Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community College hosted distinguished visitors from the Ukraine to forge a plan for an educational partnership. The guests are representatives of Drohobych Pedagogical University, located in Muscatine's sister city, Drohobych, which, until 1991, was part of the Soviet Union.
 
Mayor Oleksiy Radziyevschyy, University President, Valeriy Skotniy, and the director of partnership activities for the university, Oleksandr (Alex) Golubev will meet with faculty and administrators of the Eastern Iowa Community College District (Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Community Colleges) to lay the foundation for a new educational model in the Ukraine. The partnership project will focus on three main areas: using the Internet as an educational tool, developing business education learning modules and faculty development.
 
The coordinator for the college district, MCC Dean Jeff Armstrong, said, "Plans for the three-year project are emerging. They will ask for help in various areas, and we will identify tasks as we go. However, one of the outcomes for this project is to help Drohobych University develop more connections with the business community."
 
The project is supported by the U.S. Department of State Institutional Linkage Programs for International Educational Cooperation. It was selected for sponsorship, in part, because it matches one of the Department's goals, which is to foster freedom and democracy.
 
The Ukraine is adapting to a new economic, political and social environment. Academic institutions are being asked to contribute to the historic, cultural and economic transitions which are now occurring. This project will help the university play a leadership role in the transition. Eventually throughout the three-year project, 16 people from the college district will visit the Ukraine. That will include faculty members and administrators.

For more information, call Jeff Armstrong at MCC: 563-288-6004.