Published: November 17, 2025
As I write this, I am in Beijing, China, for the World Chinese Language Conference, with the two co-directors of UL’s Confucius Institute, Dexter S. Sumo and Li Wei. The World Chinese Language Conference is the annual convening for all the Confucius Institutes around the world. Once a year, the two co-directors attend and their university president is also invited. For those who don’t know, Confucius Institutes are centers for the teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture that are sponsored by the Chinese government in colleges and universities around the world, around 160 countries in all. This conference is hosted by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China and organized by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), the Chinese International Education Foundation (CIEF), and the International Society for Chinese Language Teaching. The theme of this year’s conference is “Innovation Leads, AI Empowers: Learning Chinese Without Borders.” It is my first time in China.
Because of our flight schedule, we arrived in China one day before the start of the conference. Li Wei arranged for Dexter Sumo and myself to visit Beijing’s famous Forbidden City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most popular tourist destinations in China. This was a place I had seen in movies and read about in my history classes growing up, but to see it in person was truly remarkable. The Forbidden City is a palace complex of 980 buildings containing 9,999 rooms. It was built in the early 1400s (yes, you read that right!) and occupied by Chinese emperors and their families until 1924. By 1925, the palace complex was converted into the Palace Museum, as it remains today. Many of the original architectural details have been preserved or restored, while certain features have been added to make the site tourism-friendly. I found myself fascinated by the style of construction, particularly of the iconic roof structures, and the detailed ornamentation everywhere. The fact that it has withstood the rigors of time also left quite an impression on me.
China prides itself on being a civilization that has endured over 5,000 years of continuous history and culture. Even with all the changes that have occurred across that time, there is a sense of continuity and a feeling of power that comes from that historical and cultural continuity. It has left me thinking a lot about the value of history and culture in a nation’s strength, prosperity, and influence.
At the University of Liberia, we will celebrate our 75th anniversary next year. UL’s 75 years might sound small against the backdrop of China’s 5,000 years, but some of the same principles apply: Our history and culture are part of our strength, prosperity, and influence. How will we lift it up? How will we use the 75th anniversary as an opportunity to look at who we’ve been, how we got here, and all of the things we have influenced in Liberian society? How will this reflection help the University to become more prosperous and help UL to contribute to more prosperity in Liberian society? And how will lifting up UL during our anniversary year contribute to elevating Liberia on the world stage?
There is an opportunity here that we should not waste. We have to showcase ourselves. We need to tell and re-tell our historical story to ourselves and to others. We need to make sure that all our students, faculty, and staff know the story. We need to dig out all the stories about ways that UL has been influential in Liberian society and the world – culturally, politically, artistically, scientifically – and make these stories are accessible to the general public. We need to use this opportunity to reinforce and expand our success at home and abroad.
UL is a point of pride in Liberia, and for good reason. UL’s 75th Anniversary Celebration will kick off during Founders Week, February 15th through 21st, 2026. But we won’t stop there; we will celebrate all year long! Because UL’s story is too great to be confined to a week, and we will need the whole year highlight the many people, events, and accomplishments that make us who we are today. Please mark your calendars and get ready!
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