On 19 Jan. a group of instructors and administrators from UIC met with several members of the Consular Corps in Guangzhou for an informal dinner there at the Riverside Hotel. The guests included Robert de Leeuw, Consul General of the Netherlands, Chae Han-Surk, Deputy Consul of the Republic of Korea, and Ms. Rachel Yuan, also from the staff of the Korean Consulate-General. UIC was represented by Prof. Paul Hockings, the Acting Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, together with Prof. Richard Stanley-Baker, Ms. Mona Sun, Deputy Director of Development and Public Relations Office, Dr. Melanie Maisonneuve, and Ms. Ryu Hunnyok. (The latter two ladies will be teaching the French and Korean languages, respectively, beginning next semester.) Also present were two members of our administrative staff.
Over a long supper the main features of educational life at UIC were explained to the consular staff, who for their part expressed a great interest in visiting UIC's campus soon, and in collaborating with us in various future endeavours. The acquisition of library books and of foreign students, together with possible exchanges at a future time, were among the many matters discussed. The consuls were also asked to spread the word among the consular community in Guangzhou (which may attain 200 people) that UIC is a rational choice when it comes to sending their children to a nearby university; for many of the staff have teenage children. All in all, some strong personal relationships were forged in the course of one evening.
