Embry-Riddle Signs Cooperative Agreement with Federico
Santa Maria Technical University in Chile
 Daytona
Beach, Fla., Dec. 13, 2002 -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University and Federico Santa Maria Technical University
in Santiago, Chile, have signed a cooperative agreement
to address projects and programs of mutual interest.
The agreement establishes a joint committee to create
specific aviation-related projects, including international
fellowship programs and the transfer of education technology.
Signing the document for the two universities was Dr.
George Ebbs, president of Embry-Riddle, and Mr. Giovanni
Pesce, rector of Santa Maria.
"This is an important step in our international growth
as an institution," Ebbs said. "By joining forces with
the exceptional faculty and staff of Federico Santa Maria
University, we are excited about expanding Embry-Riddle's
reach into South America."
Federico Santa Maria Technical University was founded
in 1926, the same year as the founding of Embry-Riddle.
Santa Maria has a strong reputation in all types of engineering
but added an aeronautical engineering degree only three
years ago. With the support of LAN Chile Airlines, Santa
Maria established the Academy of Air Sciences in Santiago
as an adjunct to the main campus in Valparaiso. The university
currently offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in
a wide range of aeronautical subjects.
Darryl Niemeyer, Embry-Riddle's director of University
Relations, said the choice of Santiago as a hub for Embry-Riddle's
program in Latin America signals confidence in the business
climate in Chile.
"The timing could not be better for this agreement with
Federico Santa Maria," Niemeyer said. "At the same time
the universities were getting together, the United States
and Chile were forging a Free Trade Agreement."
The signing of the cooperative agreement was celebrated
at a reception hosted by Dr. Ebbs and attended by the
U.S. ambassador to Chile, William Brownfield, and his
embassy staff, senior management of Santa Maria University,
executives of LAN Chile Airlines, officials of the Chilean
Air Force, and Dr. Ebbs staff, which included Niemeyer
and Douglass Smith, international relations advisor.
Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university
specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs
of students and industry through its educational, training,
research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates
more than 25,000 students annually through the master's
level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla.,
and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 150 teaching centers
in the Unites States and Europe, and through distance
learning.
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