
Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, provost of the University of Hartford, and Dr. Zhang Cheng, vice president of Shandong Jiaotong University, China, sign the Memorandum of Understanding.
The delegation, led by Dr. Zhang along with three of his faculty members, spent April 20 in meetings with Dean Lou Manzione and CETA faculty and taking tours of both CETA and the University. Dr. Clara Fang facilitated by serving as the translator. The day began with Dean Manzione, who talked about the various programs offered by CETA with particular emphasis on the industrial partnerships that result in not only faculty research and collaborations but student projects as well. When they toured CETA’s labs and classrooms with Associate Dean Alnajjar, Dr. Zhang reported being impressed by the state-of-the-art equipment and research capabilities—and the fact that students worked in the labs outside of class hours on projects and lab experiments. They also enjoyed the Architecture design studio in the Harry Jack Gray Center, including an exhibit of student work being shown at the time.
Vice President Zhang Cheng of Shandong Jiaotong University presents a gift to Dr. Clara Fang and Dean Lou Manzione.
Dean Lou Manzione, Dr. Clara Fang, and the members of the Shandong Jiaotong University faculty visiting the University.

Dean Lou Manzione, Dr. Clara Fang, and Dr. David Pines, chair of Civil Engineering, in discussions with the Sandong faculty.
As a result of the meetings and tours, the University, CETA, and Shandong University are exploring student exchanges such as Chinese students studying two years at Shandong, then coming to the University of Hartford for two years under an articulation agreement. In addition, we will also consider a plan where faculty from Shandong University come here and pair with CETA faculty to learn to teach our more hands-on curriculum and our lab courses to better align our exchanges. Given the large number of students at Shandong—2,600 in Civil Engineering alone—it will take some adjustments to implement more hands-on learning and design-based projects, but everyone agreed that it can be done.
The day was capped off by a dinner that included the delegation, Dean Manzione, Dr. Fang, President Harrison, Provost Pasquerella, and Vice President Carson. Both academic and cultural discussions were conducted over dinner.

John Carson, vice president of the University of Hartford, meeting with Dr. Zhang Chen, vice president of Shandong Jiaotong University, accompanied by Dr. Clara Fang.
The meeting and agreement are the result of work begun by Dr. Fang during a trip she took last summer with Harrison, Carson, Alan Hadad and State of Connecticut Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan, among others. (Shandong state is a sister state of Connecticut; hence the involvement of Connecticut officials.) An agreement was reached at that time to bring Chinese students to the University, and Dr. Fang wanted specifically to bring engineering and technology students to CETA. During the summer trip, Dr. Fang spoke to officials in Shandong, which has a student population of 16,000 with 53 years of history focusing primarily on engineering, with a strong emphasis on civil and transportation engineering; and with the support of Dean Manzione, options were explored and the university agreed to send a delegation to West Hartford.
CETA looks forward to working with Shandong University and hosting Chinese students and faculty.
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