Graduate and Executive Program Director, John Stayton, Embarks on Diplomatic Tour to Eastern China
Rohnert Park, CA – The School of Business and Economics (SBE) at Sonoma State University (SSU) today announced that the first international university partnership in wine business has been organized between SSU and the University of Jinan Quancheng College in Shandong Province on China’s northeast coast. The study exchange will provide opportunity for students from Penglai Wine College to pursue SSU’s Wine Business Management online certificate and enroll in the Global Wine MBA program. Coursework and classroom experience is expected to be enhanced through sharing of knowledge and expertise from the countries’ respective wine regions. The program has been in development since 2011, when Sonoma County’s Cline Cellars brought the idea of a transcontinental partnership to SSU.
“This is an important opportunity to engage the international community while building an educational partnership that helps inform and sustain a key trade relationship for California and the national economy,” Dr. William Silver, Dean of the School of Business and Economics said. “The exchange of ideas in a classroom or business setting provides enormous benefit to the growth and development of our students and their organizations, both at home and abroad.”
Executive Director of Graduate and Executive Programs, John Stayton, is scheduled to visit Penglai and Beijing from October 12 – 16, as part of a diplomatic engagement and recruiting delegation. In addition to meeting with students, faculty, and administrators at the University of Jinan Quancheng College, he will meet with Sun Yebao, Mayor of the City of Penglai, as well as with commercial service and export officials at the United States Embassy in Beijing.
The University of Jinan Quancheng College is an independent college authorized by China’s Ministry of Education and the government of Shandong Province to offer undergraduate degrees and specialty studies, including the study of wine business. The area around the City of Penglai has been a prominent grape-growing region in China since the 1870s. Sonoma, California and Penglai, China are sister cities.
For more information about the SSU-Penglai partnership or Executive Director John Stayton’s visit to China, or information regarding undergraduate and advanced degree programs in the School of Business and Economics, please contact (707) 664-3501, or visit www.sonoma.edu/sbe.
