I'm pleased to announce that as of a little more than a week ago, Pepperdine has begun an academic partnership with Fudan University (复旦大学). Our signing ceremony was an event of great pomp and circumstance (as you can see for yourself from the pictures); Charles Hall, the Dean of International Programs (whom many of you may already know) came to Shanghai specifically for the event. If you don’t like reading details, the rest of what follows can be summed up as 'awesomeness.'

Unlike most of Pepperdine's other programs, which typically hire local faculty directly, Chinese law dictates that all teaching must be done through an approved educational institution, which is ultimately overseen by the Ministry of Education (whom I lovingly refer to as 'Moe'). Even the Pepperdine visiting faculty must be invited as a 'guest lecturer' of sorts to teach students in the program. Classes, visa assistance, and all teaching services must be provided through an academic partner – there is no other option, and this makes a university partner here extremely important.

Our search for a university partner started this past fall; William and I began by arranging meetings with virtually every major university in Shanghai. Although we considered many factors, three qualities were of the utmost importance: academic reputation and quality, the ability to offer the kinds of classes we need in English, and people at the university that were genuinely interested in an academic collaboration and who seemed easy to work with. After meeting with every major university in Shanghai over a period of several months, only a few rose to the top of candidate list – and ultimately, our final candidate was easy to choose based on it's ideal fit with these qualities.

Fudan University is the perfect match for Pepperdine's Shanghai Program. Although rankings vary depending on who is conducting the rating, Fudan is consistently ranked 3rd or 4th among all universities in China. This is true even of casual encounters on the street; Fudan is known throughout all of China as being one of the top universities in the entire country – truly an 'Ivy League' of the Chinese University system. In particular, Fudan is most renowned for it's strength in the humanities: history, language, culture, literature, art, etc. – which is exactly what we need offered in most of the general education requirements of our classes. Needless to say, Fudan also attracts the highest caliber of faculty in Asia.

On top of studying in one of the most unique and exciting cities in the world, you will now have the privilege of saying that you did so in a program that was partnered with one of the top universities in China and Asia. This is a huge step in the development of the program – in fact, it is the foundation of virtually everything else. For a more detailed history of Fudan, visit the Wikipedia entry for the University or Fudan's English site.

If you're reading this, chances are you are one of the few, the chosen, the adventurous - you are in the first class of Pepperdine's Shanghai program! You will be the first Pepperdine class to experience living in one of Asia's fastest growing economic centers; the first to study Chinese language and culture in the Motherland; the first to experience life in a city where the ancient runs into the modern around every street corner and says, "let's boogie." Of course, you'll also be the first to experience chou dofu (literally, 'rotten tofu', chicken-feet snacks, the 'name that smell' game, and what I like to call the 'squatty potty tango.' You'll learn to speak, and even read Chinese (just how much is up to you), travel to exotic Asian locations and enjoy and participate in a dynamic international fellowship and spiritual environment. You'll also experience the joys and frustrations of living in a radically different culture, and paradigms shifts that will challenge and develop your perspective of the world and personal character. For all of the above, and for the opportunity to be a part of that experience with you, I am incredibly excited.

I absolutely believe that China is one of the most strategic and fascinating places to be in the world right now, and Pepperdine's launch of a full-time program in Shanghai couldn't be happening at a better time or in a better place. Having the ability to understand and interface with Chinese culture firsthand will be an experience that I am sure will serve you well, and more importantly, that will equip you to serve throughout the rest of your life. It's not that you should delude yourself into thinking that you'll be the first foreigners ever to 'discover China' (a mistake I'll go into detail about in a future blog), but there is a reality that you are on a 'frontier' of sorts - certainly for Pepperdine, but also for your peers. You are pioneers - but as you'll hear me repeat many times throughout the year, pioneers make something out of whatever it is they've got. And if all you've got is an overflowing squatty potty...(insert personal creativity here, and a story you can impress or disgust your friends for years to come).

Although I can't make any promises, my goal will be to post a blog here every two weeks (probably on Mondays) until the start of the program. You'll be getting first-hand updates on progress with all the details of the program as they develop - especially about our university partnership and the Shanghai home (which from here on out, we will all refer to as the 'Shanghai Jia, 上海家). Besides program updates, I'll also be posting about life in Shanghai, Chinese culture and just about anything else I think you'll find interesting as it relates to the program.

The other purpose of this blog is to create a space for us to all start communicating; if you have questions, comments, or just want a place to revel in the fact that you're awesome because you're going to Shanghai - now you have that space.

You should have gotten a separate email from me about posting a 'group biography' - I'll post everything here once I hear back from everyone. Until you arrive, this is our Shanghai Jia - so make it your own, and get used to sharing space! Please feel free to keep the program and all the developments in your prayers, and allow yourself to remain expectant for all that God wants to do in you through your experience in China.