All roads apparently lead to Nanchang, China.  I am writing today from Nanchang where I just concluded discussions with officials at Jiangxi Normal University regarding collaboration.  But the city of Nanchang is important for another reason:  it is the current home of a young lady named Caroline, Samford Class of 2013.  She is here teaching English to 160 students at a local University.  Caroline and I happened to walk into the Pete Hanna Center together on Commencement morning last May and when I asked her what she would be doing after graduation, she replied that she would be working in China. "Maybe our paths will cross," I said.  So I was struck two days ago when I received my trip itinerary and--of all places--Nanchang was one of my stops.  I was impressed today as she told me how she cherishes her work and her students.  Her concluding comment:  "Samford prepared me very well."

The world is better because Samford people (like Caroline) are everywhere.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 5,791 students from 49 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.