Experiences

Yesterday I had the opportunity to host three individuals from China at the president's home here at DSU. One of the individuals is a student in our MIS graduate program and the other two are visiting faculty from East China Normal University in Shainghi. As I sat at the dinner table and as we conversed about China, the US, Madison, DSU etc I couldn't help but be struck by how wonderful it is when cultures come together. When individuals from other sides of the world can share their views and their knowledge. This is particularly striking when one thinks about how a very short time ago the interaction with individuals from China was so restricted because of our political and governmental differences. All three of these individuals are from large cities (14 and `13 million people) - what an interesting contrast Madison, SD must be. When asked about the differences one of the visitors replied about how quiet it was here. This was not a negative comment and anyone who has spent time in a large metropolitan city would understand this observation.

I so sincerely hope that students and faculty here at DSU will find opportunities to interact with these wonderful individuals and will find the time to really communicate with them while they are a part of our DSU campus. This is so much a part of what it means to be in a university experience. Doug