The Mandarin Language Education Center celebrated our opening on Wednesday 9/23 with our opening ceremony. Over 100 friends and colleagues from OU and abroad turned out at the Sam Noble Museum of History to celebrate our mission to build bridges, not just between countries or cultures, but between people—opening doors to new opportunities for Mandarin learners all across Oklahoma, be that scholarships, internships, or community.
Guest speakers at the opening ceremony included Dean Michael Markham, of the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, and Associate Provost Rebecca Cruise, of the Office of Global Engagement, from OU, VP Sophia Ho from Ming Chuan University, and Director General Yvonne Hsiao from the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Commission (T.E.C.O.). Other special guests included Director Zion Qin of the Ming Chuan University (MCU) Mandarin Center, Leanne Eyerman, Director of MCU’s U.S. Campus, Director Rebecca Lan of T.E.C.O. Education Office, Ms. Therese Chen, of our fellow Mandarin Center at the University of St Thomas, and representatives from both the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Department of Education.
Entertaining our guests were Bradly Quy, OU Masters Student, and Dr. Yuxin Mei, pipa virtuoso. Mr. Quy delighted the crowd with his rendition of “Don’t leave me Alone Anymore” by Bobby Chen and Dr. Mei stunned audience members with “White Snow in Early Spring” and the fiendishly difficult “Ambush on all sides”, both traditional pipa pieces. Rounding out the ceremony, the OU Mandarin Center held a ribbon cutting and celebrated the official opening of the center with a lion dance performed by St. Andrew Dung Lac Lion Dance Association. After the ceremony, guests were invited to a special showing of “A Chip Odyssey”, a documentary on Taiwan’s journey in the semi-conductor industry.
We at the Mandarin Center would like to thank everyone who came to support us in this exciting time—Thank you everyone for a great opening ceremony!
