Contact:  Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 414/832-6590
For Immediate Release						December 9, 1996
 
Building Bridges:  Lawrence University Establishing Chinese Business Internship 
   
 
APPLETON, WIS. -- Melding a liberal arts curriculum with a business internship
program, Lawrence University students soon will be able to spend eight weeks
immersed in China's corporate and professional community.

The new program, "Building Bridges Through Practical Chinese," will be launched
in July 1997, with the support of a $185,000 grant from the U.S. Department of
Defense's National Security Education Program (NSEP).  Lawrence was one of only
seven institutions, and the only liberal arts college among the seven, that was
awarded a NSEP grant from among 120 proposals. 

In the next two years, 25 students who have had previous study experience in
China, will be selected for the program from Lawrence, as well as Carleton,
Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore and Whitman colleges, which together comprise the
Associated China Program (ACP).  The students will participate in internship
programs established by U.S. companies that have operations in China.  With an
emphasis on the interdisciplinary complexities necessary to operate in
corporate China, the Building Bridges program will attempt to establish
relationships both locally and abroad between academic and business
communities.

The Building Bridges initiative, one of only a handful of college or university-
directed business internship programs with China in the country, is believed to
be the first of its kind designed exclusively for liberal arts college
students. 

Prior to leaving on their internship, the 10 students selected for this year's
program will participate in a two-week long workshop in June on the Lawrence
campus.  Directed by Lawrence East Asian Languages and Cultures department
faculty members Jane Parish Yang, Frank Doeringer and Kuo-ming Sung, the
workshop will provide additional preparation in reading strategies, cultural
studies and communicative skills.

"What makes the Building Bridges program unique is that is provides a business
internship experience in China to liberal arts students," said Parish Yang,
assistant professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Lawrence, who will
oversee the program.  "In addition to increased ownership in their language
educations, we anticipate the experience will inspire and prepare more students
to continue Chinese language studies at the graduate level and propel them into
careers in the international business arena."

Tom Scheetz, president of Appleton Mills, an international manufacturer of
paper machine clothing and one of several Wisconsin companies with operations
in China, sees the potential of the Building Bridges internship program.

"The grant awarded to Lawrence is cause for excitement in both the academic and
the business community here in Appleton," said Scheetz.  "The concept of
immersing students in the business, social and communications aspects of China
will better acclimate them with the skills necessary to conduct business there. 
This program will give students and business some insight into the Asian market
and we congratulate Lawrence on its forward thinking to initiate it."    

In awarding Lawrence the $185,000 grant, the NSEP cited the 1992 report, "In
the International Interest: The Contributions and Needs of America's
International Liberal Arts Colleges" that said liberal arts colleges like
Lawrence produce a disproportionate number of graduates who make an impact
internationally in the areas of diplomatic representation, international law,
Peace Corps service and international relations and business.  

Among its findings, the "International Interest" report showed that 53 of the
nation's premier liberal arts colleges, which included Lawrence, produced only
two percent of the nation's college graduates from 1946-76, but those graduates
accounted for 9.4 percent of the country's foreign service officers and 10.4
percent of U.S. ambassadors serving as of 1990. 

"Lawrence and the other schools in the ACP have a proven track record of
educating students who assume leadership positions in the marketplace and
government service," said Yang.  "We're extremely excited about the ability of
the colleges that will be involved in the Building Bridges program to educate
students and help them become the type of leaders that will have a profound
impact on our country's ability to serve as a diplomatic and economic world
leader."

The NSEP grant is the third major grant the Lawrence East Asian Languages and
Cultures department has received in the last seven years.  It was awarded a
$40,000 3M VISION grant in 1989 that brought together local and international
business leaders to explore new perspectives on the emergence of the Pacific
Rim as a center of power.  In 1993 the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation awarded
Lawrence a three-year, $142,368 institutional enhancement grant to support a
second Chinese language faculty position.

The Building Bridges project is sponsored by the NSEP Program Office; the
content of the information does not necessarily reflect the position or  policy
of the U.S. Government. No official endorsement should be inferred.