The partnership between the University of Minnesota and Tianjin University of Sport (TUS) in China created by the recently opened American Cultural Center for Sport prompted a TUS delegation to visit the University from June 4-7. Led by by Professor Zhang Yong, Vice President of TUS, and Professor Wang Jian, Director of the Tianjin Graduate School, the delegation met with Meredith McQuaid, Associate Vice President and Dean for International Programs for the University of Minnesota, Joan Brzezinski, the Executive Director of the University’s China Center and Confucius Institute, and Professor Li Li Ji, Director of the School of Kinesiology in the College of Education and Human Development.

During the visit, the delegation toured the UM campus and the School of Kinesiology, including the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene and Exercise Science, the Human Sensorimotor Control Laboratory, and the Affordance Perception-Action Laboratory.
As part of these activities, a memorandum was signed between the TUS delegation and Dean McQuaid supporting further Chinese-U.S. sport culture exchange, including the preparation of a visit by Chinese sport and art performance groups to the University of Minnesota. Yong, on behalf of TUS, also expressed his heartfelt thanks to the China Center for its great effort in promoting this cultural exchange.
The American Cultural Center for Sport is funded by a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State and is a partnership among the University’s China Center and School of Kinesiology, and the Tianjin University of Sport in Tianjin, China.