In May of 2008, Nichols students, alums, faculty, and staff took a 13-day excursion to China.
The focus of the trip was to examine international business in Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The group also visited important historic and cultural sites along the way.
The Nichols entourage enjoyed visits to: the Qin Terracotta Army Museum, the Hong Kong Stock Market, a GM automobile factory, a tea house, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, a silk factory, Jin Mao Tower, and a "very hot" steel factory.
Libba Moore, associate dean for business, was "fascinated with artifacts from three incredibly different political regimes: emperors and dynasties, Mao's communist China, and the contemporary transition to a leading capitalist power today."
It was Professor Rick Hilliard's third trip to China. He most recalled the signs he saw: "Everybody Does Every Job" and "This Is a Communist Workshop."
Assoc. V.P. for Finance Pat Hertzfeld was startled by China’s whole-hearted embrace of internationalization as evident in the use of English on signage. "And the spaces are huge," says Hertzfeld. "Tiananmen Square holds over a million people. I couldn’t possibly show its true size by taking pictures. Americans have never seen building on this scale."