Robel will be visiting universities, institutions and organizations in Brazil and Chile to discuss possible future collaborations and to strengthen existing partnerships, according to an IU press release.
Shawn Conner, associate director of international partnerships for the IU Office of the Vice President for International Affairs will also be on the trip.
Dean of the IU Maurer School of Law Austen Parrish will join them in Brazil.
Among other higher education institutions, Robel will visit Fundacao Getulio Vargas, University of Sao Paulo, University of Brasilia and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, according to the University.
“Strengthening the international reach of our programs is vital to ensuring our graduates will succeed in the global marketplace,” Robel said in the release. “This trip will allow us to deepen our current partnerships and pursue new collaborations that will lead to increased teaching and research exchanges in an economically and culturally dynamic part of the world.”
In Santiago, Chile, Robel will stop at the Council on International Educational Exchange study abroad program, according to the University.
She will also meet with Pontifical Catholic University of Chile’s faculty who are leaders from the schools of law, letters, communications and economic and administrative sciences.
Almost 80 students from Brazil are enrolled at IU-Bloomington currently. A dozen students from Chile are also studying at IU-Bloomington.
Additionally, throughout the past year, more than 50 Brazilian undergraduate students have studied at IU-Bloomington through the Brazilian Scientific Mobility program, according to the University.
Robel said they are also looking forward to reconnecting with alumni in both countries.
Currently, IU has 208 IU alumni from Brazil and 70 from Chile.
IU President Michael A. McRobbie last traveled to Brazil, Argentina and Chile two years ago in November 2012 in order to discuss academic partnerships, student study abroad options and opportunities for faculty research.
Kathrine Schulze
