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ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — Northern State University has named a director for its new Confucius Institute.
Naomi Ludeman Smith will lead the new Chinese language and cultural center, the first of its kind in the Dakotas. Smith comes to the South Dakota school from Peace Catalyst International in Denver, where she served as director of development and learning.
Smith also was on the faculty for 29 years at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She holds master's and doctoral degrees from Bethel University and Seminary.
"Dr. Ludeman Smith has an exceptional background in innovative global learning initiatives with a proven track record in building community and international partnerships," Northern State President James Smith said in a statement.
Ludeman Smith begins her duties Tuesday at the Confucius Institute, which will begin offering courses in Mandarin in the fall. The South Dakota Board of Regents in March approved the institute in conjunction with the University of Jinan in China.
A Confucius Institute allows partner universities to exchange instructors, students and academic information, and work on joint research and seminars. Before the approval, there were institutes in nearly every state except the Dakotas.
The North Dakota Board of Higher Education in 2011 gave Dickinson State University permission to establish a partnership with a Chinese university and set up a Confucius Institute, but it never materialized. A majority of faculty members voted against the idea, and state officials also found that the university had given Chinese exchange students hundreds of unearned diplomas.
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