Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) is developing a partnership with the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) in Ecuador that promises to prepare students to work and flourish in a global society.
A delegation from SMWC traveled in February to USFQ to strategize with representatives on how the two institutions might position their private, liberal arts programming to provide new learning opportunities for their respective students. The U.S. delegation included Janet Clark, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs, Lamprini Pantazi, Ph.D., dean of business and leadership and Karen Dyer, vice president for advancement and strategic initiatives.
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Dr. Jaime Ocampo, Dean of Public Health at USFQ stops for a selfie with the beautiful Ecuadorian mountains with Karen Dyer, Janet Clark and Lamprini Pantazi as he prepares to give a tour of one of six university-operated health clinics, Sistemas Medicos. SMWC is paving the way for nursing and health science students to gain real-world experiences in Quito, Ecuador, along with opportunities to have immersive experiences in the Galapagos Islands, Amazonian rainforest and in the mountain highlands.
“We’re working to build customized student and faculty exchange and research programs, faculty-led and semester-long study abroad trips alongside opportunities for students and faculty to work on real-world issues with corporate partners in Ecuador,” said Pantazi. “Throughout our global leadership program, our objective is to build a cross-cultural, multinational learning community.”
Pantazi is leading the effort to develop partnerships with other institutions throughout the world, including Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, India, Morocco, Qatar and the United Kingdom. In 2020, she began laying a plan to launch SMWC’s first doctoral program in global leadership and is currently in the process of establishing a Global Leadership Institute.
“When you bring people together in an academic collaboration who have a variety of talents, experiences and global perspectives, you create something very special and open the door to great possibility,” said Pantazi. “What brings us together is our common values.”
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The Escuela de Empresas, USFQ’s School of Business, met with the SMWC delegation to discuss collaboration opportunities. Pictured (l to r): Franklin Velasco, Maria Antonieta Jaramillo, Lamprini Pantazi, Janet Clark, Karen Dyer and Santiago Castro.
Following the announcement of this partnership in the fall of 2021, the institutions have been working virtually to strategize and plan for the implementation of programming during the 2022-23 academic year. The SMWC delegation met with representatives from the Escuela del Empresas, USFQ’s School of Business, and USFQ’s President Diego Quiroga-Rector to discuss the potential for tailored programs including immersive experiences in Ecuador and the U.S. for leadership, business, nursing, health science, science and equine students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
The SMWC Delegation enjoyed discussion and lunch with President Diego Quiroga in their formal dining room as part of USFQ’s College of Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism. Pictured (l to r): USFQ Profesor Colegio de Administración y Economía Franklin Velasco, Director of International Programs Alex Rendon, Lamprini Pantazi, Escuela de Veterinaria Profesor Maria Arroyo Guardas, USFQ President Quiroga, Janet Clark and Karen Dyer.
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“This is a chance to live out what we say we do best – provide a robust learning experience for all of our students in the liberal arts tradition,” said Clark. “We are thrilled to explore the potential of this relationship for both SMWC and USFQ. And we cannot wait to welcome our first students and faculty to Indiana from Ecuador.”
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SMWC and USFQ representatives meet with Maggie Crespo, sustainable business and corporate communications manager B2B for Republica del Cacao, to discuss opportunities to provide real-world solutions by connecting the company with students from the SMWC Global Leadership Program. Pictured (l to r): Franklin Velasco from USFQ, Karen Dyer, Maggie Crespo, Janet Clark and Lamprini Pantazi.
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In addition, the SMWC delegation and representatives from USFQ met with Maggie Crespo, sustainable business and corporate communications manager at B2B for República del Cacao (The Republic of Cocoa). Ecuador is one of the largest exporters of raw cocoa in Latin America.
“We want to grow our global footprint,” said Crespo, who says she is passionate about lifting up her country and its natural resources in a sustainable, socially responsible way. “We’re excited about the possibilities of working with the U.S. and SMWC to explore how we might lift up our local suppliers and our chefs who make amazing things with our chocolate throughout the world.”
About
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College is Indiana’s oldest Catholic college, founded in 1840 by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. SMWC is consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the Best Regional Universities in the Midwest and one of the Best Values in the Midwest. SMWC is working to develop global leaders in scholarship and practice who collaborate with diverse teams to analyze and solve complex problems transcending cultural and geographical borders. The global leadership program inspires a scholarly curiosity to synthesize and globally share findings and solutions that draw from both theoretical backgrounds and practical experiences in a spirit of virtue.
Universidad San Francisco De Quito was founded in 1988 and is the first private self-financed university in Ecuador. USFG’s education model is aimed at the formation of leading, innovative and entrepreneurial professionals, serving the community within the philosophy of liberal arts. USFQ is located in Cumbaya, just outside the capital city of Quito. It is high in the Andes Mountains with beautiful views of the snowcapped Occidental and Oriental chains which surround the city. It has a student population of just over 9,000 students. USFQ has access to magnificent landscapes – mountain highlands, volcanos, the Amazonian rainforest and the Pacific coast provide one-of-a-kind curricular canvases for learning. With a branch campus in the Galápagos Islands, SMWC students will have unbelievable learning experiences in one of the world’s most diverse UNESCO Heritage sites.