University of Central Arkansas Hosts Lecture from the Chancellor of East China Normal University

IMG_7686On September 26th, Dr. Tong Shijun, the Chancellor of the University of Central Arkansas partner school, East China Normal University, presented lecture at the Clinton School of Public Service in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Confucius Institute.

Chancellor Tong’s lecture was entitled “The Idea of Multiple Democracies” and addressed the current political, economic and cultural development of China and its worldwide effects.

Prof. Shijun Tong is the Chancellor of East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai. He is also a member of the Social Science Committee of the National Ministry of Education of China, Vice Chairman of Shanghai Federation of Social Sciences, and Editor-in-Chief of Philosophical Analysis.

Tong got his PhD from University of Bergen in Norway in 1994 and has been a professor of philosophy at ECNU since then. He was a visiting professor at the University of Marburg of Germany and a Fulbright research scholar at Columbia University in the United States. In 2010 Tong was elected foreign member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

Tong has published more than 10 books and over 100 papers in areas of epistemology, practical philosophy, and social theory.

The UCA Confucius Institute for Arkansas was established in 2007 with East China Normal University, one of the most prestigious universities in China as its partner university. It is the 24th Confucius Institute created within the United States and one of 350 worldwide. It is the only such institute in Arkansas and one of the very few located in the South.

The mission of the Confucius Institute at the University of Central Arkansas is to strengthen the ties between the State of Arkansas and the People’s Republic of China, to enhance the mutual understanding of each respective culture, to promote Chinese language and culture within the State of Arkansas. This is done in a variety of ways including “Teaching Chinese in Arkansas” program, cultural experience, business translation and consultation services, seminars, as well as cultural performances and exhibitions.

sB5cPc5gsJDHctvOsZDSKxR7vCbAqXdjTovrqfuO7XY,AAXsCIoBLhhn53A1rcLIY_qv8ovE9eKCBINw8c88zME IMG_7743  IMG_7599