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BIDDEFORD, Maine

UNE VP for Academic Affairs receives Fulbright to study innovative educational approaches in France

UNE Vice President for Academic Affairs Ellen Beaulieu, Ed.D., has been selected as a 2014-15 International Education Administrator Fulbright Scholar.

Beaulieu will travel to France this October to study the innovative approaches in higher education that have been recently implemented throughout the country. While changes in higher education have been instituted at a rapid pace across Europe, France has led the way in forwarding educational changes designed to increase graduates’ economic competitiveness upon earning their degrees.

“We have so much to learn through the exchange of ideas with those who have established novel ways of learning,” said Beaulieu. “Europe and the United States have improved higher education tremendously, but in very different ways.”

In addition to learning about France’s new initiatives, Beaulieu expects to gain a deeper understanding of the history and culture of the French educational system, knowledge that should be useful to UNE as it refines the academic programs already available on its Tangier Campus. Morocco’s educational system is based on the French tradition, and understanding it more fully should allow the University to develop strategies to further build UNE’s program in Tangier.

UNE’s Tangier Campus, which opened in January 2014, provides students from UNE’s two Maine campuses with a unique semester abroad experience that allows them to stay on track in their majors in the humanities and sciences while experiencing the culture of Morocco and gaining the enhanced perspective that comes from living abroad. UNE undergraduates study in Morocco at no additional cost.

While in France, Beaulieu will engage in discussions with colleagues at Grenoble University and the Minatec, the world’s leading center for nanotechnology, research and education. She also plans to meet with French students, study the educational strength of Paris and develop an understanding of how France’s grandes écoles (grand schools) are meeting the challenges of globalization.

Of particular interest are Beaulieu’s sessions scheduled at the University of Cergy-Pontoise, where she will learn how that university fulfills its mission to secure employment for all its students, now an official mandate of all French higher education institutions.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has presented more than 300,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, scientists and other professionals the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in government, science, the arts, business, philanthropy, education, and many other fields. Fifty-three Fulbright alumni from 12 countries have been awarded the Nobel Prize, and 78 alumni have received Pulitzer Prizes. Fulbright recipients are among more than 50,000 individuals participating in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars.

Find more information about the Fulbright Program and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.