Cultural Resource Room Opens in McKimmon Center

On February 22, the McKimmon Conference and Training Center and the Confucius Institute at NC State officially opened the Cultural Resource Room in Suite 100 of the McKimmon Center.

As the McKimmon Center and the Confucius Institute both have a commitment to continuing education, outreach, and engagement, they worked together to create a welcoming space for NC State and the community. Since 2007, the Confucius Institute has had its office in Suite 100 of the McKimmon Center. As part of the Office of Global Engagement, the Confucius Institute offers Chinese language and culture programs at the university and across the state.

When new office space became available last year, the Confucius Institute worked with university architects and the McKimmon Center to utilize the new space for their new administrative offices and began brainstorming new ways to repurpose Suite 100. This new room displays cultural resources, books for the community to read and check out, and offers a quiet place for reflection. It will also create new opportunities for partnerships as schools and organizations can schedule a visit to this room to learn more about Chinese culture.

In celebration of the opening of the Cultural Resource Room in conjunction with Chinese New Year, the Confucius Institute and the McKimmon Center partnered to host an open house. With over 200 guests from the university and the local community, attendees celebrated the Year of the Dog with a Lion Dance Performance from the Enloe High School team, Chinese food, calligraphy, and learned about Confucius Institute programs.

Vice Provosts Alice Warren and Bailian Li and the directors of the Confucius Institute gave remarks. With the opening of the Cultural Resource Room, the McKimmon Center and the Confucius Institute believe that this new partnership will help offer more global opportunities for NC State and the community.

About the Confucius Institute

The Confucius Institute offers business training to help organizations better understand their Chinese partners, a statewide Chinese language contest with over 600 K-12 student participants, international conferences on U.S. and China relations, and business, educational, and government programs for a more global North Carolina.