Who we are

Chuan Sheng Liu, Director of the Confucius Institute at Maryland (CIM), is also a professor of physics at UM, where he has served for over 30 years. His M.A. and Ph.D. are both from the University of California, Berkeley. Recently, Liu served as President of National Central University in Taiwan; past positions have been with the University of Maryland as Interim Vice President for Research, Dean of the Graduate School, and Director of the Institute for Global Chinese Affairs (IGCA). Lius vast expertise lies in plasma theory, fusion energy, theoretical sciences, and astronomy, but he finds great satisfaction in the classroom with students. Recent guest professorships have been with Peking University, and the University of Science and Technology in China.

Alan Cheung, Executive Director, has over 40 years of leadership and management experience in education, health care, and government services. He is a Visiting Professor at the Center for Integrative Medicine in the School of Medicine, and an Adjunct Professor with the School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland. He received a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the UC-San Francisco, and a Masters of Health degree from UCLA. In 1990, he became the first Chinese American elected to the Board of Education in Montgomery County, Maryland. Cheung’s career has included various leadership positions in the academic, public service, and private sectors. 

Jianxin (James) Cui, Deputy Director & Teacher, supported by the Ministry of Education, in China, to teach for the Confucius Institute at Maryland. Cui is a professor of applied linguistic and dialects with Nankai University in Tianjin, northeast of Beijing. He earned an M.A. in Comparative Linguistics at Nankai University, and has more than 20 years of experience in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Cui was Guest Professor for two years at the Center d'Etudes de l'Asie de l'Est, University of Montreal, Canada, and served before that as Associate Professor for 28 months with College of Oriental and Asian Studies, University of Paris, France.

Jing Lin, senior fellow, is professor of education with the Department of Education Leadership, Higher Education, and International Education at the UM. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1990. She was previously on the faculty at McGill University in Canada, and has been with the UM since 2000. Lin's research has been on Chinese education, culture, and society; and she has also done significant work in peace education, environmental education, and spirituality and education. Her most recent book, Love, Peace, and Wisdom in Education: Vision for Education in the 21st Century came out in 2006.

Rebecca L. Oxford, Senior Fellow for World Language Education, is also a Professor of Second Language Education and Culture in the College of Education, University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar Teacher, and GATE (Global Awareness in Teacher Education) Fellow. She published seven books on language learning and teaching and 160 articles and book chapters. She is currently editing a book on the language of war and peace and was series editor of Tapestry, a worldwide program for English teaching. She is Vice Chairperson of the Academic Committee of the Xidian University School of Humanities and Arts, Xi'an, China and is eagerly learning Mandarin.

Rebecca McGinnis, Coordinator, manages the non-credit Chinese language courses, and all China-related public programs for the Confucius Institute at Maryland. Also at UM, McGinnis serves as Associate Director for the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS), and previously was China Programs Coordinator with the Institute for Global Chinese Affairs (IGCA). She received two M.A.s from the Ohio State University, one in Asian Studies and one in Chinese Art History. McGinnis studied Chinese language growing up in Malaysia, and has worked with the Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution.