To keep pace with the rapidly changing education paradigms through internationalization, Dr. Ravelina R. Velasco, Acting Dean of the College of Fisheries, visited two universities in the United States this July.
She met with Dr. Sylvain De Guise, Director of the University of Connecticut (UConn) Sea Grant, who toured her around and made discussions on possible areas of collaboration on coastal ecosystems, environmental literacy, resilient communities, and aquaculture & fisheries. UConn Sea Grant, located at the UConn Avery Point Campus, is a state and federal partnership between UConn and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Sea Grant College Program.
Meanwhile, Dr. Velasco also had her reciprocal visit to the University of Rhode Island (URI) in Narragansett Bay Campus and their main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island wherein earlier on Dr. Michael A. Rice, a professor from URI, visited CLSU and presented their international dual degree program.
During her visit, a round table discussion on international dual degree programs and student and faculty exchange with URI key officials was done. It was joined by Dr. Kristin Johnson, Vice Provost for International Initiatives, Dr. John H. Kirby, Dean of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS), the three associate Deans of CELS, Dr. Becky Sartini (Academic Programs), Dr. Cheryl Wilga (Research Programs), and Dr. Lisa Townson (Cooperative Extension Programs), and Dr. Marta Gomez-Chiarri and Dr. Rice of the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences as well as their representatives from the Research Administration Office.
Dr. Velasco also had the chance to see the state-of-the-art facilities of the marine science and research of URI.
URI is a public land-grant research university, and it is the flagship public research of the state of Rhode Island.