A group of 13 American administrators from 10 universities and colleges have come to Vietnam for a one-week working visit.

During their stay, they plan to explore partnership opportunities with Vietnamese institutions.

The delegation includes deans, vice presidents and directors all of whom are members of Global Associates, a, association dedicated to promoting global collaboration in higher education.

According to Professor Joseph Ugras, Chair of Global Associates, the group includes representative schools from different regions in the country that are either interested in exploring opportunities in Vietnam or already have ongoing joint and exchange programs with Vietnamese schools.

“We selected Vietnam as a country of focus for 2010 because we see the potential for creating new educational opportunities for citizens in both countries,” said Ugras, who also serves as Dean of the College of Professional and Continuing Studies at La Salle University in Philadelphia.

Professor Jeet Joshee, Associate Vice President of International Education at California State University, Long Beach, said his institution began partnering with Vietnam’s National Economics University in 2008. Since then, the two schools have conducted faculty, student and scholar exchanges over the summer and winter; they have also collaborated on developing joint curriculums in economics and finance.

“We’re definitely interested in expanding our programs in Vietnam as Long Beach has the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam,” Joshee said. 

The group, comprised of both public and private universities, will visit universities in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Thai Nguyen Province. They delegation will meet with Vietnamese and US government officials and educators.

They are also scheduled to meet with US Ambassador Michael Michalak.