Nizhnii Tagil, Russia
The article below
was posted on the UTC Web page (www.utc.edu) on May
13th, 2011. The pictures were taken by our own photographer, Georgia
Eastman.
Russian delegation visits campus, forms partnerships
with faculty 2011
A visit to the Tivoli Theatre or
Coolidge Park in downtown Chattanooga couldn’t top a visit to UTC for a group
of Russian professors and university administrators. The group visited UTC to
learn about the American higher education system, but left pleasantly surprised
by the friendliness and generosity of the faculty and staff.
The five delegates were from Nizhnii Tagil, Russia, an industrial
city of 438,000 located on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains. They work
and teach at area universities and colleges, including Ural Federal University
and Nizhniy Tagil State Social Pedagogical Academy. Their visit was organized
by the Sister City Association of Chattanooga.
The Sister City Association of
Chattanooga is a group of volunteers interested in establishing meaningful and
lasting global friendships through cultural, educational, institutional and
commercial exchanges. Since 1975, Chattanooga has developed Sister City
partnerships with five cities: Hamm, Germany, Wuxi, China, Givatayim, Israel,
Nizhnii Tagil, Russia, and Gangneung, Republic of Korea.
Their visit to UTC yielded fruitful
meetings with administrators, who provided the delegates with an umbrella view
of the university, its history, and a tour of UTC before the delegates met with
department heads in their specific disciplines.
According to Georgia Eastman, former
president of the Sister City Association of Chattanooga and co-organizer of the
visit, UTC Chancellor Dr. Roger Brown made a great first impression. “The
delegates thought it was wonderful that the chancellor would joke and take
pictures with them,” she said.