UW Law School Professor John Ohnesorge has been named to the Steering Committee of the Wisconsin China Initiative, a newly-formed group of faculty, alumni, and leaders in business and government working to bolster research and teaching about China, to create new partnerships between Chinese higher education institutions and the UW-Madison, and to develop plans for strategic engagements between China and the State of Wisconsin.

Ohnesorge, who is Vice-Director of the Law School’s East Asian Legal Studies Center, will moderate a discussion following the keynote presentation at the China Initiative’s inaugural seminar on Thursday, May 1, 2008, at 4:30 p.m. in Grainger Hall. Nicholas Lardy, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, will address the topic "Sustaining Rapid Growth: Policy Challenges for China." Lardy is a leading expert on Asia, with a special focus on the Chinese economy. The seminar is open to any faculty and graduate students who would like to attend.

Recognizing the importance of China to the economic and political future of Wisconsin and the United States, the Division of International Studies has spearheaded the China Initiative, which has articulated five basic goals:

--Integrate the study of China across the curriculum to promote global competence and to advance internationalization

--Improve resources at the university to facilitate the development of new teaching strategies and research about China

--Coordinate activity related to China to create dynamic synergies and a clear point of contact for the campus and state communities

--Disseminate knowledge about China to benefit Wisconsin citizens and business

--Create partnerships between educational, governmental, and corporate institutions in China and Wisconsin

For more information, see http://www.international.wisc.edu/China/about.html .

Submitted by on April 23, 2008

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