In the most recent initiative in the University’s developing relationship with China, sparked by President Mary Sue Coleman’s 2005 visit with a U-M delegation, a new coordinator of U-M China initiatives has been named.

Zhen “Jen” Zhu joins the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs. She will serve as a resource for all U-M units interested in developing academic programs in China.

Zhu will help identify partner institutions in China, work with schools and colleges to develop programs, assist in setting program goals and strategies, and work with a faculty steering committee to identify and develop University-wide opportunities in China.

Several units have been exploring the possibility of partnerships with their counterparts in China, while others are expanding or improving existing relationships.

Zhu is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, receiving her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history of art. She has also studied at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center and received her Master of Arts degree in Chinese Studies at U-M.

Zhu has worked at the U-M International Center and as a research assistant in the Department of Sociology. In addition, she taught English at Peking University and worked at the Roger Baldwin Foundation in Chicago.

One of her first tasks will be to do an inventory of academic programs already in place with Chinese universities.