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Dear Friends and Colleagues:
I am writing to let you know that I have been offered and have accepted an exciting new position as Vice-Provost for China Initiatives and Strategy at Arizona State University in Tempe. I begin my new job on January 3rd, 2012. Even though my time at the University of Oregon was brief, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working with my UO colleagues across campus. That said, a unique position like the one at ASU comes along perhaps once in a lifetime; my wife Fredda and I decided that this was the right time and place for us to take advantage of this awesome academic leadership opportunity.
As Vice-Provost for China Initiatives and Strategy, I will be responsible for developing a university wide strategy and detailed action plan for ASU for expanding engagement with China at the national and local level. More specifically, I will be collaborating with ASU colleagues to expand Chinese student recruitment, to develop new training programs, to deepen our research linkages, and to identify appropriate partners to launch new projects in areas of common interest. Like many large universities, ASU already has many existing and very vibrant connections with China. My job will be to bring greater coherence to these connections and develop a series of new, innovative initiatives that will take advantage of ASU''s distinctive competencies and academic expertise. I am looking forward to working with both new and existing Chinese friends and colleagues as well as with ASU President Michael Crow who has laid out a cutting edge vision for transforming ASU into the "great American university."
I hope we will continue to stay connected. Building bridges between the US and China has been both my professional and personal passion for over 30 years. The need for facilitating open and sustained dialogue and communications between our two countries has never been more important. Moreover, the task of promoting enhanced mutual understanding and deeper bilateral cooperation has never been more imperative.
My new coordinates as of January 3rd will be as follows:
Dr. Denis Simon
Vice-Provost for China Initiatives and Strategy
Arizona State University
PO Box 877805
Tempe, AZ 85287-7805
Telephone:480-965-1179
Email: Denis.Simon@asu.edu
Please feel free to contact me as relevant. I look forward to hearing from you about ways we can continue to work together.
Sincerely,
Denis Simon |
