A delegation from the province of Hainan, China, visited Coastal Carolina University Oct. 3 to discuss possible collaborative educational exchanges. CCU officials and representatives of Hainan University signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue student/faculty exchanges in fields of mutual interest, including tourism, golf and marine science.

Hainan University, located on Hainan Island off the southeastern coast of China, has three campuses with 20 colleges and more than 1,400 full-time faculty members serving a student population of 40,000. The university offers programs in a wide range of fields, including humanities, management, economics, tourism, ocean sciences, engineering, agriculture, law and communication. Hainan Island is a major international tourism destination, with more than 43 five-star hotels, 22 golf courses, national parks and forest reserves.

In addition to student and faculty exchanges, representatives of the two universities also discussed joint research activities, seminars and academic meetings as well as the joint organization of special academic and nonacademic programs.

The Chinese delegation included six university and civic officials, including Professor Jianbao Li, president of Hainan University; Mr. Ming Feng, deputy secretary-general of the Hainan provincial government; and Mr. Guanghui Hu, director-general of Hainan Provincial Educational Department, who served as consultant to the delegation. During its trip to America, the delegation is also visiting other institutions of higher education, including the University of Central Florida and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, to discuss educational partnerships.

“Our two universities have common specialties, and our regions have common trajectories of development. There is tremendous potential to develop programs that will give students and faculty from both settings a truly global perspective,” said Darla Domke-Damonte, assistant dean of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration and executive director of global initiatives at CCU.