Anderson represents Campus Development Group, CDG, which is redeveloping the former Regional Treatment Center property into a cross cultural business college. On his recent trip to China, he called on both public and private universities to form a coalition of colleges from both the US and China. The CDG has very good support and high interest from the Chinese Universities from Hunan Province. They are very interested in the college in Fergus Falls, not only the public universities but also large private universities with student bodies running up to 27,000 students. The combined student enrollment for the colleges is over 100,000 students.
They also met with private developers in China who may invest in the campus which will allow the construction phase to begin. The CDG is, in effect, doing two projects at the same time. They are developing the campus for a college and also creating the college who will be the tenant for the real estate. Our goal of seven colleges from Minnesota, North Dakota and at least seven universities from China focusing on international business. The coalition of colleges will be running the International College in Fergus Falls and all will be sending students as part of their curriculum. This is very unique and exciting and builds a very strong foundation for
the future.
The students will learn that there is a cultural difference not only in language but also in the nuances of doing business. Navigating through the differences can delay projects and create undo hardships for businesses because of misunderstandings. This creates a need for a college like this which will focus on international business with both US and Chinese students studying and problem solving together. Students need to experience these differences to learn and it is not something that they pick up by reading a book. Strong bonds will be formed and these will be the future leaders and entrepreneurs with ties to our area.
Anderson can attest to some of these differences in communication after spending a month in China. He will be over there another five weeks on the next trip, and continue to work out agreements with potential universities and partners.
He also feels the project is definitely moving in the right direction and has had meetings with Hunan Provincial Officials who support the project and will be visiting the Fergus Falls area this summer.
It is very important to have the support of the Hunan Provincial government because they see this as beneficial for their students and it opens up opportunities for their schools. Building stronger ties with a province of 70 million people will also open up opportunities for our area businesses in the future. It has been very enjoyable to meet with the officials in China and we look forward to continued discussions in May.
Of course a project of this size takes a lot of time to put together. Anderson knows they will have some setbacks from time to time, but feels they are making significant progress and moving in the right direction.
This will have a very positive economic impact not only on Fergus Falls but the whole area. With over 1,500 students on the campus we will also bring students to Fergus to take advantage of the Fergus Community and Technical College’s courses. This is a win win for everybody and an economically sound project for the historic grounds of the RTC campus. Anderson feels these are exciting times for our community and area when this all comes together.
Fergus Falls as a community has been very supportive and the city is working hard to help make this a success. We will continue to need the support from the city of Fergus Falls, The Fergus Falls Economic Development Commission and the community to make this happen. Anderson works with a very experienced team: Jeff Schlossman (Goldmark Schlossman), Doug Burgum (Hawthorne Group) and Lili Pan from Shenzhen, China.
Anderson would like to thank everybody for their encouragement and support. CDG will continue to work hard to make this project a success for our area.
For more information, visit www.campus-development.com.
This article has been re-published with permission from Richard Anderson from Campus Development Group.
