Saint Martin's, Pudong Business College launch new
program
Friday, June 28, 2002
Lacey, Wash. - Saint Martin’s College is partnering
with China’s Pudong Business College, a part of Shanghai Maritime
University, in a new program that will enable Pudong’s students to learn
American business practices.
About 20 of the 300 Pudong students taking part in the
program will arrive at Saint Martin’s for a summer session that begins
the first week in July and concludes Aug. 28. The students will study
American business practices, improve their English skills and learn more
about American culture. They also will visit area businesses to observe
their operations first-hand. Later in the year, four Saint Martin’s
faculty members will travel to Shanghai to teach three-week intensive
business courses.
Many of the Chinese students will then transfer to
Saint Martin’s to complete their undergraduate degrees, and possibly
their MBAs, with the goal of learning the skills necessary to work for
the numerous Western companies with offices in Shanghai. Many companies
in that city are in need of Chinese workers who are proficient in
English and understand Western business.
Business and economics faculty members participating
in the program’s inaugural year are:
- October: Associate Professor David Rasmussen, who will teach
accounting.
- December: Assistant Professor Riley Moore, who will teach economics.
- March: Assistant Professor Paul Patterson, who will teach marketing.
Also teaching will be Associate Professor Michael Gideon. The timeframe
and subject area are still being finalized.
“We just returned from a visit, whose objective was to
get a feeling for the facilities, the infrastructure and the students’
understanding of English at Pudong,” said Moore. “We will be teaching in
English, and it will be tough for students at first, but many have quite
good English skills since they have had English instruction.”
Saint Martin’s currently is seeking 10
business-oriented families in the Thurston County area to host the
Pudong students from Aug. 22 to Aug. 28. The students, who are 18 to 21
years old, will live in pairs in host homes. The home-stays will give
students opportunities to learn more about American culture, practice
their English skills and, ideally, learn about business firsthand
through in-depth conversations and workplace visits with host families.
The college hopes to match students with families representing small
business, large business and government agencies.
Host family duties will include:
- Providing a room for two young men or young women to share.
- Providing breakfast and dinner each day.
- Dropping students off at Saint Martin’s about 8 a.m. for classes and
picking them up about 5 p.m. each weekday.
- Entertaining students for the two weekend days. Most prefer to simply
partake in daily activities and conversations with their host families,
so the amount and type of entertainment is up to the individual family.
Saint Martin’s provides a $100 stipend to help host families cover
expenses for the five-night stay.
Potential host families are asked to complete a
questionnaire from the college and, to insure that students have a
positive and safe home-stay experience, all members of the household
over age 12 also must complete background checks. Families will be
selected by Aug. 1. For more information on the hosting opportunity or
to request a hosting packet, please contact Carleen Jackson, director of
enrollment management and marketing, at 360-438-4485 or
carleenj@stmartin.edu.
For more information:
Josephine Yung
360-438-4375 or jyung@stmartin.edu
Holly Harmon
Director of communication
360-438-4332 or hharmon@stmartin.edu