Spring Break
NT official seeks to strengthen ties with South America
Chris Speight
Issue date: 11/26/08 Section: NEWS
A former director of the Office for Latin American programs at Texas A&M University has been named the first assistant vice provost of international cooperation at NT.
Gabriel Carranza will perform a number of duties, which will include working on strengthening the ties between NT and Central and South American nations.
Carranza said that his title makes him a chief academic officer for UNT International, the international education branch of NT. The job will include managerial duties as well as hands-on research opportunities if time allows, he said.
"My job will be to provide some strategy and support in globalizing UNT institutes and research centers," Carranza said. "I will also contribute in the formation of the international study plan for UNT."
Eric Canny, director of international initiatives, said one of the reasons Carranza was hired is for his contacts in Mexico, Chile and Brazil, among other Central and South American countries.
Carranza stressed the importance of collaborating on research with our "global neighbors," because the problems of one nation are often the problems of two, he said.
"Whatever affects us here affects countries on the other side of the world as well," he said. "This support will provide a global dimension to the quality of education"
To face these global problems at home, Canny said Earl Gibbons, the vice provost and associate vice president for international education, is reforming the direction that international education will follow at NT.
Canny said that Gibbons is building an eclectic yet strategic group of people from diverse backgrounds and specialties to improve international education at NT, including the hiring of Carranza.
Canny said he came to NT because there was a commitment from the president to internationalize the expenditures of funds.
"Many institutions talk about internationalizing, but it takes people, funds and programs to make it happen," Canny said.
The new direction that UNT International is heading toward is a "think-tank" set up, Carranza said. The first step is to establish contacts. Both countries then identify problems and an initiative is taken to discuss the specifics of each problem, he said.
From that point, decisions are made concerning the severity of the problem and the money required to fix it, he said.
Carranza begins his new position Jan. 6, but work has already begun, he said.
"We're finding ways to identify people who have pre-diabetes conditions and prevent the disease from occurring," Carranza said. "We're all very excited about the upcoming work."
Gabriel Carranza will perform a number of duties, which will include working on strengthening the ties between NT and Central and South American nations.
Carranza said that his title makes him a chief academic officer for UNT International, the international education branch of NT. The job will include managerial duties as well as hands-on research opportunities if time allows, he said.
"My job will be to provide some strategy and support in globalizing UNT institutes and research centers," Carranza said. "I will also contribute in the formation of the international study plan for UNT."
Eric Canny, director of international initiatives, said one of the reasons Carranza was hired is for his contacts in Mexico, Chile and Brazil, among other Central and South American countries.
Carranza stressed the importance of collaborating on research with our "global neighbors," because the problems of one nation are often the problems of two, he said.
"Whatever affects us here affects countries on the other side of the world as well," he said. "This support will provide a global dimension to the quality of education"
To face these global problems at home, Canny said Earl Gibbons, the vice provost and associate vice president for international education, is reforming the direction that international education will follow at NT.
Canny said that Gibbons is building an eclectic yet strategic group of people from diverse backgrounds and specialties to improve international education at NT, including the hiring of Carranza.
Canny said he came to NT because there was a commitment from the president to internationalize the expenditures of funds.
"Many institutions talk about internationalizing, but it takes people, funds and programs to make it happen," Canny said.
The new direction that UNT International is heading toward is a "think-tank" set up, Carranza said. The first step is to establish contacts. Both countries then identify problems and an initiative is taken to discuss the specifics of each problem, he said.
From that point, decisions are made concerning the severity of the problem and the money required to fix it, he said.
Carranza begins his new position Jan. 6, but work has already begun, he said.
"We're finding ways to identify people who have pre-diabetes conditions and prevent the disease from occurring," Carranza said. "We're all very excited about the upcoming work."
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Dr. Hortron
posted 11/26/08 @ 10:55 AM CST
In all of my years spent reading student newspapers, I have never been so lost, until now. I am not exactly sure what the story was here, but I think it mentioned something about UNT declaring war on diabetics in Central America. (Continued…)
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