"Gateway to the World"

Ohio State has opened its first international presence: a Gateway office in Shanghai.

President E. Gordon Gee, who recently traveled to China, says the office is "modest in size, but large in purpose. Through it, we seek to enlarge Ohio State's collaborations across China."

The university and China already have a longstanding relationship. Ohio State enrolls more than 1,200 Chinese students; offers seven Chinese study abroad programs; operates a nationally recognized advanced language education program in Qingdao; and has established relationships with about 30 Chinese universities.

The Gateway will allow Ohio State to further this relationship, giving the university a physical space to connect with Chinese scholars, recruit faculty and students, and collaborate with Ohio businesses working internationally.

While in China, Gee spoke to the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and met with the university's oldest living alumnus, 111-year-old Dr. Zheng Ji. (Dr. Zheng died July 29. The university mourns his passing.)

Here, excerpts from his reflections on those experiences:

"From Where I Stand: The View from Shanghai"

June 29, 2010

"Yesterday, I was honored to speak at an event sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. The audience was a mix of leaders from various industries and many different countries. My message--that our thoroughly shared future depends on more aggressive collaboration and calculated risk-taking--applies equally across industries and national borders."

Read more. And read the speech President Gee gave to the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

"From Where I Stand: Alumnus Making History, Changing the World"

July 13, 2010

"As I pause to reflect on my recent visit to China, I know that the intensity of the two weeks--during which we opened the University's Gateway office in the central business district of Shanghai--was enhanced immeasurably by the opportunity to meet with Ohio State's 111-year-old alumnus, Dr. Zheng Ji. Dr. Zheng resides in Nanjing, the old Imperial capital of China, where he has enjoyed a luminous, lengthy career as a professor at Nanjing University. Considered a father of nutrition in China and one of its most important scientists, Dr. Zheng earned his master's degree from Ohio State in 1931."

Read more.