MEDIA RELEASE
FOR
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY
DATE: October 22, 2007
CONTACT: Lisa
Skari, (206) 878-3710, ext. 3705; lskari@highline.edu
DES
MOINES, Wash. — Highline Community College announced it has been awarded a US
Department of Education Title VI-B Grant to
strengthen its international business program and to support training
opportunities for small and medium size businesses, promoting import and export
trade with China. Partnering with Highline in “Expanding International Business
Education and Training: Creating Connections with Yangzhou, China,” are the
Small Business Development Center housed at Highline, the Kent-Yangzhou Sister
City Committee (KYSCC), and the Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle.
The grant is funded at $172, 000 over two years.
“This
is an exciting project designed to help meet the growing needs of Seattle area small and
medium size firms to develop their export capacity. We will expand on-line access to the
international business program and its related curriculum to serve
non-traditional, mid-career, and part-time students, and we will address the demand
in South King County to promote international trade as part of its economic
development strategy ,” said Highline Community College interim president, Jack
Bermingham, Ph.D.
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The
College will assist Seattle area businesses to
understand and be positioned to take advantage of economic opportunities in the
Yangzhou area. Yangzhou is a metropolitan center with about 4.5 million
people, 180 miles northwest of Shanghai on the Yangtze River. The
grant will fund workshops for those interested in trade with, and investment in
China. It will fund individualized business
counseling for selected small and medium size enterprises in South King County to develop effective export
strategies. The partners will assist the businesses in developing import and export
relationships with firms in the Yangzhou
area. This focus on international business broadens the mission of Highline’s Center of Excellence for International Trade,
Logistics and Transportation that the college was awarded earlier this year.
“The
grant also supports student participation by funding a few international
internship opportunities as part of the business curriculum,” said Highline
Director of International Programs & Grants, Kathleen Hasselblad.
“Additionally, it strengthens the College’s deep relationships with Yangzhou and its higher
education institutions.”
Under
the terms of the grant, Highline will conduct a Trade Exhibit to Yangzhou, tentatively set for May 2008, representing some Washington state
products and services. The College expects to lead a Trade Mission in the
spring of 2009 to Yangzhou
for businesses served by this project. Student interns will participate in both
activities.
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Highline
serves as a major center of higher education for the largest ethnically diverse
district of South
King County.
As Washington
is the most trade dependent per capita in the nation with one out of every
three jobs related to global trade, Highline prepares students to work within
that context.
Highline Community College was founded in 1961 as the first
community college in King
County. With
approximately 9,500 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the state’s
largest institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide range of
academic transfer and professional-technical education programs, with day,
evening and weekend classes. Highline takes a multi-cultural approach to
education for the success of all its students and the prosperity of its
surrounding communities. At the core of Highline’s mission and vision are the
principles of stewardship for all students, regardless of their backgrounds.
Highline does this by participating in and leading innovative local, state,
national and international initiatives. Alumni include former Seattle Mayor
Norm Rice, entrepreneur Junki Yoshida and noted author Ann Rule.
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