In August of 2017, a group of professors traveled to Quito, Ecuador, to learn about their chances and opportunities to work in close partnership with local institutions. The WIU delegation was integrated by Shanna Bruer-Hess from Marketing and Management, Shankar Ghimire from Economics and Decision Sciences, Dennis Bowman from Law Enforcement and Jeff Hancks, the Director of the Center for International Studies.

During this visit, the Western Illinois University delegation visited academic institutions like the University of San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), University of Las Americas (UDLA), Universidad Internacional del Ecuador (UIDE) and the Escuela Politecnica Nacional. It also interacted with local institutions like Pan de Vida, a faith based institutions working to address issues of urban poverty in Ecuador, and representatives of the retail sector. That visit resulted in new academic initiatives that will benefit students and faculty positively.

San Francisco de Quito is an upper tier university located in the outskirts of the capital city of Ecuador. With satellite campuses in the Galapagos Islands and the Amazonian forest, they are committed to provide quality education and meaningful practical experiences to domestic and international students. They are currently working with the Western Illinois in preparing academic programs for our students majoring in Marketing and Business and other disciplines such as Education, Economics and Health Sciences. Professors Shanna Bruer-Hess and Shankar Ghimire, with the support of Study Abroad and Outreach, are heading these efforts.

Veritas University is a private academic institution located in San Jose, Costa Rica. They have been working with Western Illinois for several years providing students and faculty unique educational opportunities. Programs range in time from semester long experiences to short programs of four weeks. The WISE Costa Rica Program is one of those four-week programs that successfully provide Spanish training and cultural immersion to Western students every year.Lately, they have expanded their reach to the Pacific coast and added management of natural resources and marine biology to their academic offerings for international students.

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