To the Editor:
Peter Woods’s critique of Confucius Institutes on U.S. campuses should be read with a good measure of skepticism (“China’s Pernicious Presence on American campuses,” The Chronicle, February 26). He and his colleagues at the National Association of Scholars purportedly engaged in a two-year study to “learn how CI’s came to be placed on U.S. campuses, how they operate, and how they influence institutions.” As someone who has been intimately associated with the operation of three CI’s in Alaska, New York, and New Jersey, as well as many in Latin America and Europe, Wood’s critique does not square with my experience.
Confucius Institutes do not mysteriously appear on campuses anywhere in the world. In the United States, the competition for a CI is transparent and requires a multi-faceted application process. This includes developing relationships with comparable partner institutions in China, various embassies, and the Chinese government. In New Jersey there are two CI’s, one at Rutgers and the other at New Jersey City University. At New Jersey City University, our CI is devoted to the study of languages and culture. We involve numerous community groups and students in cultural activities and free language courses. Activities are open to students in the K-12 system in Jersey City, many of whom would not have such opportunities. For example, through our CI, arrangements have been made for young people associated with the Big Brother Big Sister programs in Jersey City to visit China.
The Confucius Institute is overseen by a group of tenured faculty and administrators with no ties or consulting arrangements with the Chinese government. Courses offered by CI instructors are noncredit. NJCU students, many of whom are minorities from low-income backgrounds, are provided globalized experiences that truly make a difference in their lives.
Our Chinese instructors are paid for by our partner institution and work tirelessly for long hours. They are not political operatives or lobbyists who influence university decisions. They understand the United States and China compete on many geopolitical and economic levels in many areas of the world; we and they know we do not share ideologies in important areas. But on this one, the Chinese are doing something right; they are providing resources that benefit our students, faculty, and communities.
It is disheartening that in this era when the United States is retreating from its responsibilities as a leader of the free world and when state and federal governments seem reluctant to continue funding higher education, that organizations like the NAS allow themselves to be spokespersons for those who would further isolate the United States from world affairs and in the process deny our students meaningful learning experiences.
Daniel J. Julius
Provost and Senior Vice President
New Jersey City University
Jersey City
