Our People
These are the people and instructors that are a part of Confucius Institute.
Board of Directors
Dr. Beth Ann Dobie, Provost & Chief Operating Officer, Alfred University (AU)
Vice Chair
Dr. LI Jianwei, V.P., China University of Geosciences (CUG)
Members
Dr. GAN Yiqun, Director, International Cooperation Office, CUG
Dr. Robert Stein, Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, AU
Dr. FAN Luwei, Vice Dean, International Education College
Dr. Sandra Singer, Chair, Modern Languages Division, AU
Partner Institute
China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei Province, China
Director
Zhongbei (Daisy) Wu
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Zhongbei (Daisy) is a musician, educator, and cultural program administrator. She is the Director of the Chinese Language and Cultural Programming of Alfred University and has been pointed as the Director of the Confucius Institute at Alfred University since 2019. She is a Visiting Associate Professor of Music teaching at the Performing Arts Division of Alfred University and has been teaching Chinese music and guzheng (a traditional Chinese instrument) courses since 2010. She founded the Alfred University Guzheng Ensemble in 2011 and has served as the Artistic Director since then. She won the “Alfred University Sprit of Service” award in 2021. Wu is an award-winning Guzheng artist with an impressive soloist career. She has performed in various countries and remarkable venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, China National Television, the United Nations Headquarters, the National Press Club in Washington D.C, and more. She is also a groundbreaking creator with her own contemporary compositions. She received her BA in Hunan Normal University, and her MA at the prestigious Graduate School of Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing. Her research interest is Musicology, Music Education and Ethnomusicology. She was a music professor in China and had received two ‘National Awards of Excellence in Music Education’ consecutively in 2004 and 2005.
Assistant Director
Susan Steere
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Susan Steere studied Ceramic Science and Physics at Alfred University, receiving B.S., B.A., and M.S. degrees. Since 1986, her career has centered around caring for her family and teaching her children at home. Now that they have finished high school, she teaches mathematics at Alfred State College and is active in the Almond 20th Century Club, which provides a public library for the community and other civic groups. Thanks to her Latin-teacher mother, a college semester spent in Germany, and many friends from Asia, she has always had an interest in languages and cultures and in helping people from other countries. Susan feels honored to assist the faculty of the Confucius Institute with English translation.
Visiting Professors Teaching at Alfred University
Jijun (Andy) Yu
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Professor Jijun (Andy) Yu is a visiting professor from China University of Geosciences (CUG). He is teaching Chinese language courses (Chinese 102 and Chinese 202) at the Modern Language Division of Alfred University. He also helps with the Chinese cultural event and activities of the Confucius Institute at Alfred University. He is the co-chair of the 1st and the 2nd National Conference on k-12 Chinese Immersion Programs, and the 6th International Conference on Chinese Immersion Programs.
Jijun Yu is associate professor at School of Arts and Communication at CUG, founding chair of the department of J&C and the department of TCSL at CUG. He was the vice dean for Postgraduate affairs of SAC at CUG from December 2010 to May 2015.
He got his BA in Chinese literature from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University in 1990. After that, he has been teaching Chinese writing, Chinese language and Chinese literature, Journalism, Communication theory and College Chinese courses to undergraduate students and teaching Communication Research method, Creative Thinking and Planning courses to graduate students at CUG. He has been teaching Chinese to International students at CUG since 1992.
From July 2007 to June 2009, he was the visiting professor of Chinese at Bryant University, Rhode Island, USA, the courses he taught were Chinese 100 level and 200 level, and The History of Modern China.
He was awarded young teacher of the year 2003 of CUG and the teacher of the year 2004 of CUG. He hosted more than 20 projects on Chinese culture and tourism planning and got 4 China’s state lever awards. He is the author or co-author of 9 books and 24 papers. His research interest is Chinese language and Literature, Journalism, Communication theory, Intercultural Communication, and Interpersonal Communication.
Huiyang Li
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Huiyang Li is a visiting professor from Gansu Hanqiao Language College, China. He is teaching Chinese Language courses (Chinese 101 and Chinese 201) at the Modern Languages Division of Alfred University. He helps with the Chinese cultural event and activities of the Confucius Institute at Alfred University, and he also teaches Tai Chi class for the Alfred community.
He received his BA in Chinese Language and Literature major, and his MA in Major of Chinese Modern Literature form Lanzhou University. He has taught Chinese language at Khartoum University, Sudan and Kabul University, Afghanistan. From 2011-2015 he worked at Alfred University as the same position. He was the awarded Membership of ΦΣι International Foreign Language Honor Society at AU in 2014, as well as a researcher of Center for Afghanistan Study of Lanzhou University.
Mingren (Morgan) Huang
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Mingren (Morgan) Huang is a young musician graduated from the School of Arts and Communication of China University of Geosciences. He received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Interaction Design in China University of Geosciences. He is good at singing, piano, guzheng, and Dan Bou (one string zither)，and he is non-genetic inheritors of Dan Bou. He has performed in couple of countries, such as the United States, Bulgaria etc.
He is now the Visiting Assistant Professor of the Performing Arts Division of Alfred University he teaches Private Lessons-Piano, Beginning Class Piano. He is also the piano accompanist of the Alfred University Choir, and the teaching assistant of the Music of Guzheng and Guzheng Ensemble class. He also helps with the Chinese cultural event and activities of the Confucius Institute at Alfred University.
Visiting Teachers Teaching at K-12 School Partners
Yanping (Lena) Chen
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Yanping (Lena) Chen is a visiting teacher teaching Mandarin classes at North Street School in Geneva City School District (Geneva, NY). She had taught English at Linquan No.1 High School, Anhui Province, China for 8 years. She is always curious about everything in the wonderful world. She is an energetic, out-going, hard-working and optimistic person who loves travelling, running, playing the cucurbit flute and paper-cutting.
Chuyue (Avril) Zhang
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Chuyue (Avril) Zhang is a Mandarin exploratory teacher for Geneva Middle School in Geneva City School District (Geneva, NY). She has been an English teacher for 13 years in No.2 Senior High School of Liaohe Oilfield, Panjin, Liaoning province. She loves calligraphy, drawing, dancing, and never stops exploring.
Leyi Zhong
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Leyi Zhong is a visiting teacher teaching Mandarin classes in Geneva middle school in Geneva City School District in New York State. She has been teaching in a key high school in Hunan province for 16 years. She once taught Chinese and Chinese culture in London as well. In 2016, She taught Chinese and Chinese culture in the Basic international Academy in Nevada. In 2017, She taught Chinese immersion program in the Syracuse Junior and High school in Utah. She likes spending time with students and feels joyful to see the students’ progress in Language learning. She loves traveling, watching movies, playing badminton, skiing, hiking, swimming, and singing karaoke, playing traditional Chinese musical instrument—Gu Zheng.
Yan (Arya) Jiang
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Yan (Arya) Jiang graduated from Southwest University in Chongqing with a master's degree in Teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages. She has eight years of Chinese teaching experience. Currently she is teaching Mandarin classes as a visiting teacher at North Street School in Geneva City School District, NY. She advocates using games to stimulate students' interest in learning, so that students can experience the joy of learning Mandarin. Arya Jiang has many hobbies, such as playing guitar, guzheng, practicing calligraphy, and playing badminton.
Shuping (Rachel) Song
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Shuping(Rachel) Song is a visiting Mandarin teacher at Lewiston-Porter Central School District. She has been teaching Chinese as second language over ten years. She taught Chinese culture and language in Lewiston Porter Central School District from 2016 to 2019 and got the title of “Outstanding Chinese Teacher Overseas” in 2018. Because of her excellent work, Lewiston-Port wants her to come back to work again. Shuping Song has obtained her Master Degree of Arts in Teaching Chinese as A Second Language from Northeast Normal University. She had taught Chinese culture and language at Northeast Normal University, Dong-A University in South Korean and had gotten the title of “Outstanding Volunteer Chinese Teacher”. She likes TaiChi, calligraphy, and she was often invited by some high schools and some communities in Buffalo to perform and teach TaiChi during she worked in Buffalo. And she still teaches TaiChi in the community now.
Jing Wu
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Jing Wu is a visiting Mandarin teacher of St' Joseph's Collegiate Institution in Buffalo, NY. She is an experienced educator for more than 20 years with great enthusiasm. She has been teaching English and American culture and language in China for many years and taught Chinese culture and language at Northstar Christian Academy from 2014 to 2017. She is the first Chinese teacher of the school and designed the Chinese Language courses for K to 12, as well as Chinese AP class. Her teaching was highly praised by the school board and widely welcomed by the community. Cross-Cultural communication and translation are her specific areas of interest.
Di (Dandy) Wu
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Di (Dandy) Wu is a visiting teacher and currently teaching Mandarin at Northstar Christian Academy in Rochester, NY. She graduated from Sichuan Normal University in China in 2017. She taught at Zhongshan Middle School, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province since 2017. She loves Chinese literature, the Chinese traditional Instrument (Guqin), Chinese chess and sports (tennis and table tennis).
Ye Li
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Ye Li is a visiting Mandarin teacher for Lewiston Porter Central School District. He graduated from Hong Kong University of Education with a Master's degree, Heilongjiang University with a Bachelor's degree in Chinese as a Foreign Language. He has 9 years of experience teaching Chinese as a foreign language and 3 years of experience teaching Chinese literature in international schools. He specializes in teaching Chinese for beginners, Chinese for children, HSK exam courses, and Chinese for business.
(Visiting teachers teaching at K-12 school are not Alfred University affiliated)