Cal State Northridge’s China Institute awarded three CSUN professors its annual Faculty Development Grants of $1,000 each for their proposed work to increase the knowledge and growth in the field of Chinese studies.

Health sciences associate professor Louis Rubino, real estate and insurance associate professor Patty Born and music professor Katherine Baker plan to use their grants to jump-start their working projects in China.

Rubino plans to “establish a working relationship with Guangzhou (province’s) health bureau.”

Working with the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), Rubino will pair with a partner from China, Dong Haiwei, in “putting out nutritional information for cancer prevention.”

Haiwei, a CSUN alumnus, flew to the states in August using some of the grant money given to Rubino. Together, they’ll collaborate with their contacts and connections in changing the growing nutritional problem in China.

“America’s fast food is increasingly affecting China,” Rubino said.

Their main goal will be to “take information (the WCRF) have proven and disseminate their information to China.”

Rubino, who has been to China eight times, will visit again on Nov. 23 for about a week to set up meetings with contacts important to his research. He’ll be looking at hotels and places of interest for his student trip in the spring.

The trip will include around 12 students and allow them to explore the health care system and culture of China.

Rubino said his visit this fall will “pave way for the student trip to make sure the chosen areas are appropriate and safe.”

A newsletter from the China Institute regarding Rubino’s grant stated grant would be to “inform and educate regional Chinese health care leaders about the WCRF Expert Study Global Dietary guidelines. These leaders would be from three provinces (Guangzhou, Shanghai and Yunnan) which we have established relationships. In turn, these trained leaders would disseminate this vital health information to their respective communities.”

Born, another professor awarded the grant, has made her way to China this fall for an insurance research project, where she will study the international market for retirement and insurance products.

“The grant will enable Professor Born to obtain data and resources for an insurance research project while she is on sabbatical leave in China this fall. She will be traveling to Shanghai in the fall of 2007 to study the market for Chinese life insurance and retirement products and to further her understanding of international markets for insurance,” stated the newsletter on Born’s grant.

Through this research, Born can also help CSUN students interested in insurance gain a broader knowledge of the topic.

Baker, chair of the music department, has already used her grant to fund the trip to Shanghai in June 2007 with the CSUN women’s chorale, where they had two performances.

Baker also spoke at the East China Normal University, Shanghai, International Scholars Forum on music education.

The purpose of these grants is to “promote the mission of the China Institute,” said Dr. Justine Zhixin Su, director of CSUN’s China Institute.

Though the institute awards these grants annually, there is “very small funding” and no working budget, says Su.

The funding comes from various projects, events and visitors to the university. Visiting scholars coming to collaborate with professor from pay training fee, which supports some of the funding the institute receives.

For the past 10 years, two or three faculty grants have been given to CSUN professors for their projects correlating with the China Institute.

“We focus on how the projects will benefit CSUN students,” said Su, regarding which professors receive the grants.

Though professors can apply more than one year in a row, the institute tries to award faculty who have not yet received grants, said Su.

Rubino has received 3 nonconsecutive grants overall from the China Institute.

“The professors we have chosen to fund demonstrate good effort in developing a long-term collaboration with China,” Su said.

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