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The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE



Media Contact: Laurie Mellas, 277-5915

Feb. 8, 2007

Overseas Educational Advisers to Visit UNM in February

The University of New Mexico could take on a decidedly more international feel in the near future, if the U.S.-Based Training Program for Educational Advisers (USBT) has anything to do with it.

Through the USBT program, which brings academic advisers from the worldwide EducationUSA network to the United States, a group of advisers representing U.S. Embassies, Fullbright Commissions, and bi-national centers in Chile, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Togo, and Turkey will be visiting higher education providers in New Mexico from Feb. 21-27.

In addition to UNM, higher education institutions that will be part of the UNM/USBT VIP are New Mexico State University, Santa Fe Community College, College of Santa Fe, New Mexico Tech, and the Institute of American Indian Arts. The Educational Advisers will not only tour area institutions, they will also "discuss the admissions process with campus officials, sample orientation and other programs available to foreign students, and meet faculty, students and staff to gain a picture of current trends and practices on American campuses," according to a USBT press release.

In addition, the "advisers will also serve as resources to the institutions they visit, by reporting on their home country educational systems, policies and academic training needs and responding to American questions and concerns about international student admissions and orientation," according to the press release.

The international education advisers will be welcomed by UNM officials, the Hispano Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Albuquerque on Wednesday, Feb. 21. They will travel to Socorro, Las Cruces, and Santa Fe during their stay for campus visits in those cities. In addition, they will be treated to various cultural and social events in order to give them a full sense of New Mexican culture.

Mavel Moreno, International Program Adviser with College Enrichment & Outreach Services, and Myriam Muñoz of the Office of International Admissions, are coordinating the visit to UNM. Vice President for Student Affairs Eliseo "Cheo" Torres will also network with the educational advisors during their visit, as will Terry Babbitt, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Services, who has also provided key support to the USBT initiative in New Mexico.

The U.S.-based training program is supported financially by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State under the authority of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, as amended. The program is administered by the College Board.

The visiting advisers are:

Mr. Koffi Kondo Awute, Togo

Ms. Lara Meltem Bilikmen, Turkey

Mr. Clarence Fu, Taiwan

Ms. Maria Teresa Sani, Chile

Ms. Shiny Mary Varghese, Saudi Arabia

For further information on the USBT Advisers and the New Mexico visit, please contact Myriam Muñoz, International Admissions Representative, at myriam@unm.edu.

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The University of New Mexico is the state's largest university, serving more than 32,000 students. UNM is home to the state's only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico's only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.

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