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INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF GRAND-BASSAM VICE PRESIDENT VISITS ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾

Sam Koffi speaks with ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾ students during his visit.

Samuel Koffi, vice president and chief operating officer at the International University of Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast, visited the University of Central Arkansas Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 to meet with students from the Ivory Coast who are studying at ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾.

With 59 students in the spring 2019 semester, the Ivory Coast ranks second in the number of international students enrolled at ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾.

During his campus visit, Koffi met with Micheal Hargis, dean of the College of Business; Clay Arnold, chair of the Department of Political Science; and Gizachew Tiruneh, associate professor in the Department of Political Science. The group discussed various ways that faculty members from ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾ and IUGB might collaborate further in the areas of research and teaching.

Phillip Bailey, associate vice president for International Engagement at ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾ and Sonia Toudji, associate professor of history, met with the IUGB administration on Jan. 21, 2019 in the Ivory Coast, as part of a two-week recruitment trip that spanned four countries in Africa. IUGB officials and Bailey discussed renewing a memorandum of understanding that has been active for the past three years, allowing hundreds of Ivorian students to transfer to ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾ to continue their undergraduate studies after completing their associate degrees at IUGB. Some students stay longer to pursue graduate study at ÿÈÕ´óÈüÍøÕ¾.

IUGB was founded in 2005 with eight students in the first term. In spring 2019, they have over 800 students, and last year they began offering four-year degree programs in computer science, math, business and political science. The university is a self-professed American-style university offering all its courses in English. International University of Grand-Bassam has plans to build a new campus on 130 acres and is striving to become the leading English language university in French-speaking West Africa. For more information, visit iugb.org.