Celebrating Confucius
By: Matt Blickenstaff
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: News
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Post Office campus was alive
with the sights, scents and
sounds of China for the grand
opening of the Confucius Institute
at WU Feb. 27.
"Tonight is the culmination
of the vision of many
and the hard work and determination
of a lot of people in
China and the United States,"
said Deborah Pierce, the director
of the WU's Confucius
Institute and the director for
the center for international
education.
More than 220 guests filled
the building's grand lobby to
indulge in Chinese cuisine,
music and culture before the
touring the new institute. The
sweet smells of ginger, soy
and sesame oil wafted from a
stir-fry table, while musician
Tabitha Mui played Chinese
music on a guzheng, a large,
traditional, 21-string zither.
In attendance were WU
deans, administrators, board
of trustees and a handful
of students.
"Today we open our doors
to a wealth of opportunities
and resources that will inspire
our community in greater St. Louis to get better acquainted with our global neighbors in China," said Neil George, interim president, in an
opening speech.
U.S. representatives from Missouri, Chinese dignitaries and members of St. Louis' business community, also attended the event.
"I hope this Confucius Institute will not only serve as a language center, but also as a center for providing information about China to people in St. Louis," said Huang Ping, a consul general for the People's Republic of China. "China and the U.S. are great countries. We are the largest two engines driving the economy of the world. By working together we can overcome difficulties and come out stronger."
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