A UNT delegation visited eight Chinese universities in October to explore opportunities for student recruitment, research collaborations and partnerships.

Members included Jennifer Cowley, provost and vice president for academic affairs; Pia Wood, vice provost and dean for international affairs; Su Gao, dean of the College of Science; and Yan Huang, former interim dean of the College of Engineering.

"UNT as a Carnegie Tier One Research university has a national and global impact," Cowley says. "The opportunities for our students to learn and interact with people from all over the world is really wonderful for us, as is the impact we have in terms of research collaborations."

The delegation visited East China Normal University, Donghua University, Nanjing Forestry University, Hangzhou Dianzi University, South China Normal University, Guangzhou University, Beijing Forestry University and Beijing University of Technology.

UNT currently has partnerships with Donghua's textile science and merchandising programs, and with Nanjing Forestry's computer science program.

The delegation also met with UNT alumni in Shanghai and Beijing, where they mingled and received university updates.

"It's fantastic to hear about the great things our alumni are doing," Cowley says.

In April, a second delegation -- including President Neal Smatresk, Vice President of Digital Strategy Adam Fein and G. Brint Ryan College of Business Dean Marilyn Wiley -- plans to visit the Fuzhou region of China.