A group of four college professors from Cornell College in Iowa, who were teaching in China through a partnership with a local university, were involved in a troubling incident at a public park, as reported by college officials on Monday.
Jonathan Brand, the president of the private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa, stated that the instructors were injured during a visit to a public park on Sunday. They were accompanied by a faculty member from Beihua University, the collaborating institution in Jilin City, northeastern China.
Mr. Brand assured that the college is providing support to the instructors and has been in communication with all four of them. He mentioned that no students were part of the program at the time of the incident.
Details regarding the attack, the condition of the instructors, and the motive behind the incident are still unclear. Cornell College has been in touch with the faculty members individually, according to Jen Visser, a university spokesperson.
Staff members from Beihua University have also been in contact with Cornell College’s coordinating staff, although the extent of information shared remains unknown, as stated by Ms. Visser.
Ms. Visser refrained from disclosing further details about the attack, emphasizing the ongoing investigation.
The collaboration between Cornell College and Beihua University, which commenced in 2018, involves funding from the latter for Cornell professors to travel to China, reside there, and teach subjects like computer science, mathematics, and physics over a two-week period, as per a 2018 news release.
2024-06-10 21:31:37
Originally posted on www.nytimes.com