The Associated Press reports that a branch of the Chinese-sponsored Confucius Institute will open at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor this fall.

Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo is also getting a branch of the institute, which already has locations at Michigan State University in East Lansing and Wayne State University in Detroit.

Institute branches in dozens of nations encourage the teaching of the Chinese language and culture.

Western Michigan President John M. Dunn led a delegation to China in July to complete the deal, The Associated Press said. The school says he also firmed up a partnership with Beijing Language and Culture University.

The addition of Michigan and Western Michigan increases the number of U.S. Confucius Institutes to 61.