Video Conference Toasts
Valpo Study Center Anniversaries

Cutting cakes and making toasts simultaneously in four countries on a split screen monitor would have been unimaginable when Valparaiso University first began its international study programs.

This past April, thanks to modern technology, it was possible to have a video conference celebrating the 40th anniversary of Valpo’s study centers in Cambridge, England, and Reutlingen, Germany, and the 25th anniversary of VU’s study center in Puebla, Mexico.

Administrators, faculty and students in Reutlingen, Germany, gathered this past spring for a video conference celebrating the anniversaries of Valpo’s international study centers.

Since the spring of 1968, more than 1,450 Valpo students have attended the Cambridge Study Center, while nearly 1,400 students have participated in the Reutlingen Study Center. Since the spring of 1983, more than 260 students have attended the Puebla Study Center, which only offers a spring program.

“These are remarkable achievements that deserve to be recognized in a spe­cial way,” says Hugh McGuigan, director of international studies at VU. “We thought it would be really neat to toast these anniversaries in four countries at the same time via a video conference.”

International studies alumni are invited to continue the celebration during Home­coming and Reunion Weekend, Oct. 4-7, 2007. An International Studies Alumni Reception will take place on Friday, Oct. 5, from 4 to 6 p.m. For more information, visit valpo.edu/alumni/homecoming.