University of Texas at Dallas Explores Collaboration Opportunities with Soochow University

On May 12, 2025, a delegation of senior administrators and faculty from the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) met with Soochow University leadership at the Waishuanghsi Campus to discuss future academic collaboration and student exchange initiatives.

The visit was initiated by Charles T. Ku, a distinguished Soochow alumnus (Class of 1965, Department of English Language and Literature) and Honorary President of the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in Dallas–Fort Worth. Ku has long supported academic exchange between Taiwan and the U.S., and helped facilitate this meaningful connection between the two institutions.

The UTD delegation included Juan González, Dean of the Graduate School; Jennifer Holmes, Dean of the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences; Dohyeong Kim, Professor of Public Policy; James Harrington, Director of Public and Nonprofit Management; and Karl Ho, Director of the Taiwan Institute.

They were warmly received by Soochow University President Chyan-Long Jan. Other participants included Dean of the Office of Academic Affairs and Dean of the School of Big Data Management Chin-Hsiung Hsu, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Chien-Kuo Mi, Director of International Affairs Center Wen-Chun Liang, and faculty members from the Department of Political Science.

UTD comprises eight academic schools and more than 50 research centers, offering a wide range of specialized graduate and undergraduate programs. Several members of the visiting delegation are familiar with Taiwan through prior scholarly exchanges and research.

Holmes has visited Taiwan on numerous occasions, Ho, a long-time scholar of Taiwanese and East Asian political economy, previously served as a visiting researcher at Taiwan’s Center for Chinese Studies.

During the meeting, both institutions expressed a strong interest in developing joint initiatives to deepen academic engagement. Faculty from both sides exchanged ideas related to big data, public and nonprofit management, political science, and liberal arts.

Discussions focused on the feasibility of multiple forms of collaboration, including university-level student exchange, scholar visits at the college or departmental level, and the development of dual-degree programs.

President Jan highlighted the strengthening of U.S.–Taiwan relations, particularly in trade and technology. He cited the forthcoming launch of GlobalWafers’ advanced 12-inch semiconductor fab in Texas and the increasing number of direct flights between Taipei and Dallas as signs of growing connection.

He also shared Soochow’s latest development—the university’s partnership with NVIDIA to create the “AI Learning Center for Smart Innovation.” This new initiative will combine AI, creativity, and interdisciplinary teaching across the humanities, law, business, and data science.

Both parties voiced strong optimism about future collaboration and agreed to continue follow-up discussions on potential programs. This exchange marked an important step toward expanding global learning opportunities and advancing the internationalization goals of both institutions.