Gora, Budd discuss Asian trip

Ball State President Jo Ann Gora and her husband, Roy Budd of Energize ECI, were excited to discuss their experiences Tuesday about their trip to China and South Korea last month during the weekly Rotary meeting. (KYLE EVENS / THE STAR PRESS)

MUNCIE -- Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora and husband Roy Budd are hopeful their three-week trip to China and South Korea last month will spark an increase in the presence of international students and industry in Muncie.

Budd, executive director of Energize-ECI, and Gora spoke about their experiences to the Muncie Rotary Club on Tuesday at the Minnetrista cultural center. They brought photos of city skylines and Ball State alumni in the Asian countries.

They were joined on the trip by Sung-Jae Park, senior adviser for International Education, and Ken Holland, dean of the Rinker Center for International Programs. The group spent time in Asia moving from city to city, including Pusan, Daegu and Seoul, South Korea, and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming and Hong Kong, China, visiting with universities, Ball State alumni and industries.

Alumni of Ball State in the two countries gave around $50,000 to the university, Gora said.

University officials hope increasing numbers of students from those countries will come to Ball State. Over the trip, they met with Pusan University of Foreign Studies, Korea University, Tianjin Institute of Physical Education to establish new relationships. They also talked with potential new students for the 1+2+1 program -- where students spend their first year in China, their second two years at Ball state and final year back in China -- at Shanghai Normal University and Yunnan University.

Last year, international students made up 2.6 percent of the Ball State student population.

Gora said one third of the international students now at Ball State are from China and Korea.

"We expect that to grow dynamically in the next five years," she said.

Contact news reporter Kelly Day at 213-5827.