University of Rochester President Joel Seligman will meet today with representatives of the Worldwide Universities Network to sign an agreement and discuss a new relationship with a select group of research universities around the world.
"Our collaborations with the Worldwide Universities Network will open innumerable possibilities as the University engages with faculty and students across five continents," said Seligman. "We expect the alliance to produce even more support for scholarly research and break the barriers that may keep people in different parts of the world from working toward common goals."
Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) was established in 2000 with a mission to be one of the leading international higher education networks, collaborating to accelerate the creation of knowledge, and developing leaders who will be prepared to address the significant challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing world. The network now has 18 members, including Rochester.
WUN Chief Executive John Hearn and other WUN officials will participate in a series of meetings today with Seligman; Ralph Kuncl, University Provost and Executive Vice President; Peter Lennie, Senior Vice President and Robert L. and Mary L. Sproull Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Science and Engineering; additional senior leaders at the University, and faculty researchers.
As part of the agreement, Seligman will represent Rochester on WUN's Partnership Board and Lennie will join WUN's Academic Advisory Group.
"Joining WUN signifies our conviction that we must be strongly coupled to the best researchers everywhere in the world," Lennie said. "Our membership creates enlarged collaborative research opportunities for us and for our partners."
WUN's goal is to use the combined resources and intellectual power of its member universities to achieve collective international objectives and "to stretch international ambitions," according to the network's mission. Currently, the network has more than 30 research initiatives in its portfolio with several hundred research faculty involved. Additional faculty and graduate students participate in conferences, workshops, and virtual seminars that stem from WUN efforts.
Rochester is the only private American university invited to join WUN. Other U.S. institutions in the network are University of Washington, Seattle; Penn State University; and University of Wisconsin, Madison. The full list of universities includes: University of Alberta; University of Auckland; University of Bergen; University of Bristol; University of Cape Town; Chinese University of Hong Kong; University of Leeds; Nanjing University; Penn State University; University of Rochester; University of Sheffield; University of Southampton; University of Sydney; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Western Australia; University of Wisconsin, Madison; University of York; and Zhejiang University.