Posted on 14 November 2009 | 0 Comments

IAUP North East Asia Conference in Taiwan, IAUP North American Council Presidential Retreat in Chicago, and the IAUP Executive Committee Meeting and Latin American Seminar in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

IAUP North East Asia Conference: 

The IAUP North East Asia Conference was held on September 30th - October 2^nd at the National University of Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Higher Education and Economic Development was the theme and the subtopics of the conference were: Collaborations between Industry and Higher Education, Collaborations among Institutions of Higher Education in North East Asia,Management and Administration in Higher Education, and Improvement of Overall Quality and Evaluation in Higher Education. Dr. Judith Easton, the president of Council for Higher Education Accreditation in the U.S.A., lectured on Higher Education and Economic Development - Global Context, Actors and Actions from a global perspective. She noted that the higher education in the service of economic development is a global trend, but the role of higher education in global economic development also raises many vital questions, such as how to further strengthen ties between economic development and social commitment. Another keynote speaker Dr. Chih-Kung Lee, Executive Vice President of Industiral Technology Research Institute in Taiwan, gave a talk on Perspective on Linking Higher Education to Economic Development: Bird's Eye View of Taiwan's Experience.

IAUP North American Council Presidential Retreat:

The IAUP North American Council Presidential Retreat was aptly titled the Anti-Convention because of the long breaks between presentations, which were successful in allowing Presidents ample time to network. It was sponsored by the North American Council (NAC) at the Roosevelt University in Chicago, on Friday, October 16.  The Retreat opened with a dinner the evening before and a talk by Dr. Rachel Bronson, Vice President for Programs and Studies at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.  She spoke on Trends in Higher Education in the Middle East. 

On Friday, the Retreat opened with a Keynote Address from Ramu Damodaran, Director of the Academic Impact project at the United Nations.  He spoke on the "The Power of the Presidency: Enrolling Academic Leaders in a New Global Accord".  He was followed by George Dehne, President of GDA Integrated Services (and a member of the IAUP Council of Senior Advisors), who spoke on "What Makes Your Institution Distinctive".  After lunch Donna Mullins, Managing Partner of Winning Strategies Washington, spoke to the group on Engaging Elected Officials.  The day ended with a panel discussion on "Making the Mission Real", led by Lee Gorsuch, President of City University of Seattle, Chuck Middleton, President of Roosevelt University, and J. Michael Adams, President of Fairleigh Dickinson University.

IAUP Executive Committee Meeting and Latin American Seminar in Rio de Janeiro: 

The latest IAUP Executive Committee Meeting and Latin American Seminar were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the SOFITEL Hotel on October 18-21. Several initiatives took place including discussion dealing with theAcademic Impact, Commission on Disarmament Education, Conflict Resolution and Peace, and the Academic Chairs for Africa. Regional actions were discussed as well as the common concern of making Higher Education greater throughout the world. Professor Paulo Alcantara Gomes, Rector of Universidade Castelo Branco, in Rio de Janeiro organized a fascinatingIAUP Latin American Seminar on "Universities and Innovation", which was presented at the Centro de Technologia at the Campus of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) - Cidade Universitaria. There was a visit to CENPES/Petrobras Research Center and to the Technology Park and Incubators of the UFRJ. Carlos Alberto Serpa de Oliveira, President of Fundacao Cesgranrio, provided hospitable support to all members that attended the meeting. Brazilian Co-Sponsors of the Seminar: Petrobras/CENPES, Redetec Technological Network, CRUB - Brazilian Institutes for Very Small Business, and FIESP - Federation of Industries Sao Paulo.