Most graduates probably took the rest of the day off from work following Summer Commencement Exercises in Trojan Arena on July 28.
Not Dr. Nguyen Truc Le, Chairman of the Vietnam National University’s University of Economics and Business. He had been awarded the honorary Doctor of Laws degree by TROY Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. during the ceremonies, but it was back to work after that.
Le and a delegation of UEB professors met with counterparts from the Sorrell College of Business in a collaboration session. Its goal: finding ways to combine research efforts between members of both faculties. It was the first such meeting between TROY and UEB in a partnership that spans two decades.
“It’s the 20th anniversary of our partnership, but it’s the first time they’ve been on our campus,” said Sorrell College Dean Dr. Judson Edwards. “It’s been a partnership that has continued to grow and improve over the years . . . and I hope we continue to grow in terms of the number of students we serve. I’d really like to see more Vietnamese students coming to the Troy Campus, so I hope that, over the years, we’ll let this partnership mature and continue growing.”
UEB Professor of Economics Dr. Khoi Nguyen has directed the TROY-UEB partnership program for the past three years for the Hanoi-based university. He hoped to expand the partnership to include student and faculty exchange and a 2-plus-2 or 3-plus-1 degree program in which students spend a portion of their education at Troy.
“The advantage of my students coming to TROY is they can have an international environment. They can see students (personally) from many countries and can work with the Troy business community,” he said. “In the future, I am thinking about how to have more chances for Vietnamese students to come (to TROY) to study and how to add more programs to diversify the program in Vietnam so the students can have greater opportunities.”
TROY has around 1,000 students currently taking courses in Vietnam, and faculty members for the Sorrell College go to the country to teach classes in English. Edwards said the afternoon conference was a good way to explore that future.
“We’re in a global economy and nobody is really standing alone. So, for us, particularly in countries like Vietnam with developing economies, it is important to find ways to connect with those countries in order to make sure there good, good relationships in place so that both countries can benefit through economic partnerships,” he said.
David Van Buskirk is Director of International Partnership and Operations for TROY. He said the conference planning for the meeting began in October 2022 with discussions about how best to bring everyone together.
“We really wanted to talk about research and find ways to get together and talk about what’s going on in the U.S., and how Vietnam might be able to relate to the U.S.,” he said. “This event is focusing on small business but that’s just the starting point for collaboration on academic research.”
IDEA Bank Program Coordinator Mauree Alice Porter provided an overview of the IDEA Bank program and Small Business Development Center Director Juliana Bolivar provided insights into how the SBDC and the University support small business owners and entrepreneurs.
