On Monday, October 30, 2023, Dr. François Le Roy, Executive Director of the Center for Global Issues and International Affairs, Northern Kentucky University (NKU, the United States of America) paid a courtesy call on Gifu University (GU).
GU and NKU signed a university-level exchange agreement in October 1990. Since then, active exchanges have continued among faculty members and students between the two universities.
First, Dr. Le Roy held a meeting with the GU staff members in charge of international affairs. This meeting was followed by Dr. Le Roy's visit to the Office of the President to meet with President YOSHIDA Kazuhiro. The meeting was attended by the GU board members including Vice President KAMBARA Shinji (International Affairs, Information and (Deputy in Charge for) Evaluation), Executive Director KOYAMA Hiroyuki of the Gifu University Organization for Promotion of Glocalization (GU-GLOCAL), Associate Director SHIMA Mutsuhiro of GU-GLOCAL, Professor TATSUMI Toru of the Faculty of Education (GU liaison for NKU), and Ms. NONOMURA Haruko, Director of Student Affairs Department.
In the meeting, Dr. Le Roy and the GU board members talked about the long history of faculty and student exchange, future interaction programs between GU and NKU, and the possibilities of building a partnership between Gifu and the extensive Tokai region*1 and the Greater Cincinnati Area*2 including NKU by exploring similarities between the two regions.
After the meeting at the Office of the President, Dr. Le Roy was invited to attend a lunch meeting with the President and others, as well as an informal meeting at the Faculty of Education with the GU students and NKU students who are currently studying at GU. Dr. Le Roy's visit to GU ended with an inspection tour of the Intelligent Production Technology Research & Development Center for Aerospace on campus.
It is expected that Dr. Le Roy's latest visit to GU will serve as a major springboard towards further enhancement of the partnership of GU and NKU in the years ahead.
1) The region includes Shizuoka, Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures
2) Greater Cincinnati is a term that refers to a part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area in the state of Ohio.
The Cincinnati metropolitan area is a 16-county area that spans Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana
Commemorative photo (from left: Ms. Nonomura, Executive Director Koyama, Vice President Kambara, Dr. Le Roy, President Yoshida, Associate Director Shima, and Professor Tatsumi)
Dr. Le Roy and the students of the Faculty of Education
