Officials from UB and the University of Sheffield, England signed an agreement Wednesday that calls for a student exchange program to take place over the next three years.
The agreement holds special interest because the British university will host the World University Games two years before UB does in 1993.
In addition to signing the student exchange program, President Steven B. Sample and John Padley, registrar and secretary of the University of Sheffield, discussed plans for a proposed World Congress of Universities, in which presidents of the world's most prestigious universities will be invited to convene to discuss global issues of higher education during the 1991 and 1993 Games.
"This is the first of many relationships to derive from the World University Games, and we're looking forward to a number of relationships like this," Sample said.
Padley agreed. "Buffalo is the first university with whom we're developing this type of relationship with regard to the Games," he said. "We're very glad to be here to sign it, and we're all looking forward to closer ties."
The UB-Sheffield exchange program will allow each university to exchange up to three students per year for a period of three yeas, beginning in the 1990-91 academic year. Students enrolled in the program would be able to attend classes on a non-credit, non-graded basis in any degree program at either university.
Twin Cities
Officials from both sides of the Atlantic stressed that the exchange agreement is of great significance in that the two cities and schools have much in common, even aside from the World Games association.
"Sheffield is the center of an industrial area, a city that is rather the mirror image of Buffalo," said Stephen Dunnett, associate provost for international programs. "The University of Sheffield is similar to UB, with good national ranking and a reputation for having good programs in all the sciences and in engineering."
"The history of Sheffield University is very similar to that of UB's, and in many ways exactly parallels ours," Sample said, pointing to the two schools' development out of medical schools. He added that both institutions are heavily involved in international studies, and that similar proportions of the schools' students study abroad.
"There are very strong similarities in the fortunes of the two cities, and we all see the Games as helping," Padley said.
Accompanying Padley on a three-day visit was Allan Barnes, Sheffield's chief executive for the World Games. "We have a lot to learn from the American system of running sporting events," he said.
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Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
