Mr. Xiang Gao ’96 and ‘97MMUS
University of Michigan in China, May 2011
Alumni, Student and Parent Events
This was the sixth year of annual alumni receptions and related activities in China following President Coleman’s initial visit there in 2005. This year’s effort was designed to take advantage of the School of Music, Theatre and Dance Symphony Band China Tour schedule and the faculty/university leaders traveling with it.
Objectives included:
- Continuing the momentum created by prior years’ experiences
- Supporting the outreach and engagement created by the Symphony Band’s tour and that of its planners
- Highlighting U-M’s strengths in music, following previous years’ emphases on engineering, research, political science (or global politics) and athletics
- Showcasing the talents of SMTD’s students and faculty; encouraging interest in enrollment
- Creating opportunities to meet new alumni and deepen relationships with prior contacts generally
- Promoting scholarship/other giving opportunities specifically
- Updating alumni data
- Creating networking opportunities for alumni
- Enriching the relationship between new admits, their parents and U-M prior to enrollment this fall
To that end, the itinerary included a second year of forums, inaugurated by President Mary Sue Coleman during her 2010 visits, with new students and their parents. The University of Michigan and the Alumni Association also hosted receptions in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing for alumni, new students and their parents and U-M friends, continuing another tradition begun by President Coleman.
Shanghai, Sunday, May 15
Regency Club House, Xintiandi
One hundred sixty new students and parents joined a discussion led by Vice President for Student Affairs, Royster Harper, Alumni Association President, Steve Grafton and China Undergraduate Student Association President, Yue Ma. Engineering Prof. Jun Ni moderated and served as interpreter. Questions followed a similar pattern as those of Mary Sue Coleman in 2010, which will be joined to those asked at the Beijing function a week later, answered and posted online at U-M.
Many of these participants were among the 250 guests who joined the alumni reception immediately following this. Program speakers included Royster Harper, Steve Grafton, Lester Monts, Christopher Kendall, Michael Haithcock, Louis Yen, SJTU VP for Student Affairs, Fei Xi, and Rich Rogel who introduced Xiang Gao for a special performance. We were pleased to be able to introduce Pam Byrnes, newly appointed executive director of the UM-SJTU JI.
Thanks to additional financial support from Senior Vice Provost, Lester Monts, free performance tickets were made available to new students and parents and sold at discounted rates (and great seats) to alumni.
Click here to view photos of the alumni event in Shanghai.
Hong Kong, Friday, May 20
Hong Kong Jockey Club
Nearly 200 attentive alumni turned out to hear Chief Secretary Henry Tang speak about the West Kowloon Cultural District development. While it’s a project close to his heart and there is great interest in it, it was evident that the audience had a lot of tough political questions for him–-for which he was quite prepared. CS Tang made a particular point to address the several new students in the audience to promise them they were about to embark on the best experience of their lives. Additional speakers included Steve Grafton, Christopher Kendall (which charmed Henry Tang given his topic), and an introduction by alumnus Fred Lui.
Click here to view photos of the alumni event in Hong Kong.
In Beijing, Sunday, May 22
National Center for the Performing Arts
An 8:30 a.m. discussion by 200-plus new students and parents was hosted by VP Royster Harper, joined again by Steve Grafton and Yue Ma. Alumnus and Peking University Prof. Benjamin Chiao, facilitated and interpreted for the session and helped gather questions online during the meeting. A surprise during the event was a presentation by new Engineering student, Ding Zhao, who has begun organizing Beijing area students to help each other prepare for leaving for Michigan and who distributed a spread sheet of information collected to date. Questions from this meeting will be joined with those from Shanghai, answered and posted online at U-M.
Again, Provost Mont’s additional financial support allowed for free performance tickets for these students and their parents.
The Symphony Band performance followed immediately upon this meeting and more than 100-plus of this audience streamed to the NCPA for it. There was a huge U-M element in the performance audience for and many who may not have otherwise come to the reception came along to it. As a result there were 350 participants in what turned into a real celebration of music, collaboration and a successful band tour at this reception. The program was notable for performances by a quartet of students, as well as by Xiang Gao and Cathy Yang, and warm remarks by Steve Grafton, Royster Harper, Christopher Kendall, and Lester Monts as well as presentations to Hanban Deputy Director Wang Yongli and UM alumnus, NCPA Maestro Zuohuang Chen. Notable as well were later brief remarks by UCSA student leaders who were able to gather together on site a group of new 25 or so students and then announced would host a post-reception reception just for new students!
Click here to view photos of the alumni event in Beijing.
The performances:
The Symphony Band performances were riveting, entertaining and stirring. The level of accomplishment of these students is breathtaking. Both the Shanghai and Beijing audiences were dazzled, calling for encores until there were none left to offer. Alumni were clearly thrilled at the opportunity to hear them and very proud to be graduates of the University of Michigan.
