'Green' News from Alfred University http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/archive.cfm Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:16:41 EST goetschius@alfred.edu (Susan Goetschius) webmaster@alfred.edu (Judy Linza) Alfred University is one of four sites in the Eastern United States where students will demonstrate their proficiency in the Chinese language, choosing those who will advance to national, and potentially international, competition. The second annual "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition preliminary round is scheduled for 1 p.m. April 2 in the Olin Building on the Alfred University campus. The competition, hosted by the Confucius Institute at Alfred University (CIAU), is open to non-Chinese students under the age of 30 from colleges and universities in the states of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. First and second-year students are eligible for the junior level contest, and those who have taken Chinese language instruction for three years or more are eligible for the senior level competition. Other sites for the preliminary competition are the New York Service Center for Chinese Study Fellows in New York City; Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; and Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA. Last year, 82 students from 32 colleges and universities entered the first regional "Chinese Bridge" competition. Twenty-four students advanced to the final round, with the top two students advancing to the international competition, vying for scholarships to study in China, offered by the Hanban (Chinese Language Council International). Two additional finalists were also invited to travel to China as spectators for the competition. All travel expenses were paid by the Hanban. This year's international competition will be held in July. Leon Chen of the New York Service Center for Chinese Study Fellows is organizing the regional competition. He explains the competition "aims to provide a well-established stage for American college students to show their talent in Chinese language and to learn Chinese culture." Wilfred Huang, professor of management and director of the Confucius Institute at Alfred University, said the regional competition will include a short speech - two minutes for those competing at the junior level and three minutes for those at the senior level -- to demonstrate their proficiency in speaking Chinese. There is a talent portion of the competition during which contestants demonstrate their proficiency in Chinese arts and culture through performance - Chinese songs, dance, folk arts, playing musical instruments, calligraphy, painting, paper-cutting and Wushu (military arts), for example. In the final round, contestants will demonstrate their knowledge of China by responding to questions about the country with extemporaneous answers. Applications to participate in the regional competition are due by Sunday, March 20. They may be mailed to the Confucius Institute at Alfred University, 10 Park St., Alfred, NY 14802 or e-mailed to ciau@alfred.edu. http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?ID=6646 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:00:00 EST 6646 http://www.alfred.edu Alfred University will formally mark the establishment of a Confucius Institute on its campus with a two-day celebration that begins Sunday afternoon with an official ceremony and a full program of performances by Chinese artists. The events continue with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Monday in the F.W. Olin College of Business Building. Alfred's Confucius Institute is one of only 47 in the United States, and one of only three in New York State. Confucius Institutes, which promote Chinese language and culture through education, are created through Chinese Language Council International (Hanban). Alfred University's partner institution, which will provide Chinese faculty members for the Institute as well work with Alfred on its administration, is China University of Geosciences (CUG) in Wuhan, the People's Republic of China. AU President Charles Edmondson and Yanxin Wang, vice president of China University of Geosciences, will sign the formal agreement between the two institutions as part of the opening ceremony at 4 p.m. Sunday in Nevins Theater, Powell Campus Center. Other members of the CUG delegation include Xulong Lai, professor of geology and dean of the earth sciences faculty; Hua Wang, director of personnel development; Yuanxing Dong, dean of Foreign Languages School; Bin Shuai, dean of Arts and Communications School; and Hongtao Su, deputy dean of International Education School. Dr. Wilfred Huang, director of the Confucius Institute at Alfred University (CIAU) and professor of management in the College of Business, will be master of ceremonies. Other Alfred representatives on hand for the ceremony will be Xinquan Liu, Chinese director and associate director of the institute; Carla Coch, associate director; Yuzhen (Jenny) Zhang, instructor; and Jing (Shirley) Zhu, instructor. Delivering the keynote address, "Kong dot Flux," will be Wayne Higby, professor of ceramic art in AU's School of Art & Design. "Professor Higby was a natural choice for our keynote speaker for this ceremony, which is about building bridges and understanding between people of different cultures," said Edmondson. For nearly 20 years, Higby has been working to establish connections with China; he is co-founder of San Bao International Ceramic Art Institute. Literally meaning "three treasures" in Chinese - rice, tea and porcelain - San Bao is a studio center near Jingdezhen where ceramic artists from around the world can come and work. His efforts were recognized when he was the first foreign national to be made an honorary citizen of Jingdezhen. The ceremony will also feature "Dance in the Rain," performed by Wan Dongni, a student from China University of Geosciences who is now studying at Bryant University; "an ensemble of Yang Yue, Li Liqun, Zhou Yi and Miao Yimin will perform several selections, including "The Moonlit Spring River and Flowers," "Three Six" and "Horse racing." Yang Yue plays the erhu, a bowed lute with two strings tuned a fifth apart, between which the bow is threaded. Li Liqun plays the yangqin, a hammered dulcimer, and Zhou Yi plays the pipa, a four-stringed lute with a pear-shaped body. Completing the ensemble is Miao Yimin, who plays the dizi, a wooden flute. http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?ID=5451 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST 5451 http://www.alfred.edu This weekend's opening ceremonies for the Confucius Institute at Alfred University (CIAU) will showcase traditional Chinese dances and music - and allow the newly created institute an opportunity to fulfill one of its goals. "The goal of Confucius Institute is to promote a greater understanding of Chinese culture and language," explains Dr. Wilfred Huang, director of CIAU and a professor of management in the College of Business at Alfred University. To that end, Huang and his committee have organized a broad and varied program they believe will offer a "spectacular" introduction to the public of some very important aspects of Chinese culture. The first event open to the public is a Lion Dance, a traditional dance performed by acrobats in a lion costume. It is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Sunday, May 3, on the quadrangle in front of Powell Campus Center. The formal opening ceremony, which will include the signing of an agreement between Alfred University and its partner institution, China University of Geosciences in Wuhan, the People's Republic of China, will be held at 4 p.m. in Nevins Theater, Powell Campus Center. There will be series of performances, also at Nevins Theater, beginning at 8 p.m. Featured performers include Wan Dongni, a student at China University of Geosciences who is now doing a study abroad experience at Bryant University; Zhou Yi, who plays the pipa, a four-stringed lute with a pear-shaped body; Yang Yue, who plays the erhu, a bowed lute with two strings; Li Liquin, who plays the yangqin, a hammered dulcimer; and Miao Yimin, who plays the dizi, a wooden flute. http://www.alfred.edu/pressreleases/viewrelease.cfm?ID=5453 Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST 5453 http://www.alfred.edu