New UC Staff Member is Building on UC’s Worldwide Partnerships

From UC News:

Frank Merendino will represent UC as part of a delegation of institutions selected by the U.S. government to take part in an educational trade mission to Vietnam and Indonesia.
Date: 2/15/2011
By: Dawn Fuller
Phone: (513) 556-1823
Photos By: Dottie Stover

Frank Merendino is new to the University of Cincinnati, but as he moves into his position in UC’s International Admissions, he’s already making big travel plans. Merendino, UC’s new senior admissions officer for international partnerships, will represent UC in a delegation of 60 U.S. educational institutions – selected by the U.S. Commercial Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce – to take part in a new education trade mission in Vietnam and Indonesia. UC was selected in a competitive process for the mission that will take place April 3-8.

Frank Merendino

It means that UC is considered a valuable resource in U.S. government efforts to support the development of other countries by providing international students with a solid education on which to build on the success of their homeland.
The goals of the education trade mission to Vietnam and Indonesia are to:

• Introduce accredited U.S. schools to potential students in each market
• Introduce the U.S. institutions to potential partners and other industry representatives
• Inform mission members of local cultural, political and economic factors in Indonesia and Vietnam that will affect student recruitment strategies as well as the opportunities/challenges related to establishing partnerships

The mission will include a college student fair at each stop on the trip, with options of matchmaking sessions between institutions and prospective students or networking opportunities with local schools.

Merendino’s role as senior admissions officer for international partnerships will involve developing and implementing articulation agreements and pathway programs for international students to smoothly complete their degree at UC after spending a year or two at another institution or two-year college. That includes making UC’s regional campuses a destination for international students.

“Working at the University of Cincinnati is exciting because there is a clear commitment to campus internationalization,” says Merendino. “ I am very much looking forward to showcasing all that UC has to offer prospective partners and students while participating in the trade mission.”

The U.S. Commercial Service and the U.S. Department of Commerce report that Vietnam has 20,000 students studying abroad – with 13,000 of them studying in the U.S. The country is third among those sending international students to the U.S. to pursue their studies at community colleges.
More than 50,000 Indonesian students are studying overseas, with just nearly 7,700 studying in the United States.

“These two countries are considered very important to the United States,” says Jonathan Weller, director of International Admissions. “Indonesia is the fourth-largest country in the world and has the world’s largest Muslim community, and Vietnam is projecting tremendous growth in its economy as well as its population,” Weller says.

The mission includes stops in Jakarta, Indonesia and Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi in Vietnam.