. All three Chinese institutions have a strong commitment to jointly develop either Master’s and/or Doctoral degree programs as well as research projects,” said Zou. “We are already reaping the benefits of our collaborative efforts.”

In a continuation of this partnership, Dong Qi, President of Beijing Normal University, visited the University of Houston on Monday, June 22 nd to further discuss the projects.

According to McPherson, “building these relationships expands the variables that influence and prepare students to become exemplary global leaders. The College of Education plans to continue these collaborations through research projects, international exchange programs, and joint M.Ed. and Ed.D. programs, among other initiatives.”