By Jen Zhu
Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies

Collaborations between the University of Michigan and Fudan University (Shanghai, China) continue to expand as four joint research teams from U-M and Fudan have won funding for social science projects and two U-M faculty members have succeeded in securing travel grants for potential partnerships.

The research grants provide up to two years of support for social science research projects joining U-M and Fudan faculty and researchers. And the travel grants allow U-M faculty and researchers to go to Fudan to meet possible collaborators and conduct exploratory discussions on joint research topics in the social sciences.

This is the first round of dedicated funding for the UM-Fudan collaborations in the social sciences.  Bringing together and supporting teams with diverse perspectives and areas of expertise to examine issues of an interdisciplinary nature, this multiyear funding program is made possible by the following units at U-M: Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, Office of the Provost, Office of the Vice Provost for Global and Engaged Education, Institute for Social Research, and Office of the Vice President for Research. Tenured and tenure-track U-M faculty and researchers on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses are eligible to apply to either or both grant types. More information can be found at http://www.ii.umich.edu/lrccs/educationalresources/funding/faculty/michiganfudan.


Joint research projects funded:

  • “Examining the Local Management Practices of the Housing Provident Fund Program in Three Selected Chinese Cities”

Principal investigators: Lan Deng, U-M Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning; and Qianjin Hao, Fudan University Center for Housing Policy Studies (and Jie Chen, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics).

  • “Exploring Design of Mail Surveys in China”

Principal investigators: James Lepkowski, U-M School of Public Health and U-M Institute for Social Research; and Chan Zhang, Fudan University School of Journalism.

  • “Hobbyist and Professional Maker Cultures in Urban China: Impact on sustainable living, learning & community building”

Principal investigators: Silvia Lindtner, U-M School of Information; and Xianghua Ding, Fudan University School of Computer Science.

  • “Socioeconomic Status and Health in China”

Principal investigators: Yu Xie, U-M Department of Sociology, Department of Statistics, and Institute for Social Research; and Weixiang Luo, Fudan University Institute of Population Research.

Exploratory travel grant recipients:

  • Weiyun Chen, U-M School of Kinesiology
  • Gregory Laurence, UM-Dearborn School of Management

The research partnerships between U-M and Fudan are part of a broader relationship between the two institutions. Since 2005, the UM-Fudan Joint Institute for Gender Studies has offered groundbreaking training programs to students and scholars from all over China and the world. U-M and Fudan have also supported joint research projects in the humanities.