Your news: Chinese educational delegation visits CLC
Getting a direct taste of U.S. career education, a group of five visiting Chinese academics recently donned white aprons atop their navy blue business suits and helped stir fry meats and vegetables for their supper in kitchens used for the College of Lake County's culinary arts program.
CLC hosted the visitors from Chinese vocational colleges from Oct. 31 to Nov. 13. The group was part of a delegation visiting several U.S. community colleges and the U.S. Department of Education offices in Washington, D.C., as part of a program called Vocational Education Leadership Training, sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges and the China Education Association for International Exchange.
The kitchen lesson was in keeping with a major purpose of the tour: learning firsthand about U.S. career education methods and curricula.
CLC applied to be a host site for the visit, and according to Michael Allen, interim associate vice president for international programs and services at AACC, was selected because of the college's strong international programs and the support of faculty and administration.
“The college is a good fit to what the Chinese are looking for,” Allen said, noting that CLC has been the recipient of a prestigious U.S. Department of Education grant funding overseas study in China and other related academic programming.
Dr. Li-hua Yu, a sociology instructor and interim manager of the CLC Center for International Education, facilitated the VELT delegation's visit to Illinois, doing everything from taking the guests to the Chinatown area of Chicago to serving as an interpreter (she is a native of China).
She said the guests, representing five different Chinese colleges, were impressed with the preparation and planning that CLC staff put into arranging their visit, which included tours of all three of the college's campuses. They made positive comments about the training programs available to staff and faculty and the college's progressive work environment, she said.
“They were very impressed with the new technology and equipment in our labs, classrooms and library,” she said. “They also noticed how clean the campus is and that it is a very active, alive, high-energy campus, which they think is a very healthy thing.”
CLC President Dr. Jerry Weber, planned to sign a memorandum of agreement with members of the VELT delegation. The agreement will start a process to cooperate on future exchange projects and joint programs between CLC and the Chinese universities.
“We're excited to be developing new contacts to expand the international education opportunities we offer students,” Weber said.
Speaking through an interpreter, Chao Ye, president of Qinghai Vocational and Technical College of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, said he found similarities between CLC and Chinese colleges in their focus on students' success.
“At CLC, there is a really good teaching and administrative team and there is a big focus on serving students,” he said.
The kitchen where the Chinese visitors enjoyed their cooking lesson is located at the Lake County High Schools Technology Campus, which is adjacent to the CLC Grayslake Campus and houses the college's cooking classes. In preparation for the guests' arrival, more than 30 CLC students, dressed in their white chef's uniforms, chopped vegetables, sauteed meats and put the finishing touches on dessert pastries.
After joining in the food preparation, the Chinese visitors sat down with CLC and LCHSTC representatives to enjoy a buffet-style meal of mixed grilled summer vegetables, spinach salad, sauteed duck and a regional dessert choice of cherries jubilee (with Door County cherries), buckeyes from Ohio or apple almond tartlets made with Michigan apples.
Culinary arts instructor Chef Michael Zema told the visitors that CLC students from three classes – baking, beginning production and advanced production had spent two days planning the meal.
“In our program, we build a foundation of culinary and management skills, and we stress employability and developing a passion for cooking,” he said.
That passion not only drew the visitors' praise for the food served, but also an invitation in keeping with the growing global economy.
“Come to China to work after you graduate,” quipped the delegation's leader Shan de Mu, vice president of Rizhao Polytechnic.
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