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Columns::May 20, 2002
Institute’s first Spring Symposium will deal with cancer, research
NASULGC examines challenges of ag education, research
Three changes to retirement system become law on July 1
Safety improvements begin on Baldwin Street, Sanford Drive
University Council adopts calendar for 2003-04 school year
Symposium will consider globalization in the South
First Business Staff Awards presented to Barbre McLeroy, Elizabeth Pape
Staff Award for Excellence at the College of Education goes to Stephanie Bales
Bike-to-Work Day
Campus scenes
Campus News
Expanding horizons
By Allyson Mann
tiny@uga.edu
The university plans to significantly expand study-abroad opportunities for its students with the purchase of residential facilities in Italy and Costa Rica through two of its affiliated foundations. Leases from those foundations received regents’ approval earlier this month.
In 1999, UGA became the first public university in the United States to own a residential facility in Oxford, England. The purchases of the Casa di Reposo in Cortona, Italy, and the Ecolodge San Luis and Research Station in Costa Rica will similarly provide permanent residential and academic facilities, allowing both programs to expand.
“UGA has emphasized internationalization as part of its current strategic plan, and these acquisitions are part of a broad effort to afford our students the opportunity to study abroad and conduct research in unique locations,” says Mark Lusk, associate provost for international affairs. “These sites will add to our already distinctive portfolio of study-abroad sites, such as Oxford, England, and Avignon, France.”
The Cortona property is being purchased by the UGA Real Estate Foundation and the Costa Rica property by the UGA Foundation. The university will lease the properties from the respective foundations with costs being covered by program fees paid by students studying there. The boards of both foundations have already approved the purchases.
Built in 1270 as a convent, the Casa di Reposo is located adjacent to the Severini School, a 7,000-square-foot academic facility for which UGA has a 12-year lease. Between the two buildings are more than two acres of enclosed gardens. Currently a portion of the Casa di Reposo is used for study-abroad studio programs like ceramics, metals/jewelry and sculpture. The facility will be renovated for academic and residential use, and enrollment in fall and spring semesters is expected to increase by 25 percent.
“We have been working for years to secure a campus-like environment in Cortona, and this will provide a facility that is both permanent and inspiring,” says Carmon Colangelo, director of the Lamar Dodd School of Art. “This 13th-century building is in outstanding condition and will offer exceptional housing, academic and studio space for year-round programming, with a breathtaking view over the stone architecture of Cortona and Val di Chiana.”
Cortona is a small, walled hill town of Etruscan origin in the Italian region of Tuscany. With its Etruscan, Roman, Romanesque, medieval and Renaissance art and architecture, the community offers students a rich artistic and historic environment in which to study. UGA’s Cortona program was founded in 1970.
The Ecolodge San Luis and Research Station is a 70-acre property located in the San Luis Valley about three hours from San José, the capital of Costa Rica. Surrounded by pristine tropical rain forest, the research station includes a dozen buildings that serve as dormitory facilities, dining hall, offices, classrooms and a laboratory.
“The property is an ideal location for the study of tropical ecosystems, forestry, wildlife biology, and agriculture, but equally of value for the study of rural development, primary education, Latin American studies and the Spanish language,” Lusk says.
UGA has previously used the facility as a site for study-abroad programs sponsored by the Institute of Ecology, the School of Environmental Design, and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Two UGA research scientists are permanently assigned to the site to teach classes and supervise research.
More than 1,300 UGA students are involved in some form of international education each year. Many participate in more than 77 study-abroad and student-exchange programs sponsored by UGA in locations all over the world. In 2000, UGA ranked 15th among research universities in the number of students studying abroad, according to the Institute of International Education.
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