To acknowledge and celebrate its thirtieth anniversary year, Danubius University will host a range of programs during the year, including art exhibits, presentations by accomplished speakers, monthly sweepstakes, professional development workshops, movies, conferences, recognition ceremonies, and its first ever summer school.  The management of the activities will be guided by the Danubius International Advisory Council, which is a group of experts, scholars, and students from ten countries around the world.

Starting in January will be the first presentation in the Phenomenal Women series.  Each month, a woman who has achieved a national reputation in her chosen profession will share information and insights about her successes and struggles with the audience.  The first presenter in the series will be Claudia Nicolae, the director of AGERPRES, the oldest news service in Romania and the first autonomous news agency in the country.  She will be followed in February by Professor Gabriela Mustata-Wilson, Co-Director of the Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics at the University of Texas at Arlington, and then in March by Professor Irena Chiru, who is the Dean of the Faculty for Intelligence Services at the National Intelligence Academy of Romania. Also planned for January is the opening of a vivid photographic exhibition of Romanian life, both past and present, that will be co-sponsored by the American embassy in Bucharest.

February 15 will be Danubius University Day, at which time the members of the university community who have contributed twenty years or more of service will be acknowledged for their longevity and their contributions to the university.  The Benone Pusca Distinguished Speaker series, named after the founder of Danubius University, will also be launched in February, and each person selected to participate will have demonstrated a level of accomplishment that has gained them international recognition in their field.  The university is honored to have Professor Adrian Curaj, a highly respected educational leader and scholar as the first presenter in this series.

In March, along with its partner, the National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics/ICI, the university is planning to co-sponsor a conference on The Need for Critical Infrastructure, and later in the spring, on May 12-14, Danubius will host the European Integration - Realities and Perspectives Conference, which brings together scholars and policy makers from people from Europe, America and Asia.  A first-time event will take place later in the month when a group of United States university leaders from the American College on Education Fellows Program comes to Romania to participate in a seminar on Internationalization in Higher Education.  The participants will meet with both academic and government officials from throughout Romania as well as with staff from the American embassy. 

Another important innovation will take place in June, when the university hosts  its first summer school, the Danubius International Summer Experience in which students from two American higher education institutions, Jarvis Christian College and the University of Southern Indiana will come to the campus to take classes in International Relations and Intercultural Communications.

A film festival, featuring Romanian-American actors, is being planned for July, which will provide some summer entertainment for our friends and supporters in the local communities

The Phenomenal Women series will resume in September  and the last week of the month will be celebrated as the 30th Anniversary Week.  It will feature the Second Annual Two Democratic Societies in Transition conference, in which scholars and experts will analyze a spectrum of economic, social, political, and cultural issues that impact Romania and the United States.  The conference will lead into the start of the academic year and the Community of Scholars celebration, which marks the start of classes on October 3.

Finally, the year will conclude as it started, with presentations in the Phenomenal Women series in November and December and the final Benone Pusca Distinguished Speaker, also in December.  This robust schedule of events demonstrates how this institution of higher learning recognizes and responds to its position as an international university that bridges the West and the East. 

Danubius University has truly become the "Diamond on the Danube" and in only three decades, it has established a reputation and achieved a standing that has placed it among the top twenty-seven percent of universities in the world. (EduRank).

Danubius University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore have signed a partnership agreement to explore academic and cultural exchanges between the two institutions.

Prof. univ. Dr. William B. Harvey, Rector of  Danubius University, visited the UMES campus for the signing ceremony of the agreement with UMES President Dr. Heidi M. Anderson and representatives of the university's management.

Professor Harvey said that "the partnership with UMES brings to the fore the growing concern of Danubius University to expand its educational and cultural collaborations around the world for the benefit of Danubian students and faculty."

"One of the main goals of UMES is to have graduates who are culturally and internationally aware, so our partnership with Danubius University is a step in that direction. When you talk about learning about different cultures, not in your own country, but in other countries, this broadens your horizons. Such an opportunity also trains tomorrow's leaders from both universities." said Dr. Heidi M. Anderson, President of UMES.

The agreement signed between the two higher education institutions outlines an appropriate framework for establishing exchange programs for students and graduates, as well as for faculty and for collaboration in the field of scientific research, which is a priority for Danubius University.

Dr. Moses Kairo, Dean of the School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences at UMES, represented the American University in mid-September at the TDST 2021 International Conference (https://www.univ-danubius.ro/en/news/tdst-conference) , where he had several meetings with representatives of Danubius University.

The possibilities that these two universities will explore include joint bachelor's and master's programs, ways to collaborate to identify and develop best practices in teaching, evaluation and institutional management, and sharing technological expertise (https://www.wmdt.com/2021/12/umes-partnering-with-university-in-romania-to-explore-exchange-programs/).

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore opened its doors on September 13, 1886, and today offers 38 undergraduate, 14 master's, and eight doctoral programs ((https://wwwcp.umes.edu/pr/from-the-banks-of-the-manokin-to-the-danube/?fbclid=IwAR20S7zmaGV-Z_eBfV-UekXKMmiovs45TM5LdTmTsx3Kbe8GcDFBwk3cc1Y).

Oana Draganescu

PR & MEDIA Manager

The Center for Hermeneutics “Symbols and Texts” (CHeST) of “Danubius” University of Galati, in partnership with The Central University Library “Mihai Eminescu” of Iași, organizes on Thursday, the 16^th of December 2021, at 17.00, the single conference talk Language and culture in Eugenio Coseriu’s theory. Some essential philosophical distinctions, delivered on-line, in Romanian, by professor Cristinel MUNTEANU, Ph.D., “Danubius” University of Galați.

This conference, following other similar 2021 events devoted to the celebration of “Eugenio Coseriu’s centennial”, is meant to contribute to a better understanding of Coseriu’s integral linguistics. In this regard, professor Cristinel Munteanu will present and explain a series of fundamental distinctions, of philosophical nature, on which the Romanian scholar’s theory was built. At the same time, the respective lecture will also be useful to those interested in finding out more about the essence of language and culture in general.

The event will be recorded and made available later on the YouTube channel of “Danubius” University of Galați.

Danubius University recently concluded a cooperation agreement with the University of Texas at Arlington, USA, in which the two higher education institutions announced their intention to establish an exchange and collaboration program to promote the common interest for teaching and research and to deepen the understanding of the economic, cultural and social problems of the two countries.

The rector of Danubius University, Prof. William B. Harvey, said he is dedicated to promoting the university's role as an international higher education institution and creating new intercultural connections that would lay the groundwork for new development directions for the benefit of Danubian students.

Rector Harvey's visit to the UTA lasted three days and included meetings with executives, center directors, the Bureau of International Education and Deans, department heads and faculty representatives from the College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Architecture, and Planning. and Public Affairs and the College of Nursing and Health Innovation.

"The UTA community welcomed this partnership with open arms and I hope to see many new connections formed between the two universities," said Rector Harvey. "For each, this collaboration offers new frontiers in academia and research for our students and teachers to explore. The power of our combined resources will inevitably produce innovative results. ”

Pranesh Aswath, UTA interim provost and vice president for academic affairs,  expressed excitement for the opportunities that will arise from UTA’s new international collaboration.

“UTA seeks to provide bold solutions that have a global impact, and international collaborations are vital to this goal,” Aswath said. “We are honored to have the opportunity to expand to a new corner of the world and to explore mutually beneficial projects with the talented faculty and students at Danubius.”

Gabriela Wilson, professor of kinesiology and co-director of the Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics (MICHI) will coordinate UTA’s program activities as part of the agreement. She said the partnership will create meaningful interactions that develop global competencies and enhance cross-cultural understanding.

“Exchanging ideas with the professors and students at Danubius will open new doors to unexplored research areas where our curiosities and expertise overlap,” Wilson said. “The combination of cultural perspectives will inevitably create broader results that can meet a greater number of needs.”

She said she was so excited about the partnership between the University of Texas at Arlington and Danubius University! This is the first collaboration agreement with an academic institution from an Eastern European country of UTA, and as a native Romanian, I could not be more proud of this. The exchange of ideas with professors and students at Danubius University will open new doors to unexplored areas of research, where our curiosities and expertise overlap. This unique combination of cultural perspectives will inevitably create broader results that can meet a greater number of needs. Thank you to everyone who did this! (https://www.uta.edu/news/news-releases/2021/12/08/uta-danubius-university-cooperative-agreement )

Oana Draganescu

Head of PR&MEDIA