On March 7, Missouri Southern will sign an exchange agreement with the Nan-Jeon Institute of Technology in Taiwan.

This informal ceremony, with the agreement in both English and Chinese, will bring Southern’s exchange agreement tally to 16. Six Taiwanese visitors will tour the campus at 9 a.m., then sign the agreement. Dr. Chad Stebbins, director of the Institute of International Studies, said he is excited for this day in Southern history.

“They should come away with a pretty good flavor of what Missouri Southern is all about and the programs we offer,” Stebbins said. “This is a part of a larger push by Missouri Southern to recruit more international students. We view Taiwan as a good market for recruiting international students because in Taiwan everyone wants an American university education.

“They view the colleges and universities in the United States as being quite superior, and the goal of Taiwanese parents is to send their sons and daughters, if at all possible, to an American college or university.”

The visitors from the Nan-Jeon Institute of Technology are: Dr. Chun-Huy Wang, deputy president and dean of student affairs; Yi-Fang Shen, chairman of the Board of Trustees; Zhong-Guang Shen, trustee of the Board of Trustees and Dr. Jason Yaw-Yih Wang, assistant professor of business administration and section chief of academic exchange and cooperation division.

Stebbins, Dr. Bill Trudeau, director of the international English program, and Dr. Jay Moorman, department head of communication, will meet the visitors at the Springfield airport. Two other Taiwanese visitors from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office of Kansas City are expected. Jack C.K. Chen, director general, and Henry G.F. Fan, director of division, will be driving to Southern.

In December 2006, in attempts to establish a connection, Stebbins and Moorman visited the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office of Kansas City.

“We wanted to tell them about Missouri Southern and our International Mission and see if there was a way to work together on some projects,” Stebbins said. “We just figured of all the days for them to visit Missouri Southern, this would be the very best since we’re signing an agreement with the university from their country.”

Stebbins sent a facts sheet about Southern to the Taipei office. There it was translated to Chinese and sent it to the Ministry of Education. From there, the information was sent to every high school and university in Taiwan. Stebbins said he’s optimistic these attempts will bring more international students.

This will not be Stebbins’ first encounter with the school in Taiwan. Last April, Stebbins visited the campus and Moorman went in October.

“They really rolled out the red carpet for us when we were there,” Stebbins said.

Stebbins said this particular school can relate to Southern.

“They’re exactly the same age as Missouri Southern, founded in 1967, and as we were once a college, they are an institute trying to become a university,” he said. “This should help their chances at gaining university status if they have an agreement with an American university.”

Stebbins said Southern can expect more Taiwanese students as early as fall 2007. However, the opportunities don’t end with just students.

“There is a considerable amount of interest in China and Taiwan, and I think if there was an opportunity to visit any of our partner schools our faculty would take advantage of it,” he said.

Currently, there are three Taiwanese students at Southern: Jeff Chang, Sharon Chu and Caesar Huang.

Huang, senior business management major, said he was a little homesick, but is still learning as much as he can from Southern. He said new recruits from his country won’t affect his social circles now.

“I think everybody’s the same,” he said. “To me, it’s just another way to communicate.”