Cox Selected To Lead
Delegation To China

Ruth E. Cox, assistant professor in Sam Houston State University's Department of Library Science, has been selected by People to People Ambassador Programs as the delegation leader for the School Librarians Delegation to the People's Republic of China.

Cox's delegation will travel to China in October.

The People to People Ambassador Programs chooses delegation leaders based upon recommendations and the individual's accomplishments in the field, as well as their expertise in the specialty area of the particular program. The delegation leader assists People to People Ambassador Programs in defining the academic, technical, or scientific focus of the program and in identifying prospective program delegates.

Cox holds a Ph.D. in Library Science from Texas Woman's University. She has served as assistant professor in SHSU's Department of Library Science since 1997. Previously, she served as a school library media specialist in the Arlington and Carroll Independent School Districts, and as the director of TWU's School of Library and Information Studies Library Science Library, along with teaching children's literature courses at TWU.

"The primary focus of our trip," said Cox, "will be on examining the level of school library services to young people in China. We plan to visit universities that train librarians as well as school libraries to assess the degree of technology integration, as well as the availability of leisure reading materials for school age children."

In addition to the meetings and field site visits, which are a part of the program, delegates will participate in a number of cultural and social activities. Among the cultural sites they will visit are the Yu Garden and Bund in Shanghai, the Summer Palace at Beijing, and the Great Wall of China. They will attend the Peking Opera as well as have the opportunity to visit Hong Kong at the end of the program.

Delegates will keep personal journals documenting their impressions of the professional meetings and cultural activities. Cox will compile a document based on the delegation members' journals, which People to People Ambassador Programs will then publish.

People to People Ambassador Programs was founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in an effort to better promote cultural understanding among countries. Although originally administered by the State Department, People to People Ambassador Programs became a private, nonprofit organization in 1961. International exchanges administered by the group's Ambassador Programs focus on specialized disciplines within the fields of medicine, law, agriculture, business, life science, education, sports, and the basic sciences. Hundreds of delegations have traveled to a variety of countries including China, South Africa, Cuba, Russia, Hungary, and Australia.

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SHSU Media Contact: Julia May
Feb. 18, 2000
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