Two co-directors have been appointed to manage the newly established Confucius Institute at Brock University, one of only five in Ontario.

Chunlei Lu

Cheng Luo, associate professor of Applied Linguistics, and Chunlei Lu, associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education, will serve in the roles.

Luo brings a wealth of teaching and administrative experience, having served terms as Applied Linguistics department chair and graduate program director. He has published much research on and taught courses in linguistics, including linguistic theories and research methodology in second language education.

Luo’s skills and experience will be complemented by Lu, an associate professor in Brock’s Faculty of Education.

Lu also brings cross-cultural experience, having taught at seven universities in three countries. His research interests have concentrated on the overlapped areas of culture, education, and health. He has published one book and more than 30 academic book chapters and papers.

Cheng Luo

The Confucius Institute will be housed in Brock’s new International Centre. Brock International is helping with its start-up.

“The process of applying for and establishing the institute has been a challenging but truly rewarding endeavour for us in the International Centre,” said Sheila Young, director, Brock International.

“It’s critically important too when you consider that about 60 per cent of our international students at Brock come from China. And China plays such a key role in the global economy today.”

In addition to receiving start-up and annual funding from the Chinese Language Council’s Confucius Institute Headquarters in Beijing, Brock will host visiting cultural performances, art, books and exhibitions from China.

On Sunday, Feb. 13, the Confucius Institute will host a 45-member visiting Traditional Chinese Instruments’ Orchestra from Nanjing. All are welcome to attend the free concert at 3 p.m. in the David S. Howes Theatre.