UCI goes to China

When UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake took office two years ago, he promised to fight for diversity and encourage multiculturalism on his campus.

This month, he'll take his mission to a whole new hemisphere.

Drake is scheduled to be the American keynote speaker at the 2007 Silk Road to the Future Olympic banner presentation in China on July 27.

The Legends of China Foundation, a nongovernmental organization that seeks to improve cultural relations between the United States and China, invited Drake to speak because of the University of California's longtime support of the program.

"It is with great pride that I accept the foundation's gracious invitation to speak at this monumental event," Drake said in a news release.

"Creating opportunities for cultural exchange and understanding among students and educators in our two nations is essential to our university's mission."

In the Silk Road program, students from both countries create works celebrating world peace.

The foundation intends to have American and Chinese university students carry the finished banner during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Drake also plans to meet with Chinese government officials and other leaders during his two-week visit.

According to UCI spokeswoman Cathy Lawhon, the chancellor was selected as keynote speaker because his campus was the first in the UC system to get involved with the Silk Road program.