The university has decided not to renew the agreement to host a Confucius Institute at the University of Michigan for a third term when the current partnership expires in 2019.
The university has informed Hanban, the headquarters of Confucius Institute, of this decision.
The Confucius Institute will continue to offer cultural programs and events through June 2019, including a Chinese grand opera in April 2019.
“This transition is driven by a desire to more broadly include the work of exploring and studying Chinese visual and performing arts within U-M’s regular academic and cultural units,” said James Holloway, vice provost for global engagement and interdisciplinary academic affairs.
Meanwhile, U-M is in communication with Hanban, exploring alternative ways to support the greater U-M community to continuously engage with Chinese artistic culture.
U-M remains dedicated to engagement with China. The university’s enduring history of friendship with China dates back to the 1850s.
“Today, U-M has a large and growing portfolio of partnerships with China in research and education, ranging from engineering to science, medicine to management, and health to humanities,” Holloway said.
