St. Cloud State University Opens Confucius Institute [VIDEO]

ST. CLOUD -- St. Cloud State University continues to grow their relationships with other cultures.

Tonight (Tuesday) the university celebrated the opening of it's Confucius Institute.

A department dedicated to working with Chinese immersion programs.

Kathy Johnson is the Director of the Confucius Institute. She says the program wouldn't be possible without their partnership with the Jilin Province Department.

"Typically Confucius Institute's are higher institution to higher institution so ours is a new model that collaborates with the Minnesota Department of Education," says Johnson.

The St. Cloud State Confucius Institute is one of only 97 in the country.

District 742 is also one of seven Chinese full-immersion programs in Minnesota.

"It is an initiative where all content instruction is taught in Chinese, so the students are learning their math, science, social studies all in Chinese," says Johnson.

The Confucius Institute includes a resource library, lab and conference room.

The partnership with Jilin Province Department of Education will allow for broader opportunities for building partnerships within the entire province and China.