An informal meeting between JI students and administrators took place on December 7, 2011. Dean Ni, Deputy Dean Robert Parker, Associate Dean for Education Peisen Huang, Assistant to Associate Dean Gang Zheng, and Executive Director Pam Byrnes officiated. Key members of various administrative offices also attended. With the representatives of undergraduates and graduate students, JI leaders discussed issues concerning students’ personal development, JI’s development, international cooperation, curriculum, and quality of teaching, etc.
A while ago, JI’s Office of Student Affairs conducted a survey and collected hundreds of questions and concerns from the students, which encompass all aspects of students’ life in JI and reflect students’ depth in thinking. The issues were relayed to responsible administration offices and taken seriously. The leaders decided to call a meeting to answer students’ questions face to face.
During the meeting, JI leaders addressed various issues. Based on his personal experience, Dean Ni gave advices to students on time management, balancing school work with extracurricular activities, taking advantage of JI’s educational resources, how to select a graduate schools, etc. He remarked that JI will hold this kind of meeting twice a year to promote the exchange between the students and the administration. The students at the meeting appreciated the opportunity to meet the leaders and have their concerns addressed.