Pam Byrnes headed to China to head up University of Michigan joint institute in Shanghai

Former state Rep. Pam Byrnes is headed to China after taking a position as executive director of the University of Michigan’s joint institute with Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Byrnes, a U-M alumna, was appointed to a newly created position overseeing the hiring and management of personnel in the joint institute, The University Record is reporting. She will be responsible for staff mentoring and training, budget and planning, financial resource management, policy and operations process implementation and fund-raising.

Pam Byrnes

Byrnes holds a bachelor's degree in far eastern studies from U-M. According to the Record, she'll be moving next week.

Her office will be in Shanghai.

The joint institute places American and Chinese students here and in China. The first class of students to study in the program began in 2006. Today more than 200 joint institute students attend U-M, most in the College of Engineering.

Byrnes, a Democrat from Washtenaw County's Lyndon Township, lost in last year's primary election in her bid for the 18th District state Senate seat against Rebekah Warren.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's e-mail newsletters.