August 2003

New Mansfield Center
director hired
An expert on East Asia with 12 years experience in international education administration has been hired to lead UM's Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center.

Terry Weidner is currently director of the Asian Affairs Center and the Missouri International Training Institute at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He will start his UM director duties in September, replacing Conrad Snyder, who has directed the center since March.

Weidner was hired after a national search, and UM President George Dennison said Weidner has the background, experience and array of talents that most closely fits the needs of the Mansfield Center at this time.

Weidner has directed the Asian Affairs Center since 1998. In that role he worked to improve the University of Missouri's Asian curriculum and Asia-related research. He also forged relationships with partner institutions in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Korea.

The purpose of UM's Mansfield Center is to create a clearer understanding of our interdependent world - one in which three out of every five people is Asian. The center provides academic courses, seminars, public lectures, conferences and cultural events in the areas of Asian affairs and ethics in public affairs.

The center is named for Maureen and Mike Mansfield. Mr. Mansfield, with constant support from his wife, served as a U.S. representative and senator for Montana from 1942 to 1977. He became the United States' longest-serving Senate majority leader during 1961-77, and he was ambassador to Japan from 1977 to 1988.

University Relations | Cary Shimek, Editor
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