The University will open a Confucius Institute on campus for at least five years, as approved by the Urbana-Champaign Senate on Feb. 4.

The institute will provide community outreach on Chinese language and culture, Chinese language testing research and general support for Chinese studies activities on campus, according to the proposal to the General University Policy Committee. The Confucius Institute will collaborate with the College of Education and the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies along with the Chinese language program in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.

“We thought the content of the proposal fit with our research missions. It’s a research-oriented proposal,” said Nicholas Burbules, chair of the University General Policy Committee. “I think it’s another step toward the University being an international partner with nations around the world.”

A $150,000 startup grant from the Chinese Ministry of Education, matched by already committed funds from campus, the College of Education and the Office of International Programs and Studies, will provide initial funding for the institute. 

At the end of the five-year period, the institute will go through a review process, and if the review indicates it is successful, a proposal may be made to make the institute permanent.

In May 2006, fellow Big Ten member Michigan State University, in partnership with the Open University of China, established its own Confucius Institute as part of its College of Education.

“The mission of our CI is to promote Chinese language learning for U.S. students,” said Ruhui Ni, associate director of MSU’s Confucius Institute.

MSU’s institue has been named Confucius Institute of the Year by the Chinese Ministry of Education for three years in a row.

According to Ni, who has worked at the institute since it opened almost seven years ago, MSU’s institute makes materials available on their website free of charge to encourage students from elementary to adult levels to learn about the Chinese language and culture.

Hua-Hua Chang, professor of educational psychology, will be the director of the University’s institute. 

According to the proposal, the board of directors for the institute will be composed of representatives from Illinois, the Chinese partner University (Jiangxi Normal University) and Confucius Institute Headquarters.

Laura Shay, Danielle Brown, Emily Thornton and Hannah Prokop contributed to this report.