Faculty from universities in North America and Asia will join WMU faculty and staff and Michigan business leaders for the Fifth Facing East Facing West Conference. This two-day multidisciplinary, multicultural conference provides a forum to discuss business, social, cultural, legal, economic, political and environmental issues concerning North America’s relations with Asian countries.
The conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fri., June 10, and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sat., June 11, at the Fetzer Center on the campus of Western Michigan University.
Highlights include the following events:
- A keynote address on Friday, at 9 a.m., will feature Kenneth F. Davis, president, Vehicle Group for Eaton. Since joining Eaton in 1986, Davis has held management positions of increasing responsibility including president of the company’s Light and Medium-Duty Transmission business and vice president and general manager for its Clutch business. He has also held managerial, sales and marketing positions in the corporation.
- The Friday luncheon address at 12:10 p.m. will feature Kuninori Matsuda, consul general of the Consulate General of Japan in Detroit. After graduating from Tokyo University, Matsuda joined Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he has held positions in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, the Defense Policy Division at the Ministry of Defense, and the Division of General Management of the Foreign Minister’s office. He served as deputy director of the Russian Division in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as first secretary to the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. He has held several positions with the Embassy of Japan including his previous position of minister at the Embassy of Japan in Israel.
- Over 40 concurrent sessions throughout the conference will focus on a wide variety of multidisciplinary topics and issues concerning North America’s relations with Asian countries, including the ASIAN region. The speakers represent the likes of North American universities such as Hofstra University, Indiana University, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota and the University of North Florida,
International faculty and administrators presenting at the conference include those representing universities such as Lahore University of Management Sciences, (Pakistan); Sun Yat-Sen University, (China); University of Warsaw, (Poland); Universidad de Burgos, (Spain); and the International Islamic University, (Malaysia).
Sponsored in part by the Department of Education, the conference is a major event in Project EDGE (Enhancing and Developing Global Expertise), a project designed to support initiatives to internationalize the curriculum, the faculty, and students and to develop an understanding of international business as it relates to the Association of South East Asian Nations region.
Directing the program and the conference are Dr. Mushtaq Luqmani, chair, Department of Marketing, Dr. Zahir Quraeshi, G.W. Haworth Chair of Global Business and director, Global Business Center, and Dr. Roger Tang, Upjohn Chair in Business Administration.
In addition to the U.S. Department of Education and WMU's Haworth College of Business Global Business Center, other sponsors are WMU's Haenicke Institute for Global Education, and Georgia State University Center for International Business Education and Research.
For more information, visit the conference website or contact Dr. Roger Tang (269) 387-5247.
