The month of July has been busy for 22 GEO Study Abroad students in Rosario, Argentina. The program consists of two cohorts, one from the UO School of Journalism and Communications and the other focuses on human rights and social justice issues.

Last week students went to Montevideo, Uruguay to meet with former President José “Pepe” Mujica in the national legislative palace to discuss politics, environmental rights, and social justice issues.

The month of July has been busy for 22 GEO Study Abroad students in Rosario, Argentina. The program consists of two cohorts, one from the UO School of Journalism and Communications and the other focuses on human rights and social justice issues.

Last week students went to Montevideo, Uruguay to meet with former President José “Pepe” Mujica in the national legislative palace to discuss politics, environmental rights, and social justice issues.

Editorial Note: This article first appeared in the Register Guard on July 17, 2016.

The op-ed was written by Will Johnson and Peter Laufer.

With more than 3,250 students from Asia and 22 exchange agreements, it is easy to see the region is essential to the University of Oregon. So it makes perfect sense that Michael Schill’s first international journey as president has taken him on a 10-day barnstorming trip across the region.

A University of Oregon delegation travelled to Japan and met with Senshu University counterparts to renew one of the longest-standing exchange agreements in university history.

The UO and Senshu are celebrating 30 years of exchange collaboration. The long-term international collaboration will continue to enhance academic excellence at the UO with the signing of a renewal agreement in April 2016.

Professor Emerita Esther Jacobson-Tepfer of the Department of the History of Art and Architecture has been awarded the Kublai Khan Gold Medal, the highest honor offered by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, and a Presidential Citation in recognition of her work on the preservation of Mongolia's cultural heritage. The awards were presented at the international conference "Rock Art: History, Memory, and Dialogue" on May 30-31 under the auspices of the President of Mongolia and UNESCO.

The medal was presented to her by Dr. Dorj Regdel from the Academy.

Six University of Oregon students have been awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program grant to teach, study, or research abroad in 2016-17. Three students will work as English teaching assistants, while the other three will conduct research in various countries.

“Fulbright recognitions each year are a testament to the quality of our students and the internationalization efforts across our university,” said Dennis Galvan, vice provost for international affairs. “The research and service these students provide around the world further expands our university's global engagement.”

Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) and the University of Oregon (UO) have entered into an agreement for the UO’s first international student exchange program in Russia. The program enables students from both universities to study at the other institution and gain credits toward a degree at their home institution.

The agreement was signed by UO’s Vice Provost for International Affairs, Dennis Galvan and Russian counterpart FEFU Vice-President for International Affairs, Vladimir Kurilov.

For years now, analyzing collaborative governance among community and agencies has been a research focus for UO Professor Richard Margerum. However, in the past three months, Margerum has been helping colleague Professor Zafar Khan to examine how different governance approaches have affected community based natural resources management in Pakistan—a country half the world away, but with a region very similar to Oregon.

The UO is expanding its global service outreach with the new Center for Global Health. Launched in May, it will support a wide range of scientific, educational, and service-oriented initiatives designed to understand and ameliorate the world’s most challenging health and social problems.