U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dina Habib Powell led the first high profile delegation of U.S. college and university presidents to China during International Education Week November 16-18, 2006. The delegation met with students and university leaders, government and business leaders, and the media to carry the message that the U.S. welcomes and values international students who want to study in the United States.

This historic paring of the U.S. government and higher education leaders follows from a commitment made at the U.S. University Presidents Summit on International Education co-hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in January 2006. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of educational and Cultural Affairs is organizing high level delegations of college and university presidents, each led by a senior U.S. Government official, to key world regions to promote the value of U.S. higher education overseas and engage in discussions on the future and importance of international education.

The delegation includes the following: U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings; Assistant Secretary of State Dina Habib Powell; John B. Simpson, President, University at Buffalo; Henry T. Yang, Chancellor, University of California; Santa Barbara; Bernard Machen, President, University of Florida; Adam W. Herbert, President, Indiana University; William Brody, President, Johns Hopkins University; Karen A. Holbrook, President, Ohio State University; Stephen M. Curtis, President, Community College of Philadelphia; H. James Owen, President, Piedmont Community College; Shirley Ann Jackson, President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; David W. Leebron, President, Rice University; Philip W. Eaton, President, Seattle Pacific University; Steadman Upham, President, University of Tulsa.

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