West Virginia University is hosting five environmental leaders from Kazakhstan on Wednesday (March 7) who will discuss grassroots involvement in environmental issues with WVU professors.
Kazakhstan visitors, organized through WVU’s Office of International Students and Scholars, includes Saltanat Kuatbekovna Baymurzanova, executive director of the EcoIDEA Foundation; Yuliya Nikolayevna Dushkina, standardization specialist at the Center for Kazakhstan’s Sustainable Development, LLC; Irina Olegovna Ignatovich, deputy director of the School Project on Application of Resources and Energy; Yevgeniy Vladimirovich Klimov, president of the Foundation for Integration of Ecological Culture; and Mariya Leonidovna Kurnikova, member of the Coordination Council of the Youth Ecological Network of Kazakhstan.
The visitors have been invited to the U.S. under the auspices of the Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress.
“Kazakhstan has a special place in our hearts at WVU,” said Tom Sloane, executive director of International and Global Relations at WVU. “We have recruited at college fairs in Almaty, Astana and Atrau, and we currently have three undergraduate students and one graduate student who are Kazakh. They have added so much to the diversity of our University, and we look forward to further future contacts and students from this great country.”
The leaders will meet with three professors from WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, Hodjat Ghadimi, Ph.D., assistant professor of Design and Landscape Architecture; Peter Butler, M.L.A., assistant professor of landscape architecture; and Chris Haddox, visiting assistant professor, sustainable design division of design and merchandising; as well as Gerald Iwan, Ph.D., executive director of WVU National Environmental Services Center.
The group will discuss topics such as wastewater management, environmental education, green buildings and environmental legislation, regulation and enforcement.
“As a representative of WVU and its National Research Center for Coal and Energy, I’ve been pleased to have hosted a number of international delegations in partnership with GlobalPittsburgh and the WVU Office of International Students and Scholars,” Iwan said. “The feedback we receive indicates that our guests have a positive professional experience at WVU and gain an appreciation of American academics and culture during their visit. We learn as much from them as they do from us, hopefully fostering research opportunities and good academic relationships within the global community.”
Partnered with GlobalPittsburgh, the U.S State Department’s designated regional service provider for the International Visitor Leadership Program, this will be the second year WVU has hosted international visitors. By connecting leaders and organizations in the Pittsburgh area with international leaders, GlobalPittsburgh hopes to facilitate new strategic business opportunities, business and personal contacts and a positive impression of the region that may inspire international visitors to return.
“This partnership gives WVU faculty, researchers and staff an opportunity to network with different countries and even to start new relations with international institutions after their visits,” said Cecilia Orrego, special program coordinator for international visits at WVU.
The Kazakh visit will start with a welcome speech from associate provost of International Academic Affairs Dr. Michael Lastinger followed by meetings with representatives from WVU Davis College – Sustainable Design in the Division of Design and Merchandising and WVU National Environmental Services Center.
A lunch meeting will give the visitors the opportunity to talk about their issues and explore potential partnerships with WVU. All the meetings are going to be held at NRCCE conference rooms from 11a.m. to 1p.m.
More information on past international visits at WVU, please visit http://wvglobalvisitors.wvu.edu/.
-WVU-
co/03/06/12
CONTACT: Cecilia Orrego, Office of International Students and Scholars
304-293-5285, Cecilia.Orrego@mail.wvu.edu
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