UNIVERSITY

Office of the president
viu.edu
Presidential Visit:
Meeting at Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto
with Vice-Rector and other representatives
Brazil
By Camilla Nunes
Centro Universitario Augusto Motta, private
university in Rio – Dr. Sarac and Augusto Mota
(Coordinator of the International Relations
Department)
Meeting with Marina Lhullier Lugão, Education
USA advisor, at Centro Universitário
SENAC in São Paulo.
In an effort to promote Virginia International University’s
global partnerships and at the invitation of several prominent universities,
VIU President Dr. Sarac visited four states and five cities
in Brazil this Spring. The number of South American, and specifically
Brazilian, students at VIU increased steadily over the last
several years, resulting in the Brazilian trip. VIU alumna Camilla
Nunes accompanied the President and served as his translator on
his trip to her homeland. Their first stop was in São Paulo, Brazil’s
biggest city, where Dr. Sarac and Camilla visited the bilingual
school Colégio Belo Futuro Internacional and officials from EducationUSA,
who advised them on VIU’s enrollment in the “Brazil
Scientific Mobility Undergraduate Program” to allow more Brazilian
students the opportunity to come to VIU. Dr. Sarac met and
signed agreements with rectors of several other universities, both
federal and private, including Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto
(UFOP) in Minas Gerais, UNISUAM in Rio de Janeiro, Universidade
Positivo in Curitiba, and Grupo Anima, a group that supports
three private universities in Belo Horizonte. Between meetings
and visits, Dr. Sarac had the opportunity to go on sightseeing
tours and see the astonishing diversity of the country, with scenery
from flowered mountains to skyscrapers; from baroque architecture
to beautiful beaches. Dr. Sarac was very impressed by Brazil’s
nature as well as its people. The VIU community looks forward to
fruitful partnerships and welcoming more students from Brazil.
New Collaborations
Centro Universitario de Belo Horizonte –
Meeting with representatives of the Anima
Group.
Virginia International University participates in several valuable
collaborations with other universities and organizations worldwide.
Through these collaborations, VIU undertakes joint educational
and research initiatives, creates international opportunities
for students and faculty, and works with likeminded institutions
on best practices in university development. VIU also offers joint
degree options to students of several collaborating universities,
both at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Each year, VIU
hosts many students from collaborating institutions in all of its
degree programs, as well as in ESL, summer programs, and shortterm
trainings and workshops. VIU’s collaborations expand annually;
currently, VIU collaborates with institutions on five continents!
The latest collaborations are with institutions in Romania,
Germany, Thailand, Tanzania, Korea, and Brazil.
6 University Magazine, VIU Summer 2014
Summer 2014 University Magazine, VIU 7