The College of The Bahamas Elected to Prestigious International Board L-R: President Jayne Hodder, IAU-President Elect Juan Ramon de la Fuenta and Vice President for Research, Graduate Programmes and International relations, Dr. Linda Davis share a light moment during a conference break.

Utrecht, The Netherlands – The College of The Bahamas has been elected to the board of directors of the International Association of Universities (IAU). 
Elections for the IAU President and Executive Board of Directors were held during the13th Annual General Conference from 15th -18th July, 2008, hosted by the University of Utrecht.  The College of The Bahamas was unanimously elected and will be represented by President Janyne Hodder. 

Upon election to the IAU Board of Directors, Hodder stated that, “Being part of an international association of universities gives us access to a better understanding of the issues facing universities across the world and helps us to benchmark our own changes against those that are happening in other contexts.  Being on the board also facilitates our capacity to make important links with other institutions and to create learning and research opportunities for our students and faculty.  It also helps to ensure that we create the kind of international reputation for ourselves that can only help in our efforts to be the best university we can be for The Bahamas.” 

The Bahamas will be represented on the board for a four-year term from 2008 – 2012.  The newly elected IAU President is Juan Ramon de la Fuente, former Rector of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. 
President Hodder, Vice President for Research, Graduate Programmes and International relations Dr. Linda Davis, Chair of the School of Business Remelda Moxey and International Relations Liasion, Valdez Russell represented The College of The Bahamas at the general conference.

The mission of the IAU is “to strengthen higher education worldwide by providing a global forum for institutional and association leaders for reflection and action on common concerns.”  The IAU thematic priorities include the internationalization of higher education, intercultural learning and dialogue, higher education and sustainable development, and access to higher education. 

For more information, please contact the Office of Communication at 302-4355 or 302-4366.

Photos by Valdez K. Russell