Dean promotes the college during China visit

Steven Crouch, Institute of Technology dean, is one of 200 delegates visiting China in November as part of the new Minnesota-China Partnership, a broad-based initiative to strengthen the state's longstanding ties with that country.

The partnership will promote all facets of Minnesota's connections with China, from trade and investment, science and academia, arts and culture, friendship and understanding, and humanitarian endeavors.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty is leading the delegation of business, government, civic, and academic leaders. In addition to Dean Crouch, the education contingent includes other University representatives; among them are President Robert Bruininks, Regents David Metzen and Patricia Simmons, Vice President for Research Tim Mulcahy, College of Biological Sciences Dean Robert Elde, Regents Professor Lanny Schmidt (chemical engineering and materials science), and Richard Hemmingsen, director of the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment.

The mission will feature events in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. While in Beijing, the dean will give a presentation to the Chinese Academy of Sciences about possible collaborations in research.