Vietnamese administrators learn best practices during TU visit

University of DaNang seeking to grow business school

 

Amid the excitement and activity of this year’s presidential election, TU hosted a few unlikely visitors in an international affair of its own. Seven administrators from the University of DaNang in Vietnam came to Towson in early November to gain best practices for growing their business school. TU Management Professor Don Kopka, a Fulbright Scholar at DaNang in 2004, said the visit was a valuable experience for both universities.

“DaNang just received a World Bank grant for capacity building within their university of economics, and so the administrators came to gain exposure to a more contemporary curriculum and administrative methods that can guide them as they develop their program at home,” Kopka says.

The visitors represented the highest administrators from the university’s College of Economics, including the rector, or dean, two vice rectors and department chairs. During their four-day stay in Towson, the administrators gained insights from university officials, including Director of Planning Jack Nye (Facilities Management) and University Budget Office Director Cathy Mattingly (Fiscal Planning and Services). Mattingly says the officials were particularly interested in learning about budget management.

“They asked a lot of questions about the different revenues the university has and who determines where the money is spent,” she says. “They want to make sure the grant money is used wisely.”

After seminars on finance and facilities, the Vietnamese visitors found some time to visit area attractions, including Washington, D.C., New York City and Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The trip to Washington was especially interesting, given that it took place the week of the election.

“It was a great time for them to be here,” Kopka said. “For most of them it was their first time in the United States, and they were really excited.”

Despite being in a foreign country, not everything was alien to the visiting administrators. TU’s College of Business and Economics has had a cohort program with the University of DaNang that enables their students to study business here.  The administrators reconnected with all 11 of the cohort students during their stay.