In an effort to extend its global reach and to provide enhanced opportunities for students to expand their world competitiveness, Gannon University signed agreements with two exceptional institutions in the European Union.

Through agreements with Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Ireland, and the University of Osnabrück in Germany, Gannon University and its European partner institutions will exchange students through study abroad programs, and will explore opportunities for exchanges of faculty and staff, as well as research and professional collaborations.

These agreements solidify a European presence for Gannon, which has already established relationships in the Middle East (Jordan), Southeast Asia (Thailand) and Australia.

The agreements with the European institutions are among the three to have been executed in the last six months.  Last October, Gannon signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with American University of Madaba (AUM), located in Madaba, Jordan. AUM is the first non-profit university in Jordan and the first Catholic, American University in the region.  During Dr. Taylor’s European trip, where he was accompanied by Janice Whiteman, assistant professor and interim director of Gannon’s School of Education, promising talks were also held with universities in Rome and Milan.

On signing the agreement with Mary Immaculate College (MIC), Keith Taylor, Ph.D. Gannon’s president, said, “It was such a pleasure to visit Mary Immaculate College on behalf of Gannon University. There is great promise and synergy between our two institutions making this partnership an obvious match. We look forward to a visit by the staff and students of MIC to our own urban campus this spring to see the growth and evolution that parallels in many ways that of MIC.”

Both stewards of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, Gannon and Mary Immaculate College have much in common.  Gannon was founded by Erie Archbishop John Mark Gannon, the son of Irish immigrants.Founded in 1898, by the Sisters of Mercy and the Bishop of Limerick, Edmund T. O’Dwyer, MIC is the oldest institution of higher education in Limerick. With enrollment in excess of 3,000 students, MIC is recognized as a leader in teacher education for the country.

Commenting on the partnership with Gannon, Prof. Michael A. Hayes, president of MIC, said, “The Memorandum of Understanding we have signed with Gannon University is part of our growing international development and will offer further wonderful opportunities for both our students and staff to have international educational experiences. It will also provide Mary Immaculate College with an additional platform for international collaboration on research projects in the areas of education, early childhood care and education and the liberal arts.”

The University of Osnabrück in the German state of Lower Saxony was founded in 1973, and has an enrollment of more than 10,000 students in 10 different Schools.  A similar Memorandum of Understanding was signed opening great opportunities for summer programs across many disciplines, particularly in the area of cognitive sciences.

These are critical and substantial next steps to enhance Gannon’s leadership in international education and commitment to developing socially responsible world citizens.

This article was originally published on Mar. 22, 2013 on www.gannon.edu.