Four Cornell College faculty members were attacked in a public park while teaching in China in partnership with a local university, with “serious consequences,” officials said Monday.
Jonathan Brand, president of the private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa, said in a statement that the teachers were “injured in a serious accident” while visiting a public park on Sunday. They were with a faculty member from Beihua University, its partner university in Jilin City in northeastern China.
“We have been in contact with four faculty members and are offering them assistance during this time,” Brand said in the statement. He said no students were enrolled in the program.
Details about the attack, including the condition of faculty members and whether they were specifically targeted, remained unclear Monday. Jen Visser, a spokeswoman for the university, said the college had contacted every faculty member.
Ms. Visser said BNU staff had been in touch with Cornell College coordinators, but she said it was unclear what information had been shared.
Ms. Visser declined to provide further information about the attack.
Ms. Visser said that the collaboration between Cornell College and Beihua University began in 2018. According to the newly releasedBeihua University provides funding for Cornell professors to travel and live in China for two weeks to teach computer science, mathematics and physics.
