OSU President E. Gordon Gee added four cities halfway around the world to his regular summer itinerary that includes numerous Ohio counties.

“Each summer, I devote some of my time to traveling on behalf of the University, both throughout the state and around the world,” Gee said in his statement to The Lantern.

Gee visits half of Ohio’s 88 counties each summer to get a deeper understanding of the state’s needs.

“I did everything from judge a 4-H contest in Fairfield County to tour the General Electric factory in Bucyrus to speak to members of the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce,” Gee said.

After his Ohio tours, Gee traveled to China to further develop OSU’s global connections.

“When you look at our international activities, there is probably no country in the world in which we have more going on in terms of partnerships and student-faculty interest than China,” said William Brustein, vice provost for global strategies and international affairs at OSU, who accompanied Gee to China. “We also have many alumni and many friends in China.”

Gee brought together the OSU community in China when he hosted “OSU family dinners” in Shanghai and Beijing, each of which attracted nearly 200 OSU alumni and friends.

Gee also signed academic partnership agreements with prominent Chinese universities, including two members of C9, the Chinese equivalent to the United States’ Ivy League. These agreements will facilitate research collaboration between OSU and its partner universities in China, as well as increase study abroad opportunities for OSU students.

“One thing we stressed throughout the trip, as well as when we met with our alumni and friends, was that it’s so important for our students to experience foreign cultures,” Brustein said. “So we talked with them about study abroad opportunities and also internships.”

While in Shanghai, Gee attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for OSU’s newly opened Global Gateway Office, which also will expand the university’s study abroad and internship opportunities. This office marks OSU’s first physical presence outside the U.S.

In each of the cities Gee visited, he met with municipal dignitaries to see how OSU could further its partnerships in China. He also met with the U.S. ambassador to China “to get an idea of what was going on in the country from a cultural-political perspective,” Brustein said.

The U.S. ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, met with Gee and talked a bit about what OSU can do in China, Brustein said. “There were a number of proposals and suggestions for the future that were discussed to increase our presence in China.”

In addition to meeting with dignitaries, corporate leaders and OSU alumni at a variety of functions, Gee met with OSU’s oldest alumnus, Zheng Ji, 111, who passed away after Gee returned to the U.S.

“Whether in Logan, Ohio, or Shanghai, China,” Gee said in his statement, “all of my summer travels were very much focused on enhancing the academic experience of our students.”