Dominican Aggies Make the Grade

Last August, 56 Utah State University-bound students from the Dominican Republic, accompanied by their country’s minister of higher ed, arrived with great fanfare at the Salt Lake International Airport. In the ensuing ten months, the new Aggies, whose educations at USU are funded by the Dominican government’s second phase of the Presidential Higher Education Program for Superior Students, dove into academic pursuits, campus life and their first Cache Valley winter.

How are they doing?

“Wonderful, outstanding,” said Steven Hanks, USU vice provost for international affairs. “These students are excelling in their respective programs of study and infusing our campus with their enthusiasm and talents.”

Thirty-five of the students earned a 3.5 or better grade point average in their first year of study and seven of those received a 4.0 for the year, said Hanks. “This is remarkable performance when you consider that these young people are adjusting to a new culture and pursuing study in a second language.”

Wednesday, June 21, the Dominican Aggies will have the opportunity to report on their progress directly to government officials from their home country. USU hosts Lic. Andreita Santos, director of international scholarships, and Dánia Marcano, director of procurement; both from the Dominican office of the Secretary of State of Education and Culture. The visiting dignitaries will join the students and USU officials for a dinner at 6 p.m. in the Haight Alumni Center on campus.

USU President Stan Albrecht traveled to the Dominican Republic to sign the second phase of the scholarship agreement with Dominican President Leonel Fernández Reyna in April 2005. The Caribbean nation sponsored an initial group of 36 students at USU starting in 2000. The university’s affiliations with the Dominican Republic reach back to the early 1980s, when the university began training Dominican government employees in irrigation engineering.

“Utah State University enjoys longstanding research and educational ties with the Dominican Republic,” said Albrecht. “We look forward to further strengthening our joint programs, which benefit our students and citizens on both sides of our borders.”

Future plans call for continued scholarships, as well as student and faculty exchanges and joint academic and research programs in such areas as biotechnology and instructional technology.