News Release

Gift establishes Jones Fellows program;
students to experience China first-hand

CHAPEL HILL -- Students in a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill program will immerse themselves in six months of intensive study in Asian culture that will take them from the bustling streets of Beijing to a dairy farm in the Chinese countryside.

Jones Apparel Group is funding nine fellowships over a three-year period with a $160,000 gift. The Jones Apparel Group Honors Asian Studies Fellowships are valued at $16,480 each and include travel, tuition, housing, board and other expenses related to students’ study.

Undergraduates with a demonstrated interest in Asia and the equivalent of at least three semesters of Chinese language study will be eligible. The first class of Jones Fellows will be announced this fall.

Peter Boneparth, a 1980 UNC graduate, and president and chief executive officer of Jones Apparel Group in New York City, said the program offers students a chance to experience Asian culture beyond the classroom.

Boneparth, who backpacked in China during his first trip to the country in 1984, said that today huge investments are being made in the nation’s infrastructure. The speed of modernization, the burgeoning middle class and the nation’s changing political system are shaping how China influences business worldwide, he added.

The program supports an educational process matching what many employers seek today, he said.

"There’s a tremendous need in business and government for employees who are proficient in Mandarin Chinese, in particular," said Boneparth. "In addition to the intensive language training, we wanted to combine Carolina’s Asian studies curriculum with real-life exposure to the culture and with practical experience in the business world. The Jones Fellows program provides students with opportunities that will open doors for them after graduation."

The Jones Fellows program represents a major addition to UNC’s efforts to internationalize the undergraduate curriculum, said Dr. James Leloudis, associate dean for honors in the College of Arts and Sciences.

"Recipients of the award will experience first-hand one of the most dynamic centers of the new global economy. The lessons the Jones Fellows bring home will help to shape the future of communities right here in North Carolina, and they will enlarge the learning of other students with whom the fellows interact," said Leloudis.

The Jones Fellowship features two components: language and culture classes during the spring semester at CET Beijing and a summer internship in either in Shanghai or Beijing. The internships will be tailored to the students’ interests and will include business, government and professional placements.

The fellowships will be administered in partnership with CET Academic Programs, an American organization based in Washington, D.C. CET Beijing is home to UNC’s honors Asian studies summer program and to the Southern Atlantic States Association for Asian and African Studies’ Chinese language program in which UNC students and faculty regularly participate.

The Jones Apparel Group gift counts toward the Carolina First campaign goal of $1.8 billion. Carolina First is a comprehensive, multi-year private fund-raising campaign to support Carolina’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading public university.

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Note: Contact Leloudis at (919) 966-5110 or leloudis@email.unc.edu. Contact Boneparth at (212) 642-3980.

News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415 or deborah_saine@unc.edu