Larger Role for Confucius Institute

The Confucius Institute is celebrating five years at San Diego State University and an expansion of its role as an educational and cultural paradigm in Southern California.

SDSU’s center has been recognized as one of eight model Confucius Institutes worldwide in promoting the teaching of Chinese language and culture in San Diego.

Last December, China endorsed the institute’s further growth with a $1 million gift. That stamp of approval attracted global attention and another significant gift to SDSU’s institute from educator Mianjun Li.

Li, the general headmaster of China’s Shenmo School, has developed a modern curriculum using the abacus in the teaching of statistics, economics, geography and related subjects. His gift will support the promotion of this curriculum in the U.S.

New home in Storm Hall

As it expands, the Confucius Institute at SDSU is settling into a new home in the renovated Storm Hall. Its library contains examples of the six arts of Confucius, including a book collection, calligraphy, musical instruments, silk items and implements used in the Chinese tea ceremony.

The Confucius Institute at SDSU was established in collaboration with the Office of Chinese Language International Council (Hanban). It is a resource, not only for SDSU, but also for Southern California schools interested creating more diverse and globally-oriented curriculum, said managing director, Lilly Cheng, Ph.D.

A presence in five counties

Currently, the institute partners with about 30 K-12 schools in San Diego, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, bringing in guest speakers and artists and training teachers in Chinese language and culture. Plans to collaborate with community colleges are now taking shape.

In 2012, an SDSU-affiliated school—the Barnard Mandarin Magnate School in Point Loma—was selected as one of four Confucius Classrooms of the Year from a field of more than 500 classrooms.

At SDSU, the institute also offers study abroad programs and the Chinese Corner, a biweekly collaboration of Chinese, American and Chinese American students designed to be a cultural bridge to mutual understanding.