The 7th Sino-American Academic Conference on Education was held in the City of Taiyuan in the People's Republic of China this past June. The theme this year was "Economic Development with Ethical and Cultural Progress-the Role of Higher Education in the 21st Century in China and the United States."

The Conference's purpose was to strengthen cooperation and exchange among Chinese and American scholars and educators and to address common educational issues. Twenty-eight American educators, mostly from CUNY, joined with their Chinese counterparts to form five distinct groups, each named for the task it was to address. The Think Tank Group discussed ways to link higher education with economic development in Shanxi. The Community College and ESL/TOEFL Groups focused on establishing a network of community colleges and improving the teaching of English as a second language, respectively. And, The Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) and Computer and Information Technology Groups devised plans to collaborate with the province and help them build two CAT Centers and the Shanxi Information Super Highway.

CUNY/CIS has been involved with the conference since the mid 1980s when Michael Ribaudo, then Director of Academic Computing, first lent his support to the effort. CIS continues to be an active participant in the program and this year sent Victor Viggiano, its Director of Communications and Operations, to be part of The Computer and Information Technology Group. Viggiano, whose presentation on computer networks was so well-received by provincial officials that he has been invited back to act as a consultant on the development of the Shanxi Super Highway, was extremely impressed by the progress the Province has made to date. In 1993 Shanxi completed the installation of four trunk optical-fiber transmission lines and opened a 400,000 line program-controlled telephone exchange in Taiyuan, its capital city. "Despite the fact that the Province only began to explore the possibilities of modern information technology recently, it has made and continues to make outstanding progress," he says. Their commitment is further evidenced by the recently created Technology Development Zone covering an area of 8 square kilometers which they hope will encourage foreign investors in joint advanced technology ventures.

Che-Tsao Huang, Director of Academic Computing and Educational Technology at York College and Co-Chair of the Sino-American Education Exchange, a Conference sponsor, explains: "Shanxi is an inland province in China [whose] economic development has been far slower than that of the national level. By the year 2000, provincial leaders hope to create a partnership between higher education and economic development initiatives that will transform Shanxi into one of the most advanced of the inland provinces." Viggiano believes that "CUNY's participation and support will unquestionably help to make their dreams a reality."

Previously, the Taiyuan University of Technology sent three delegates to CUNY for a month-long observation and study of its academic, scientific research and training programs, as well as its management styles and computer technology utilization procedures. In addition to preparing for the academic activities of the Conference, the delegates wished to initiate cooperative programs such as faculty exchanges and joint scientific research projects. Already proposed by one delegate, Professor Ren Xinhua, is the establishment of a high speed network multimedia system in Taiyuan for instructional purposes. Although the details are still under discussion, the hope is to complete this project within two and a half years with the cooperation of York and other CUNY colleges.

Ancient Wonders

During their stay, participants were invited to tour several projects currently under way to improve the life and economy of Shanxi, among them the construction of a modern waterway. Viggiano noticed, with particular interest, the deftness with which provincial crews, who still rely heavily on hand tools, perform their various construction tasks. His favorite sites were an ancient pagoda built without a single nail and a Buddhist temple exquisitely carved out of the side of a mountain. "The fact that these monuments remain standing in their current splendor and magnificence," remarked Viggiano, "pays tremendous homage to the artistic mastery of their ancestral craftsmen. When I realized that the techniques used to build them have been handed down from generation to generation and continue to be skillfully practiced today, I had an entirely new appreciation of the Chinese. Instantly, I was struck by the incredible value of the Conference, both technologically and culturally, and I was deeply grateful to have been part of the exchange."

The Conference is supported by a number of organizations in the United States and China and is often attended by high-level guests. This year they included Shanxi's Vice Governor,Vice Secretary General, and Director of Foreign Affairs, as well as Chinese Commissioners of Education, Science, Planning and Economic Development. United States participants came from several CUNY Colleges among them Baruch, City, Hostos, Hunter, LaGuardia, Staten Island and York, in addition to Marymount College, the Educational Testing Service, and The United States/China Exchange.

The Conference, which has been held every two years alternately in the United States and China, began in 1985 as a collaborative effort between the City University of New York and the Chinese Education Association for International Exchange. Full written proceedings of the bi-annual events are available from Professor Che-Tsao Huang at York College, Jamaica, New York, 11451.

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