WMU and Korean university forge relationship

A first step in fostering student and faculty exchange and shared research activities between the Catholic University of Daegu in Korea and Western Michigan University was taken on July 26 with the signing of an Agreement for Academic Cooperation.

WMU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Janet Pisaneschi and Bill Woods, Interim Dean of the Diether H. Haenicke Institute for Global Education, hosted the Korean delegation that included CUD President Dr. Kyung-Don Suh and Vice President for External Relations and Cooperation Dr. Ha-Jin Hwang. The delegation's two-day campus visit included meetings with WMU's College of Health and Human Services, the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Career English Language Center for International Students. 

Founded in 1914 and located in Gyeongsan-si Gyongbuk, Republic of Korea, CUD is the island nation's largest Catholic university serving an enrollment of about 17,000 students. 

Cathleen Fuller, HIGE director of Transnational Education Programs, said the agreement formalizes a relationship formed to enhance the ability of both institutions to fulfill their academic missions and objectives through international education and international engagement.  The two institutions may undertake, subject to the regulatory framework and availability of resources of both, initiatives in the following areas:

• Faculty exchanges for short periods of up to three months, for the purposes of delivering lectures, engaging in research, and participating in ongoing joint projects in various subject areas
• Mutual participation of faculty in conferences, congresses, and symposia sponsored by each institution
• Sharing of research and published materials in disciplines and areas of interest to both institutions
• Joint projects in research and curriculum development
• Assistance with institutional and official networking in the country of each institution and in appropriate international frameworks and organizations
• Student exchanges for varying lengths of time which may include providing CELCIS programs for CUD students hosted by WMU.
• General academic cooperation

To learn more about CUD, visit the university's website at:  www.cu.ac.kr

Information about WMU's Haenicke Institute (HIGE) is accessible online at: www.wmich.edu/international