College of Humanities Faculty Meet with Portuguese Ambassador's Delegation
From left to right: Pedro Leão, Luis Camara Manoel, Cheri Daily, Filipe Ramalheira,
Ambassador Francisco Duarte Lopes, Mitzi Montoya, Christopher Lewis, Isabel Moreira,
and João Carlos Nunes Caixinha.
Photo Credit: Office for Global Engagement.
On January 15th two College of Humanities faculty joined the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Mitzi Montoya, to welcome Portuguese Ambassador Francisco Duarte Lopes and his delegation to the University of Utah.
Christopher Lewis, Associate Professor of Portuguese and Chair of the Department of World Languages & Cultures, and Isabel Moreira, Distinguished Professor of History and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Humanities greeted the ambassador’s delegation in Gardner Commons along with Provost Mitzi Montoya and Cheri Daily, Executive Director of the Office for Global Engagement.
The delegation included Felipe Ramalheira, Consul General of Portugal in San Francisco, João Carlos Nunes Caixinha, Coordinator for the Portuguese Languages Programs and Education Affairs in the U.S. and Portuguese Language Advisor at MDESE, Pedro Leão, Director of AICEP Portugal Trade & Invest, and Luis Camara Manoel, Honorary Consul of Portugal in Utah.
The meeting, prompted by Utah’s status as an international hub of Portuguese language education, featured discussion of the Dual Language Immersion and Bridge programs, internship opportunities for U of U students in Europe, and partnerships between Utah’s colleges and universities to increase access to language learning opportunities statewide.
“Utah’s reputation for languages attracts frequent interest and investment from abroad,” Lewis says. “In addition to the obvious benefits of language skills for promoting international collaboration in many industries, this even plays out on a logistical level: dignitaries will often plan a visit to see Utah’s Dual Language Immersion and Bridge programs in action, and then decide to take advantage to meet with business and technology leaders as well. I was recently involved with a similar visit from the French ambassador.”
The College of Humanities is proud to support excellence in language education and the University of Utah’s global engagement.