The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Nov. 4 welcomed Joanna Newman, vice-principal (international) at King’s College London, for her first visit to Chapel Hill. Newman was joined by Chris Payne, head of the King’s USA Office. Chancellor Carol L. Folt, who visited King’s in March to formally extend the schools’ partnership, welcomed the delegation at the FedEx Global Education Center.
During Newman’s visit, she met with representatives from some of the core departments engaged in the UNC-King’s partnership, including the departments of History, Classics and English and Comparative Literature. Folt hosted a lunch at the FedEx Global Education Center and was joined by David Routh, vice chancellor for university development, Ron Strauss, executive vice provost and chief international officer, and other University leaders who have been actively involved in supporting and developing the partnership.
“We are very pleased to host Joanna on her first visit to Carolina,” Folt said. “King’s is one of UNC’s most important and long-standing partners, and Joanna’s visit provided us with an excellent opportunity to discuss her vision for King’s global strategy and see how we can extend the partnership in new areas and with new activities.”
Newman began her position as vice-principal (international) in March, 2014, and is responsible for leading and promoting international matters, developing an inclusive and integrated approach to delivering King’s international strategy and strengthening the King’s profile overseas through a global network of collaborations. Her visit to Chapel Hill was planned to familiarize her with the University, as well as the major initiatives and collaborations between UNC and King’s and to identify areas for further collaboration.
“I am delighted to be able to visit UNC and learn first-hand about some of the fantastic collaboration which has occurred between our institutions,” Newman said. “I would like to sincerely thank Chancellor Folt and Ron Strauss for their warm hospitality and welcome. The relationship between King’s and Chapel Hill has grown in just the right way over a number of years, and we are now in a position to create some exciting opportunities together. I look forward to welcoming UNC colleagues to London over the coming months to continue our conversations.”
The partnership between King’s and UNC, one of Carolina’s six strategic partnerships, originated in 2005 between UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences and King’s School of Arts and Humanities and School of Social Science and Public Policy. The UNC-King’s Strategic Alliance is one of the most ambitious partnerships between a U.S. and U.K. university, including longstanding and emerging joint activity in teaching, research, student exchanges and other initiatives in diverse fields across both universities.
A vibrant undergraduate student exchange has taken place between the institutions since 2004, and more than 250 students have participated. At the graduate student level, one particularly successful area of activity has been the organization of joint workshops and conferences. Those ventures help cement the relationship between individual departments and provide research students with valuable international exposure.
Story by Katie Bowler Young, UNC Global
Photo by Melanie Busbee, Office of Communications and Public Affairs
Published November 11, 2014