Interview with Anne E. Ofstedal Fellow Dr. Mei Li
JICUF Board Chair Sam Shepherd and I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Mei Li during our visit to ICU in early June. Dr. Li is the first Anne E. Ofstedal Fellow, a program created by the United Board in memory of former United Board staff member Anne Ofstedal. Dr. Li, a member of the faculty at Yunnan University’s School of Public Administration, is spending the Spring Term at ICU. Click here to read more about Dr. Li’s background.
Dr. Li’s Fellowship is being co-sponsored by ICU, the Japan ICU Foundation and the United Board.
L-R: JICUF Vice President Paul Hastings, Dr. Mei Li and JICUF Board Chair Samuel Shepherd in the lobby of the Kiyoshi Togasaki Memorial Dialogue House at ICU.
JICUF: Please briefly explain your field of study and your role at Yunnan University.
Dr. Li: My field of study is public administration. More specificly, I have been involved in research projects concerning administrative reforms, HIV/AIDS policy, and NPO development in Yunnan Province, China. I am a faculty member at the School of Public Administration, Yunnan University, as well as director of the Masters in Public Administration program.
JICUF: How did you hear about the Anne E. Ofstedal Fellowship?
Dr. Li: I heard about the Anne Ofstedal Fellowship from Dr. Glenn Shive, VP of the United Board, and later I searched on the United Board’s website for more information about Anne Ofstedal.
JICUF: Is this your first time visiting Japan? What are your impressions?
Dr. Li: Yes, it is my first time visiting Japan. People follow rules. That is my first impression. I also noticed how well planned and organized a lot of public services are, including public transportation, clean streets and public space. Furthermore, there is definitely a clear awareness of environmental protection, since the country is densely forested. Neighborhoods are quiet, where cars, bicycles and pedestrians co-exist and cooperate well even on narrow streets.
JICUF: What have you most enjoyed about your time at ICU?
Dr. Li: I have most enjoyed talking with different people at ICU. There are wonderful minds here from undergraduate students to senior professors and administrators, who have provided me with insightful perspectives about liberal arts education, the internationalization of universities, history, culture and so on. It is interesting to hear different views on these topics.
JICUF: How has your time at ICU and in Japan influenced you professionally and personally?
Dr. Li: My time at ICU definitely would influence me both professionally and personally. Personally, I want to continue learning the Japanese language and the culture when I return to China. It has occurred to me after my stay at ICU that my knowledge and understanding of Japan is so limited. Therefore, I would try to improve myself in that respect. Professionally, I would want to distribute part of my time to further understand public administration and civil society in Japan and hopefully conduct some research, or joint research, comparing contemporary Japan and China, especially on how civil society grows to join hand in hand with government in providing better, more efficient public services. Moreover, I wish I could help to initiate communications between ICU and Yunnan University in many possible respects.
Yunnan University in Kunming, China.
JICUF: I understand you will be returning to Yunnan University at the end of this term, and will be in the United States next year to complete the second component of your Fellowship. Do you know where you will be going and what are your plans while in the United States?
Dr. Li: I don’t know yet where my second placement in the US will be. For the US placement, I don’t have clear plans yet, but I think it would be interesting to detect transition of US universities over years, especially after I completed my graduate study at the University of Washington. I also suppose the host university would be different from UW, hence an opportunity to experience another American university.
JICUF: A fun question to end – what is your favorite part of the ICU campus?
Dr. Li: My favorite part of ICU campus is the ring road covered mostly by woods, where I walk every day.
JICUF: Thank you so much Dr. Li for your time and best of luck with your future endeavors!
