Saint Mary's Magazine Fall 2004 - Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

FROM NEWS THE AND EDITOR VIEWS
Ting Ni returns
to China on
Fulbright
Late at night, she taught herself
English by listening to a radio and
reading used books her mother sent
to her.
Ting Ni left China on a
Fulbright scholarship to America.
Now an accomplished college
educator and Fulbright Scholar
again, she
returned to
China this
fall to teach
American
history to
young
Chinese
students.
Her hope is
Dr. Ting Ni
Fulbright scholar
Saint Mary’s University
of Minnesota
to build a
bridge
between the
two
countries by
educating the next generation about
America, and to end a growing
hostility Chinese youth feel toward
the United States.
Dr. Ni, assistant professor of
history at Saint Mary’s, is teaching
at Xi’an International Studies
University, Shaanxi Province,
China, for a year, starting
September 2004.
Student brings
mural project to life
Under the leadership of Saint Mary’s University student Keri Drake ’05,
residents, staff and volunteers at Lake Winona Manor completed a
permanent tile mural project of Winona last summer.
The mural — titled “Winona: Now and Then” — was unveiled
during a dedication reception March 12, in Lakeview Court, located in
Lake Winona Manor, next to Community Memorial Hospital.
After volunteering at the hospital last year, Drake decided to
incorporate her interest in art, her work with residents and Winona’s
rich history into this mural project.
At the center of the mural, which comprises 84 tiles, is the front of
Lake Winona Manor. Surrounding these tiles is a stylized map of current
Winona. The border tiles represent historic Winona as well as other
interests suggested by the residents.
The mural was completed in October and hangs in the hallway
entrance to Lakeview Court.
The project was made possible through a grant from the Winona
Community Foundation; additional funding and contributions came
from Lake Winona Manor, Ceramics by Louise, and Broadway Builders.
Drake will graduate this spring with a biology major and is from
Sturgeon Bay, Wis.
Ting Ni, bottom left, is pictured with
five other girls who were sent to live
in a peasant village in China.
Ni was born in Tainjin, China,
and grew up during a tumultuous
cultural revolution. From 1966 to
1976, schools were closed in China
under Mao Zedong’s orders. At the
age of 16, Ni was sent to a village
in Hebei Province, to be “reeducated”
by peasant labor. She
was told she and five other girls
would spend the rest of their lives
in this peasant village. Her “urban”
parents, labeled as intellectuals,
were punished.
Libraries and books in her area
were destroyed by the government.
In 1987, she was awarded a
Fulbright Scholarship and traveled
to Indiana University to study
American history. She earned her
doctoral degree in 1996 and was
hired by SMU in 1997.
Dr. Ni said she wants to return
to China to teach about American
history because she realizes
building a relationship between the
two countries is crucial.
After a 2002 visit, she was
troubled by the animosity young
Chinese students felt for Americans.
“This young generation in China
harbors such strong anger of
America. This can be dangerous. It
is important to bridge. I would like
to do something, to use my
personal experiences to illustrate
the differences between the two
societies.”
She said she hopes to avoid
future instability and hostility
between the two countries by
educating the next generation.
8 SAINT MARY’S MAGAZINE FALL 2004