June 8, 2005 :: No. 232

Cal State Fullerton is working with two Brazilian universities and the University of Connecticut in an international effort to bring a global outlook to their respective programs in coastal marine management.

As scholars bridging two continents, educators from CSUF, the University of Connecticut, Universidade Federal Fluminense and Universidade Federal Da Paraiba have developed a student exchange program. American and Brazilian students will visit and attend courses with their counterparts, as well as conduct research with faculty members. Faculty exchanges also are being planned.

“Our goal is to create a joint effort of educating students about the global implications of not managing the development and use of our coastal seas and water sheds,” said Steven Murray, a leading authority in marine ecosystems who spearheaded this latest international agreement for Cal State Fullerton. The biological science professor and newly named dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics has received more than $1 million in grants from several federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“This dovetails with our mission of creating a global outlook, and this agreement is definitely a bidirectional one that ensures mutual benefits for all institutions, faculty and students involved,” said Ray Young, associate vice president for academic programs.

Next month, Murray and Robert Voeks, professor of geography, will visit the two Brazilian universities to give seminars and explore opportunities for establishing faculty collaborations. Multiple academic departments and CSUF faculty members in a variety of disciplines are formulating exchange components.

In the fall, students from Brazil will travel to California and Connecticut for study. American students are expected to begin study in Brazil in January.

“Our faculty members can learn more about the Brazilian culture and language,” said Young. “Working with these Brazilian institutions has fabulous potential beyond this effort. Their campus leaders have expressed an interest in broadening our involvement into such fields as educational administration, nursing and community health.”

Young noted that Brazilian faculty members support the exchange “because it gives them the opportunity to share research, as well as opportunities for their students to come to the United States and work with American professors.”

Cal State Fullerton currently has partnership arrangements with 49 universities and colleges around the world. Such arrangements involve faculty collaborations on research and projects, faculty and student exchanges or degree offerings, said Young.

The largest number of agreements – 11 – and the oldest partnerships are with Chinese universities. This month, a dozen faculty and staff members will take part in the 12th annual Fullerton/China Seminar, which includes visits to Fudan University in Shanghai, Suzhou and Beijing. A professor from Fudan also visits Cal State Fullerton each year to teach Chinese.

CSUF students participate in a variety of study-abroad programs at universities from Australia, Canada and Chile to New Zealand, Spain, Sweden and Zimbabwe.

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