The U.S. secretary of education, Margaret Spellings, will lead a delegation of 12 college presidents to China, Japan, and South Korea next week to promote American higher education and encourage students in those countries to pursue their studies in the United States.

According to a news release issued by the Education Department this morning, the delegation includes the following campus chief executives:

Stephen M. Curtis, Community College of Philadelphia Adam W. Herbert Jr., Indiana University System William R. Brody, Johns Hopkins University Karen A. Holbrook, Ohio State University H. James Owen, Piedmont Community College Shirley Ann Jackson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute David W. Leebron, Rice University Philip W. Eaton, Seattle Pacific University John B. Simpson, State University of New York at Buffalo Henry T. Yang, University of California at Santa Barbara J. Bernard Machen, University of Florida Steadman Upham, University of Tulsa

Also attending will be Dina Habib Powell, assistant secretary of state.