The Confucius Institute (CI) at UTSA has promoted Chinese culture, language and arts via workshops, lectures and seminars since 2009 with over 400 students participating in its programs each year. This institute has been grant-funded since its inception, and with its grant expiring this summer, the CI will be revising its role at UTSA. The decision to evolve the program comes in the wake of 10 American universities closing their CIs due to political pressure from Washington D.C.

“UTSA will use this opportunity to graduate its program into a more robust environment for students studying Eastern Asian cultures by integrating them into the UTSA East Asia Institute,” UTSA Vice Provost and Global Initiatives and Senior International Officer Lisa Montoya, said.

This program evolution will offer a variety of additional East Asian cultural exploration from countries including: China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Opportunities to study and travel in these countries will also be available to students.

“Another strength of the institute is its outreach activities to the East Asian communities, and its work with trade offices and the Offices of the Consulate-General for Japan, Korea and China. This expertise helps UTSA students develop a greater global awareness and business perspective,” Montoya said.

The UTSA East Asian Institute will offer learning opportunities on campus for students and promote a world-ready focus for its participants.