12/22/2011
USAC Director Honored as USAC Signs Thailand Agreement, Kicks off 30th Anniversary
Dignitaries from Chiang Mai University, University of Nevada, Reno, and USAC gathered on Friday, June 10, to officially sign the agreement for Chiang Mai University to host the newest USAC specialty program in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Carmelo Urza, director of USAC, remarked, "It's a beautiful place and a beautiful university and the city itself is going to provide USAC students the opportunity to really take in the authenticity of Thai culture, to see the complexity of the Hill Tribe people and all the neighboring countries like Laos and Vietnam. It's going to be an extraordinarily rich place for students to learn about Southeast Asia."
President Marc Johnson of University of Nevada, Reno -- the host for USAC's headquarters since the Consortium's founding -- as well as UNR Provost Heather Hardy, were also on hand for the ceremony. President Johnson took advantage of the occasion to recognize Carmelo Urza's 30 years as director of USAC, stating "Today we are celebrating two things: a new relationship with Chiang Mai University and the 30th anniversary of Carmelo Urza leading this program." He presented Carmelo with a certificate from UNR, noting that the value of USAC for the University of Nevada, and for all of the universities with which the organization works, is that it provides "critical mass" to make international partnerships and programs thrive. "Having worked to try to establish exchanges from one university to another, I know how really, really difficult that is."
"Isn't it nice," President Johnson asked, "to have developed a legacy?"
Urza thanked the University of Nevada for hosting USAC on campus as "a great host and a great partner" and acknowledged the more than 300 USAC employees worldwide who "really make the program happen." But he summed it up best by remarking, "The first 30 years was a lot of fun, but we're really looking forward to the next 30 years; and what more fitting way to launch the next 30 years than to sign a new agreement with a new partner in Thailand? We're very, very excited to be working with Chiang Mai University."
Learn more about this program here: http://usac.unr.edu/programs/country.aspx?country=20
Study abroad in Thailand with University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) and have an experience of a lifetime! USAC is a non-profit, university-based study abroad organization which provides quality, accredited summer, semester and yearlong programs in 25 countries.
