Administrators from UMD's College of AGNR visit National Taiwan University
As Dean of the University of Maryland’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR), Dr. Cheng-i Wei knows the key to developing a world class program is cultivating partnerships with foreign countries – not just for students, but instructors as well. “It’s important to have globalization,” says Dean Wei. “Our faculty needs to have international opportunities.”
One specific partnership Wei has worked hard to strengthen over the last several years is the College of AGNR’s relationship with National Taiwan University (NTU) in Taipei. Wei is a native of Taiwan and received an M.S. in medical microbiology from NTU in 1972. In January, he and a group of department chairs and other administrators from the College of AGNR traveled to Taiwan to meet with their NTU counterparts and discuss potential collaborations.
During their whirlwind trip to the island nation, AGNR administrators had the opportunity to explore Taiwan’s Experimental Forest run by NTU’s College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture (pictured left). Spanning nearly 35,000 acres, the Experimental Forest is known as a premiere spot in Southeast Asia for conducting forest research, training and field practice. UMD administrators spent an evening inside cabins surrounded by ornate gardens deep inside the forest. They then took a guided tour of the forest and traveled along the skywalk that cuts through the dense vegetation 70 feet in the air. “They really did roll out the red carpet for us,” said Dr. Leon Slaughter, AGNR’s Associate Dean for Academic Programs. “I certainly wasn’t used to seeing things so lush and green in January.”
The delegation from UMD also toured a wood products factory owned by NTU as well as a tea plantation (pictured right), where Ulong tea is made, before visiting NTU’s main campus in Taipei. There they met with faculty members and administrators from the university’s College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture to talk about ways the two universities can strategically share resources in order to advance research and bolster instruction.
“It’s paying off for us right away,” said Dr. Angus Murphy, chair of UMD’s Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, who is already planning to travel back to Taiwan to meet with NTU faculty in March. “We’ve got several ready-to-go projects already in the works.” (Pictured: NTU's main campus in Taipei)
Administrators from both NTU and UMD also discussed the possibility of establishing a 2+2 program between the universities, where students would complete two years of study in Taiwan and then transfer to the University of Maryland for two years. The College of AGNR currently participates in a 2+2 program with China Agricultural University.
In the past, UMD’s College of AGNR has partnered with NTU through both a summer student exchange program as well as a nutrition course team taught by professors at both universities through video conferencing. However, Wei sees endless possibilities for the College of AGNR to benefit from stronger ties with the Taiwanese university, which he deems to be one of the best comprehensive public research universities in the eastern world.
“Many Chinese-Americans and Taiwanese-Americans are graduates of NTU. We’re talking about top scientists, accomplished professors and researchers,” Wei said. “The idea is to expand the collaboration (with NTU) across a broader spectrum. We want a systemic outcome incorporating the whole program—teaching, research and extension.”
The delegation to NTU from UMD included (from left to right): Bill Bowerman, chair of the Department of Environmental Science & Technology; Ray Miller, Director of International Programs in Agriculture and Natural Resources; Angus Murphy, chair of the Department of Plant Science & Landscape Architecture; Siba Samal, chair of the Department of Veterinary Medicine; Dean Cheng-i Wei; Leon Slaughter, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Tom Porter, chair of the Department of Animal & Avian Science.
