News release
Public Information Office
SLU 10880 Hammond,
LA 70402 phone:
985-549-2341 fax:
985-549-2061publicinfo@selu.edu
www.selu.edu/news
Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: 11/15/02
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OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES FORMED – Danilo Levi (right), director of the Office of International Initiatives at Southeastern Louisiana University, explains the reach of the university's growing international program to President Randy Moffett (center) and Aristides Baraya who heads Southeastern's Center for Latin American Business and Development. SOUTHEASTERN FORMS INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES OFFICE HAMMOND - Southeastern Louisiana University has formed an Office of International Initiatives to coordinate the university's growing global educational and economic development programs and its study abroad program for students. Danilo Levi, assistant professor of sociology, has been appointed director of the office. Levi also serves as director of Southeastern's Center for Youth Leaders of the Americas, a program focused on promoting social and economic development in the hemisphere, primarily through leaders of grass-roots youth organizations. "Our purpose in creating this office is to bring all of the university's varied international programs under one umbrella to allow for optimal coordination," said Southeastern President Randy Moffett. "Our international activities have grown significantly in recent years, well beyond the traditional study abroad opportunities offered by many universities. Southeastern is now offering training and degree programs for international students and cooperative educational and economic development opportunities with foreign nations, universities, and trade and business organizations." The announcement of the new office helped Southeastern kick off International Week, the university's annual salute to international students scheduled this year Nov. 18-22. The series of activities, lectures and concerts is designed to celebrate the diverse cultures and heritages of students attending Southeastern. More than 175 international students from 52 foreign countries attend Southeastern. In addition to the Center for Youth Leaders, Southeastern is home for the Center for Latin American Business and Development, headed by Aristides Baraya, a faculty member in the College of Business and Technology. Last year, Southeastern also formed the Institute for Global and Domestic Development, a non-profit organization with the sole mission of assisting the university in addressing challenges in all its outreach programs, especially those related to international efforts. "We have obtained significant support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization of American States (OAS)," Levi said. "These organizations have participated in several of our educational outreach programs in recent years by providing top experts from their organizations as speakers. These partnerships are enabling us to expand our international program." The university has hosted a number of programs on campus that are oriented to assisting Latin American youth leaders and entrepreneurs wishing to develop their businesses and civic organizations. Among those was a weeklong series of seminars for 20 young Colombian rural leaders, providing them with an overview of international commerce, agrarian ecology, and the use of modern telecommunications in with courses being offered in sociology and criminal justice, business, computer science, biology, arts, languages and other areas business, trade and civil organizations. Earlier this year, Southeastern hosted more than a dozen Kuna Indian artisans from Panama for seminars and workshops focusing on cultural preservation and global markets for cultural artifacts. "Our goal in developing these types of programs is to provide practical, hands-on information these leaders can use to promote social development within their countries and expand trade opportunities beyond their countries' boundaries," Levi said. "In addition, these programs provide valuable cultural exchange occasions for our faculty and students, giving them opportunities to interact with individuals from different cultures." Southeastern maintains formal relationships with six European universities in Austria, Germany and France to provide mutual exchange programs for students. Agreements are also held with the governments of Costa Rica, Colombia and Panama. "We are especially excited about a new agreement we recently signed with the Technological University of Honduras, which will allow us to implement in the near future a joint degree program in general business," Levi said. "We hope to expand this partnership into other academic disciplines." The university's study-abroad trips, some of which are conducted in cooperation with other universities, allow students to visit foreign nations for two to four weeks during the summer while earning college credit. For summer 2003, Southeastern students can choose from programs in Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Costa Rica. "Students gain the valuable experience of traveling abroad while taking courses in sociology and criminal justice, business, computer science, biology, arts, languages and other areas, Levi said." Financial aid can be used toward the expenses associated with these programs, he said, and Southeastern offers scholarships for study abroad. Moffett said one of the university's core values is an appreciation of diversity. "We are now attracting students from more than 50 foreign nations to study and learn at Southeastern and to experience life in the United States," he said. "Their participation in our educational program provides them valuable educational opportunities while enriching the learning environment for all our students, exposing them to a broad exchange of ideas and cultures. Today, sensitivity to the implications of globalization provided by these initiatives is an essential dimension of higher education." |
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