President Nemec and Dean Li Visit China to Connect with our Community Abroad and to Establish Collaborations with Two of China’s Top Universities

President Nemec and Dean Li Visit China to Establish Links with Two of China’s Top Universities

President Mark R. Nemec, PhD meeting with Chinese university officials.

President Nemec meeting with leaders at the University of International Business and Economics, China.

President Mark R. Nemec, PhD and Zhan Li, DBA, dean of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business, visited China to further Fairfield’s global outreach, and to connect with our community abroad.

Linking Fairfield University and the Dolan School of Business to such a large international audience is vitally important to our vision of developing ever more expansive partnerships. China is the second largest economy in the world and thus a significant part of global business of which all our students need to be aware.

— Zhan Li, DBA, Dean of the Charles F. Dolan School of Business

President Nemec and Dean Li visited China in February 2019 as part of a broader effort to advance Fairfield’s commitment to modern excellence. The trip, which took them to Beijing, Shanghai, and Inner Mongolia, helped connect the University with leading Chinese universities, top executives of multinational corporations, and innovative learning providers.

“Linking Fairfield University and the Dolan School of Business to such a large international audience is vitally important to our vision of developing ever more expansive partnerships,” said Zhan Li, dean of the Dolan School of Business. “China is the second largest economy in the world and thus a significant part of global business of which all our students need to be aware.”

With this in mind, the pair met with a number of university leaders in order to create and strengthen academic ties in the region. While in Shanghai and Beijing, President Nemec entered into collaborative Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreements with two of China’s top universities: the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and the University of International Business and Economics. These agreements open the door for sharing knowledge between Fairfield and the international institutions.

“As a result of these MOUs, new exchange opportunities for faculty and students are made possible,” said President Nemec. “We can also work with these academic partners to establish new research and programs between institutions. These are relationships I am excited to see grow, because they foster collaborations that pave the way for our students and faculty to gain ever more global perspectives.”

President Nemec and Dean Li also strengthened an existing bond with the Beijing Center for Chinese Studies operated by the Jesuit university network. The Center is already a destination for undergraduates studying abroad and faculty seeking to do research in the region.

In addition to academic partners, a modern global outlook requires building relationships with business and industry. To that end, President Nemec and Dean Li engaged with executives of multinational companies including Chevron, PwC, and the Yili Group, one of China’s largest dairy producers, and the third best performing food brand in the world; Yili Group's chairman and CEO is Fairfield parent Pang Gang, P’20.

Throughout their travels, President Nemec and Dean Li also made time to connect with members of the Fairfield University community in the country. The visit to the Beijing Center for Chinese Studies afforded an opportunity to connect with Ana Scanlon ’20 and alumnus John Sember ’12. Scanlon, who is spending her semester abroad, is an international studies major. Sember, meanwhile, earned his degree in the same field.

“It was wonderful to see students and alumni working together all over the world,” said President Nemec. “I look forward to their continued success as they follow the shared passions they’ve developed at Fairfield.”

Alumni had a chance to meet with President Nemec and Dean Li in Shanghai as well. They were reunited during a dinner reception on the Bund, and celebrated Stag pride while President Nemec shared news of the exciting accomplishments at Fairfield University and in the Dolan School of Business.

There was much to share, as the Dolan School is preparing to relocate to a new, world-class academic building scheduled to open in fall 2019. Currently under construction, the 80,500 square foot, $40 million facility will feature a simulated financial trading room, a large data analytics lab, an entrepreneurship center with ideation lab space, a visualization and simulation lab, and active learning and case-based classrooms. It will also be home to innovative spaces like a one-button studio, a behavioral research lab, and the University’s Center for Applied Ethics. These amenities will support the School’s exceptional faculty, as well as its strong internship and professional development programs — all backed by an engaged alumni network — that have resulted in 98% placement rate for graduates within six months of graduation.

The Dolan School of Business is one of the highest ranked schools in the nation, named by Bloomberg Businessweek as one of the United States’ best undergraduate business schools. U.S. News and World Report and College Factual have also ranked it as a Top 25 school nationwide for its accounting, finance, and marketing disciplines, and it is one of only 5% of schools nationally that are accredited by AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

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