Biography of Peng Lu
Tel: 305 582 2831, Fax: 305 232 3171, email: lup@fiu.edu
PENG LU, PH. D. is a professor and the Director for China Projects at
Florida International University (FIU). In the past three years he spent
most of his time in China and set up several programs in Tianjin and
Qingdao, from initial contact to full management. The largest one is the
FIU-Tianjin College of Hospitality Management, a $27-million project
funded by Tianjin government to build a 405000-sft complex for 2000
students. This is the largest US educational cooperation in China.
Serving as a liaison between China and the US for more than 10 years, Dr.
Lu has established deep and broad relations in China. He leads three major
overseas Chinese organizations, and was invited as an outstanding overseas
Chinese scholar to attend recent years’ National-Day Banquet of China.
He is a senior consultant for Chinese Central and local governments
universities and large companies. In Miami, he is known as a Chinese
expert. He organized several business delegations to China, such as in this
year -- the Dade Trade Tour let by Commissioner Pepe Diaz in May, and
the Florida Delegation let by Secretary of State Glenda Hood in October.
He also helps to establish relations between Miami and several locations in
China such as Qingdao, Tianjin, Shenyang and Hebei. He has an office in
Tianjin, and partner with firms in Beijing and Shnaghai.
As a specialist in Chinese culture and business, he has done many
individual consulting work for firms when they have a Chinese-culturalrelated business problem. He also offers a general training program to
company and organization. Currently, he is writing a textbook, entitled
“Chinese Culture vs. Modern Business”.
Dr. Lu earned his Ph. D. in physical oceanography from the Chinese
Academy of Science in a joint program with Imperial College of
Technology, University of Landon after he won the 1988’s Outstanding
Young Scientist Award by the Royal Society of UK. He loves science;
published 31 papers and books, won the highest Science Annual Award in
1992 by the Chinese Academy, and had been assistant and associate
professor at Nova Northeastern University and University of Hawaii before
he became an administrator and professor at FIU in 2002. He also loves
writing and has published many poems, essays and, recently, economic and
political articles.
Attachment
Road to The Success
– A Review of FIU’s Tianjin Project
Wenjun Wang*
FIU-Tianjin School of Hospitality Management is a $27.5-million
(220 million RMB) project funded by Tianjin gov’t to build a 0.405
million-sft complex for 2000 students. With a 10-year contract, this
project is so far the second largest
international educational cooperation
in China after Nottingham’s Ningbo
Campus, and the largest educational
program between China and the US.
It has received broad attention in
both China and Florida.
In December 2002, Dr. Peng Lu, Director of FIU’s China Projects,
was invited by Vice Mayor Wang Shuzu to visit Tianjin for the
possibility of a FIU school of hospitality in Tianjin, the largest
industrial city in North China with a population of 11 million. This
visit set up the basic tone of this cooperation: Tianjin would meet
every requirement from FIU to build the best facility in the world for a
school of hospitality. “FIU provides ‘prescription’ and we buy the
‘drugs’”, said the Vice Mayor to explain the cooperation.
After that, coordinated by Dr. Peng Lu, FIU officials such as Dean
Joseph West of FIU School of Hospitality Management, Associate
Dean Dickson, Assistant Dean Remington, Dean Grossman of FIU
Outreach, etc., had been to Tianjin many times to itemize the
cooperation with Liu Shuhan, the President of Tianjin University of
Commence, the institution that Tianjin government assigned to work
with FIU. In Oct 2003, the first Tianjin delegation of 11 people, let by
Mr. Wang and Mr. He Zhiyu, the Director of Tianjin Education
Committee, visited FIU. In this trip, President Liu signed a MOU with
President Maidique of FIU, witnessed by the Deputy SecretaryGeneral of UN, Mr. Chen Jian, and the Deputy Ambassador of China
in Washington, Mr. Liu Yi, and Representative from Governor Bush’s
office. In April 2004, FIU delegation of 8 people let by President
Maidique visited Tianjin, signed a 10-year Agreement and
*
Dr. Wenjun Wang, Professor and Dean of the College of Hospitality and Tourism
Management, Tianjin University of Commerce.
participated in a spectacular groundbreaking ceremony. Nov 2004,
Drs. Joe West and Peng Lu came to Tianjin for a large-scale openuniversity day – the FIU Day. In this event, they promoted this FIU
to hotel and tourism industry leaders, and to thousand of students
and parents in the Tianjin-Beijing area and, through media, to people
allover China. November 20 is then set to be the FIU Day in China.
The Project has approved by the Ministry of Education of China in
July 2004, and has two test classes in 2004. It has recruited more
than 300 students this year in China (with the China national test-forcollege system). FIU’s Miami campus may also send students to
have short-time study in Tianjin. The first group of 9 teacher
candidates for the Project who were recruited worldwide arrived at
Miami for an Executive Master program. They will be sent to Tianjin
to teach there in fall 2006. The construction started in Nov 04 and
will be finished by March 2006.