Flathead Valley Community College President Jane Karas recently returned from a conference in Beijing, China, where she was invited to serve as an education expert with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s delegation.

She represented the American Association of Community Colleges, which paid for the five-day trip.

Co-chaired by Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong and Clinton, the gathering was called the High-level Council for People-to-People Exchange. Karas sat right behind Clinton at one point and heard her speak about a number of Chinese and American partnerships.

“She was a very engaging speaker, very thoughtful,” Karas said.

Calling the trip an exceptional opportunity, she added that she was honored to represent the United States at such an important event and at a critical time in their partnership.

“The goal is to help both countries understand more about each other, how we do things, how we work, how we can work together for the betterment of everybody,” Karas said.

She believes the trip will benefit the college with new opportunities for students in the future.

This marked the third year that Americans and Chinese representatives have met to discuss partnerships in a number of areas, including education, science and technology, culture, sports, women’s issues and youth. Karas was part of a working group of about 10 people on education.

At her first meeting, she focused on community colleges, explaining how they function in the U.S. She said many two-year colleges in China are vocational, but education officials there want to provide more opportunities for their students.

“I was able to talk a lot about what we do at FVCC,” Karas said.

During informal discussions, Karas said she learned the Chinese are very interested in the educational system in the U.S. She said they are aware of the success of American community colleges and the recent national focus on them.

Over the past year, Karas has served on the 21st Century Commission on the Future of Community Colleges. She was one of 36 experts examining the challenges and opportunities confronting the nation’s largest and fastest-growing education sector.

She discussed the commission’s report with the Chinese, outlining what community colleges do well and noting areas that need improvement.

“We talked about the focus on access and accountability and student success,” she said. “The people were very warm and friendly and very interested in opportunities to work together.”

A larger group met to work on the people-to-people exchanges. Karas was asked to represent the American Association of Community Colleges in signing an agreement with the Chinese Education Association International Exchange.

“They provide educational opportunities for Chinese faculty and students and administrators to come to the United states to find out about how our education system works,” Karas said.

FVCC had recent experience in the area when the college hosted a Chinese Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence who taught Mandarin as well as other courses.

The college president was particularly impressed by the Chinese and American students who spoke about their experiences studying in each other’s countries. They spoke about how the exchanges helped them understand the global economy.

“Listening to those students speak and speak in each other’s languages was really a remarkable experience,” she said.

Karas was asked to go to China about two weeks before the trip as the new chair-elect of the American Association of Community Colleges. She serves as chair-elect beginning in July and takes over as chair in July 2013.

Since her election to the board of the American Association of Community Colleges two years ago, she has become increasingly active on the national stage. Karas serves on the executive board as chairperson of the Committee of Program Initiatives and Workforce Training, as well as serving as the board’s liaison for the Community Colleges for International Development.

Last October she participated in the White House Summit on Community Colleges. Karas has brought the college national attention for the many innovative work-force training programs initiated during her tenure.

Although her trip to China was short, Karas was able to fit in a visit to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

“It was just amazing to see such historical structures and to learn what they mean to the Chinese both historically and to their culture,” she said.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.