"I have made a lot of new friends at Rider; everyone has been so nice and friendly," said Doris Yu Xu of Shanghai. Her comments echo the sentiment of the 22 others who have called Rider University "home" for last 11 months. Doris is among the first cohort of students from Shanghai Sanda Institute in China who are studying toward their undergraduate and graduate degrees in global business in order to earn dual Rider-Sanda degrees.

Rider's first cohort will continue to take business courses for an additional year to fulfill requirements toward their MBA or M. Acc. degrees, which they will receive upon their return to China in January 2007 and completion of a capstone course. This group will soon be joined by 29 new Sanda students and four teachers who will arrive at Rider in mid-January.

"This has been very exciting especially since the program is now entering its next chapter," said James Castagnera, associate provost/associate counsel, who has played a major role in facilitating the visa application process. "It has been a true team effort from the program's inception by Provost Frakt, to this year's China visits led by President Rozanski. The effort has really paid off."

This past year, Rozanski, Jamie O'Hara, vice president for enrollment management; and Dr. Minmin Wang, professor of communication, visited China to solidify the second Sanda cohort and also build relationships with other Chinese institutions. While there, and subsequently back at Rider, Castagnera assisted the new cohort of Chinese students with preparing for interviews with visa officers. Each workday over a two-week period of time this fall, he engaged the students in one-on-one video conferencing over the Internet -- an intense training process which prepared them for their visa interviews. Among this second-cohort applicant pool, all visas were successfully obtained in late November.

In mid-January this second Sanda contingent will arrive to a hearty welcome at Rider.

Living in America is quite different from life in China, Doris quickly points out. "I had to get used to the food," she said. "However, I am more used to it now. In classes, I have gotten a lot of support from professors and other students. I think Americans tend to be quite individualistic in their approach to life whereas we Chinese tend to lean more toward collectivism," she said. "We are also a bit more conservative in attitude.

"I love the parties most here," added Doris. "I have attended many different ones. I especially enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday since it was my first one in the United States. I had fun at the home of Dr. Andrew Markoe (professor of mathematics)."

While at Rider, Raoul Xu is a student office worker in the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities. Last month, he had Thanksgiving dinner with Julie Karns, vice president of finance and treasurer and her family. He has also traveled throughout the West this past summer, visiting California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona. "Although I am at times homesick, all of these things have been fantastic experiences," said Raoul.