The University of Wisconsin-Platteville is spreading and sharing different cultures with its students through the Confucius Institute (CI).

“CI was signed and established under the previous Chancellor Markee, with then-governor Doyle, when they visited Beijing, China in 2007,” Confucius Institute office manager Sarah White said.

The CI collaborates with South Central University for Nationalities in Wuhan, China, and they work to bring an understanding of the Chinese language and culture.

“The Confucius Institute shares the Chinese culture and language by offering credit-bearing courses such as Chinese I and II and a Martial Arts general education course. CI office maintains a lending library of cultural materials, textbooks and videos on topics related to China.  We have a wardrobe of ethnic costumes, organize Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and host performance troupes from universities in China,” Confucius Institute director Mei Reeder said.

The CI on campus is the only institute in the state of Wisconsin. The main goal of the CI is to build a multicultural community on campus so that students are globally engaged before they graduate and head into the job market.

“The goal is to bring awareness to Chinese language and culture to the U.S. campuses,” White said.

The CI hosts between 35 and 45 events each semester. These advertisements can be seen around campus. These activities include lectures on culture and language, cooking, art, self-care and workshops for Tai Chi. On top of these events, they also offer credit and community courses for Chinese martial arts and Chinese language.

Something that most students do not know about CI is that they offer programs for faculty and students to study or travel to China. If going to China is uninteresting to students, they can still take language courses in Chinese where the workshops are given on making traditional crafts, movies are shown and self-care is taught.

If there are any questions or concerns about the Confucius Institute, feel free to contact Sarah White at [email protected] or 608-342-1310.