Letter from the Director Charles Laughlin, Director Dear IUP’ers: I'm writing you tonight from Washington D.C. to kick off this year's first IUP newsletter, and I think the 7th issue since I came on to IUP last year. I want to thank Vivian Li for taking the initiative to help put this issue together; I think she has done a terrific job! I'm in Washington for the first intensive set of meetings of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations' Public Intellectuals Program (PIP). I'm a member of the second cohort of 20 scholars in the second round of this two-year program, which brings political scientists, economists, historians, literature scholars, and non-academics working in the business and NGO worlds—all of whom specialize in China—together to explore ways to engage vigorously with

the communities beyond academia, especially the policy community and the general public, directly and through the media. This program is highly relevant to IUP: IUP's Executive Director Tom Gold and John Berninghausen, who established the Chinese program at Middlebury College, are on its Advisory board. At least three of the 20 fellows are IUP alumni, one of whom is a member of the IUP Board of Directors. More importantly, some of the distinguished figures we are meeting in Washington, such as Dave Shear, the Director of the State Department's China Desk, are also IUP alums. I write this to remind you that you are in good company in IUP, and that like other IUP alumni, you could also go far. Maybe not all of you will strive to become "public intellectuals," but you have the potential because of your unique combination of specialized expertise and advanced Chinese language ability, potential to bridge important gaps in an especially important era for U.S.-China relations. I hope the semester is going well for you, and I hope this newsletter is useful and informative. If you have any suggestions for how we can make it better, please let us know! Washington D.C. October 5, 2008 Inside:

请华大学 | Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies ( 清华 IUP中文中心)

IUPeople Volume 2, Issue 1 October 2008

+ Update from Recent Alumnus

+ IUP Day Trip to Cuandixia

+ Teaching Chinese in the U.S.

+ Murderball

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Alumni Profile

The following is a modified version of an email sent to Professor Laughlin from Joel Backaler, IUP 2007-08:

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to update you about my post-graduation activities and to tell you more about the path I have taken to secure my current position at Atos Origin in Beijing. Most importantly, I am writing to express my gratitude to each one of you for your invaluable help over the course of my journey so far.

Post-Grad Initial Goals & Accomplishments:

I graduated from college in May 2006 determined to prepare myself to conduct business in China without relying on translators. To attain this goal I have spent the past two years in Asia, first as a Fulbright Scholar in Taiwan, and then as a full-time student at the IUP Center at Beijing's Tsinghua University, the world's most prestigious advanced Chinese language training center.

By spring 2008 I met my goal of achieving business Chinese fluency and assembled a resume I am very proud of. At that point I faced two major challenges: first, to secure a full-time consulting position; second, to obtain a work visa.

Finding a Job

For a three-month period I drank coffee with any business professional willing to talk to me, and attended every networking event in Beijing from American Chamber of Commerce mixers to Yale Club Beijing Sunday brunches. If I found out a potential employer wrote a blog, I made a point to follow their

writing and post several comments weekly, never forgetting to include my name and contact information at the bottom of each post. There were even times when I walked directly into a company's office wearing a suit and tie with nothing but my resume in hand, a smile on my face, and the name of a manager that I found while researching the company on the internet.

In the end, every single one of these tactics worked at least once. I received offers from some of the biggest multinationals as well as several China-focused boutique consultancies. I decided to accept a highly selective summer internship with Accenture (www.accenture.com) in Beijing followed by a full-time position at Atos Origin (www.atosorigin.com) in the fall, also based in Beijing.

My Current Position:

Atos Origin holds the world's largest sports-related IT contract as a global IT partner and top sponsor for the Olympic Games. I currently work as the only non-Chinese analyst for Atos Consulting's financial transformation division in Beijing. Our main focus is restructuring poorly-run Chinese state-owned enterprises to the point where they are financially healthy enough to be listed on overseas stock exchanges.

It took invaluable help from each of you to get me to this point in my career. I want to offer a special thanks to Peter in Beijing, James in Taipei and especially Marc in Boston. The three of you have been wonderful mentors to me. I truly appreciate everyone's continued support and guidance. It will take all of your insight and advice to help me succeed as a businessman in the China marketplace.

Mark Your Calendars! IUP Fall Trip to Luoyang October 17-20 IUP Lecture Series: Lila Buckley On Wednesday, October 29, IUP’s own Lila Buckley will discuss environmental NGOs in China IUP Lecture Series: CHEN Dong On Thursday, October 30, Beijing University’s (PhD Indiana U.) economics professor Chen Dong will talk about China’s current economic situation

Joel Backaler

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Cuandixia Village (爨底下村爨底下村爨底下村爨底下村)

美国一年美国一年美国一年美国一年

李耘, IUP 老师

每年派两至三名老师去美国大学进行为期一年的

教学实习，这在 IUP已经有 10年的历史。我们的

学生大部分来自美国的大学，因此老师们通过去

美国大学教学，可以对学生学习和生活的环境有

所了解。这 10年来，和我们合作的大学大都是

IUP董事会的成员学校，例如耶鲁大学、康奈尔

大学、斯坦福大学等。出国实习的老师回到 IUP

以后，除了个人教学经验的增加，也为整个项目

带来更大的发展。

2007年 9月至 2008年 5月，我很荣幸地被派

往哈佛大学实习。在教学方面，IUP的经验对我

帮助很大，但也有不少需要从头了解和学习的地

方，例如美国大学中文课从入学考试到学期成绩

的整个过程，以及教学方法中不同于 IUP的地

方。我很高兴了解到学生在进入 IUP之前的中文

学习环境，也因此思考有哪些方法是值得 IUP借

鉴的。除了教学，IUP也要求实习老师参加一些

在美国举行的学术会议，例如全美中文教师学会

（CLTA）年会等，这对老师了解行业情况、拓

展专业视野非常有帮助。

对于我个人来说，这一年也是认识、欣赏和

享受美国的好机会，藏品丰富的博物馆、壮丽的

自然风光、街边的小咖啡馆，都是让我久久难忘

的经历。

Sightseeing

On September 13, IUP’ers visited Cuandixia, an old village outside Beijing

Annie Jonas, Charles Laughlin, Liu Yuming, Justin Knapp, & Sharon Nakhimovsky enjoy the fresh mountain air after the successful hike up

Ben Roth & Alan Gaskill serenade the teachers on the bus ride back

The IUPeople Newsletter is published monthly by the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies. Wen Bei Lou, 502, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China 100084.

Visit us on the web at: http://ieas.berkeley.edu/iup Editor-in-chief: Charles Laughlin Managing Editor: Vivian Li

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A Night of Murderball by Robert O’Brien

On September 16, a spirited group of nearly 30 IUP students, alumni and friends attended the gold and bronze medal wheelchair rugby matches of the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. Having already watched Murderball, an award-winning 2005 documentary on Team USA’s participation in the Athens Paralympic wheelchair rugby finals, the IUP crew arrived at Beijing Science & Technology University’s gymnasium well-prepared for the combination of grace and brutality that defines the sport. Neither the games nor the atmosphere disappointed, as the furious pace of the contest was matched only by the raucousness of the crowd. IUP’ers more than did their part to cheer on the athletes, donning patriotic attire and orchestrating many a group cheer. A few crazed fans even removed their shirts, painted the characters “美国加油” on their chests, and riled up the fans with large group chants. Thankfully, America did not let down the many supporters they had in attendance, taking home the gold in impressive fashion, scoring 53 goals to Australia’s 44.

Following the conclusion of the medal ceremony, many IUP’ers stuck around to meet the U.S. squad, a group who turned out to be quite cordial and grateful for the support of their adoring fans. With 生

词 to memorize and 句型 to study, everyone headed home around 11 p.m. satisfied with the outcome of the event and inspired by the courage and skill displayed by those who participated in it.

Photo: B

rian Nichols

Photo: B

rian N

ichols

Photo: B

rian N

ichols

Photo: B

rian N

ichols

Wheelchair Gladiators: Will Groulx (Team USA, #10) yells in agony after having just fallen a few centimeters short from crossing the goal line during the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby Gold Medal Match

Adding Oil: Bobby O’Brien, Ben Roth, Alex Wald, Jared Glanzberger, and Charles Loi cheer Team USA on to victory

Qie zi!: Enthused group of compatriots pose in front of gymnasium

Photo/caption

: Genevieve C

heng