It may have been winter in the Southern Hemisphere, but a UC Davis delegation led by Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef received the warmest of welcomes from leaders of several universities and government agencies in Chile and Argentina during a June 21-July 2 visit to those two countries.
Initially drawn to Chile for the Association of Pacific Rim Universities annual presidents' meeting, Vanderhoef sought additional opportunities to encourage student and scholar exchanges and research collaborations and to meet with alumni and UC Education Abroad students while traveling in that part of the world.
"Internationalization is a high priority for me," Vanderhoef said this week. "I believe we should take every opportunity to bring more of an international focus to the campus and to better understand different cultures' perspectives. Frankly, and at the risk of sounding overly dramatic, I think it's the answer to peace in the world."
Vanderhoef was accompanied by his wife, Rosalie; Bill Lacy, vice provost for university outreach and international programs; Bob Kerr, director of the international alumni and visitors program; and Maril Stratton, assistant chancellor for communications. Tu Jarvis, associate dean in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, joined the group in Chile; several of his former students, including the rector of the University of Chile, hold leadership positions in that country. Pablo Ortiz, chair of the music department, joined the delegation in Argentina; an alum of Pontificia Universidad Catolica Argentina and an accomplished composer, he is well known within Buenos Aires arts circles.
A stellar reputation
Vanderhoef signed a letter of agreement with Ortiz's alma mater in hopes of establishing student and scholar exchanges and renewed the campus's collaborative agreement with the University of Chile.
"I was struck by the high regard for UC Davis as an academic institution among all of the Chileans with whom we spoke," said Jarvis. "We are seen as a source of cutting-edge technology, as well as science, that is essential to them as they attempt to develop an internationally competitive economy."
Just before the delegation arrived, Santiago's leading newspaper printed a story titled "The Davis Boys," which heralded UC Davis-trained scientists for the renovation of Chile's agriculture in the past three decades and particularly the development of its fresh-fruit industry.
Officials at several Chilean universities and government agencies expressed particular interest in food science and technology collaborations, intellectual property related to plant and animal genetics, transportation and forestry production engineering, and combating livestock and aquaculture disease.
Very close similarities in geography, climate, ecology and natural resources in Chile and California -- along with historical ties and the northern and southern hemisphere complementarity -- make research cooperation very attractive, Jarvis said.
Ortiz praised the trip for opening doors "for us, for them, and for our and their students. Noting the stellar and far-reaching reputation of UC Davis' agricultural, veterinary medicine and biological science programs, Ortiz said he was "particularly happy about the possibility of extending that reputation to the arts and humanities."
Visit inspires new programs
Several scholars associated with the Division of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies and with the campus's Hemispheric Institute of the Americas would benefit enormously from improved channels for exchange with South American institutions, Ortiz said.
For starters, as a result of the trip Ortiz is planning to take UC Davis students to Buenos Aires next year for a summer program centered around music and culture in collaboration with Argentina's Catholic University.
Argentina's National Park Service officials -- sparked by parks employee Daniel Somma, who recently spent a year at UC Davis as a Humphrey Fellow -- expressed interest in collaborating with UC Davis' environmental researchers on the kinds of tourism and conservation clashes confronted at Lake Tahoe and at Yosemite and Sequoia national parks.
"We can learn something from each other," Vanderhoef said.
Funding, other groups engaged
To explore funding and partnering possibilities, the delegation met with representatives of the Fulbright Commission, Ministries of Education and the U.S. Embassy in both countries, with the Fundacion Chile and CONICYT (the equivalent of the National Science Foundation) in Chile and with the National Institute of Agriculture Technology and the Department of Agriculture in Argentina.
And the group visited with UC Education Abroad students in Santiago and with alumni in both countries. "Visiting with students was one of the most enjoyable parts of the trip," said Vanderhoef. "I always love hearing them describe what they see as the benefits of their experience. And I invariably hear 'it changed my life.'"
The alumni and scholar gatherings confirmed that these distant graduates and affiliates "are some of our best friends and supporters," Lacy said. "They serve as valuable partners in working with various institutions in their countries, identifying and recruiting students and scholars to study or work at UC Davis, welcoming our domestic students studying in their country and possibly providing financial support for UC Davis."
Kerr indicated that an alumni chapter or club may be formed in each country as a result of the trip. "I was struck with how passionate our alums are about their alma mater, despite the great geographic distance," he said.
Fast fact: More than 1,700 international students and 1,400 international scholars study at UC Davis each year. Another 900 to 1,000 UC Davis students and scholars travel abroad each year through university-affiliated programs.