Hemenway returns from trip to Asia

KU chancellor signs exchange agreement with Taiwanese university

Chancellor Robert Hemenway has returned from a trip to Asia with a new exchange partner for Kansas University.

Hemenway returned Sunday from the 10-day trip, which included stops in China, Taiwan and South Korea.

“I think it was well worth the time,” Hemenway said of his travels, which were funded with private dollars. “It was a stimulating trip.”

Hemenway said KU signed a memorandum of agreement to be an exchange partner with Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan. The agreement, KU’s first with an institution in Taiwan, will allow faculty and students to travel between the institutions for training, research and other visits.

According to its Web site, Chengchi University was founded in 1927 and includes nine colleges, 33 departments and 42 graduate institutes. The university has about 3,000 graduates annually from a main campus and two satellite campuses.

Also while in Taiwan, Hemenway and his two traveling companions – Jeff Weinberg, assistant to the chancellor, and Diana Carlin, dean of the Graduate School and international programs – met with between 40 and 50 KU alumni.

Hemenway said he was especially interested by his time in China, where he visited with officials at Beijing University and the ministry of foreign affairs about setting up a training program at KU for city managers in China. KU’s city management and urban policy master’s program has been No. 1 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings for several years.

“The Chinese government has adopted a policy of opening up to the world,” Hemenway said. “For a long time, they were an isolated and closed society. With the entry into the global market, you have incredible investment in China. I think the world is better off with China opening up to the world.”

Hemenway also met with alumni in Seoul, South Korea, many of whom donated funds for the new Korean War Memorial, which was dedicated in April.