LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Officials from Bellarmine University and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) in Ecuador have signed an exchange agreement to promote academic collaboration among their faculty and students. Under terms of the agreement students from each institution may attend the other while paying the tuition and fees of their home institution. For Bellarmine students, the exchange is open to juniors with an intermediate proficiency level in Spanish and will begin in the 2001-02 academic year.
Bellarmine sought the agreement with USFQ to expand cooperation between Louisville and its sister city, Quito, while providing a Latin American learning experience for Bellarmine students. Although Bellarmine currently has 113 international exchange partner universities on six continents, USFQ is the first in Latin America.
Another attractive feature about the USFQ agreement is its similarity to Bellarmine. Both schools are private liberal arts universities with a mission of dedication to excellence in teaching, research and community involvement. They also have similar enrollments (2,400) and course offerings.
Because of the similar course offerings, students from a wide range of academic majors can take advantage of the exchange, said Gabriele Bosley, Bellarmine’s director of foreign languages and study abroad programs. “Students from the sciences, humanities, education, nursing, business and particularly from Bellarmine’s newest and most innovative interdisciplinary degree in foreign languages and international studies can combine classroom study with full language immersion through family placements as well as community service learning opportunities,” she said.
Quito is located at the foot of Mount Pichincha at an altitude of 9,200 feet. It is a bustling city with splendid Hispanic architecture, which has been designated as “Heritage of Mankind” by the United Nations.
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