For Immediate Release: August 06, 2012
Contact: Mary Trupo (202) 482-3809
Obama Trade Official to Lead Historic Education Trade Mission to Brazil
Record number of U.S. higher education institutions to join Under Secretary Sánchez
WASHINGTON –U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade Francisco Sánchez today announced he will lead 66 U.S. colleges and universities on Commerce’s largest-ever education services trade mission to Brazil, August 30-September 5. The mission, in close coordination with the U.S. Department of State’s EducationUSA Advising Centers, will explore opportunities for international student recruitment and partnerships with higher education institutions during stops in Brasilia, Sao Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro. More than 8,700 students from Brazil currently attend U.S. colleges and universities.
“International students seeking top quality educations are drawn to the United States to take advantage of the high-value programs offered by our colleges and universities,” Sánchez said. “Education is a growing service export for the United States and supports American jobs. The 66 schools participating in this mission provide a broad range of programs and degrees and every time they recruit international students, it helps put money back into the university and the community.”
Education and training rank among the top 10 U.S. services exports. Tuition and living expenses from international students and their families brought in nearly $21 billion to the U.S. economy during the 2010-2011 academic year. Brazilian students accounted for $257 million in exports of the overall figure.
The mission will include education sector briefings and a student fair at each of the three stops, with additional matchmaking and networking sessions with local high schools, universities, and faculty.
Brazil is expected to become one of the world’s five largest economies in the future and ranks as a priority export market for U.S. products and services. Expanding educational opportunities for Brazilian students will provide direct benefits to U.S. companies conducting business with this important trading partner.
This trade/education mission advances two of President Obama’s initiatives, the National Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014, supporting economic and job growth and the “100,000 Strong in the Americas,” which strives to foster region-wide prosperity through greater international exchange of students. The goal is to increase the number of Latin American and Caribbean students studying in the United States, and the number of U.S. students studying in those regions to 100,000.
Commerce’s International Trade Administration actively promotes U.S. education as an export throughout its network of domestic and international offices. EducationUSA, supported by the U.S. Department of State, has the mission of promoting mutual understanding between the United Sates and other countries through student mobility.
The following colleges and universities were selected for participation in the mission:
- Agnes Scott College – Decatur, Ga.
- Auburn University at Montgomery – Montgomery, Ala.
- Boston University – Boston, Mass.
- California State University, East Bay – Hayward, Calif.
- California State University, Northridge – Northridge, Calif.
- California State University, Sacramento – Sacramento, Calif.
- Columbia University – New York, N.Y.
- Eastern Connecticut State University – Willimantic, Conn.
- Emporia State University – Emporia, Kan.
- Florida State University – Tallahassee, Fla.
- Foothill and De Anza Colleges – Los Altos, Calif.
- Hawaii Pacific University – Honolulu, Hawaii
- Hofstra University – Hempstead, N.Y.
- Indiana University - Bloomington – Bloomington, Ind.
- Long Island University – Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Longwood University – Farmville, Va.
- Loyola University Chicago – Chicago, Ill.
- Luther College – Decorah, Iowa
- Michigan State University – Lansing, Mich.
- Minot State University – Minot, N.D.
- National University – La Jolla, Calif.
- New York Film Academy – New York, N.Y.
- Purdue University – West Lafayette, Ind.
- Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey – Piscataway, N.J.
- Saint Martin’s University – Lacey, Wash.
- San Jose State University – San Jose, Calif.
- Savannah College of Art & Design – Savannah, Ga.
- Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, Ill.
- State University of New York at Albany – Albany, N.Y.
- State University of New York at Buffalo – Buffalo, N.Y.
- State University of New York at Stony Brook – Stony Brook, N.Y.
- State University of New York Institute of Technology – Utica, N.Y.
- State University of New York at Plattsburgh – Plattsburgh, N.Y.
- Texas A&M University – College Station, Texas.
- Texas Tech University – Lubbock, Texas
- The College of New Jersey – Ewing, N.J.
- Tompkins Cortland Community College – Dryden, N.Y.
- Troy University – Troy, Ala.
- Tuskegee University – Tuskegee, Ala.
- University of Alabama – Tuscaloosa, Ala.
- University of California Los Angeles Extension – Los Angeles, Calif.
- University of California - Irvine – Irvine, Calif.
- University of California – San Diego – La Jolla, Calif.
- University of Cincinnati – Cincinnati, Ohio
- University of Findlay – Findlay, Ohio
- University of Florida – Gainesville, Fla.
- University of Idaho – Moscow, Idaho
- University of Iowa – Iowa City, Iowa
- University of Kentucky – Lexington, Ky.
- University of Minnesota Law School – Minneapolis, Minn.
- University of Missouri-St. Louis – St. Louis, Mo.
- University of Nebraska at Lincoln – Lincoln, Neb.
- University of North Texas – Denton, Texas
- University of Rhode Island – Kingston, R.I.
- University of San Diego School of Law – San Diego, Calif.
- University of South Carolina – Columbia, S.C.
- University of Southern California School of Engineering – Los Angeles, Calif.
- University of Southern California Language Academy – Los Angeles, Calif.
- University of Tennessee - Knoxville – Knoxville, Tenn.
- University of Toledo – Toledo, Ohio
- Valdosta State University – Valdosta, Ga.
- Virginia Commonwealth University – Richmond, Va.
- Western New England University – Springfield, Mass.
- Western Oregon University – Monmouth, Ore.
- Willamette University – Salem, Ore.
- Xavier University of Louisiana – New Orleans, La.
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