THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1999

Lecture keys on foreign education

By Trond M. Vagen

On-Line Forty-Niner

Representatives from California State University system campuses traveled to Vietnam in hopes of implementing and expanding educational services, said Donald Lauda, dean of Health and Human Services at Cal State Long Beach.

Lauda is one of four representatives who traveled to Vietnam in January as part of a consortium group from CSU campuses.

Lauda spoke at the Center for International Education's monthly Brown Bag Event on Wednesday in the Multicultural Center.

"This was the first time I've been to Vietnam," Lauda said. "I found the trip very fascinating."

The representatives were in Vietnam to promote cooperation with the National University of Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City, with emphasis on offering programs not available in Vietnam. The consortium consists of CSU Fullerton, Pomona, Dominguez Hills and Long Beach. CSU Fullerton and Pomona have been involved in the project for a long time and have already held some seminars at the university.

CSULB's role in the consortium is to work towards providing a graduate program in public health at a medical school in Ho Chi Minh City. CSU Pomona plans to offer their MBA program at the National University of Vietnam this fall, with all but one semester being taught in Vietnam.

The idea of bringing these four universities together in a consortium came from President Milton Gordon of CSU Fullerton, who functions as a leader of the group. The consortium plans to work with developing study tours in Vietnam, exchanging faculty members and eventually establishing a coordinating office for U.S. students in Ho Chi Minh City.

While over there, Lauda also visited the University of Da Lat, who were very interested in getting a public health program.

"The area was very beautiful," Lauda said, "and I would really like to go back there and teach after I retire."

The main cause of death in Vietnam is from infectious diseases, indicating that a public health program would prove very useful to the country.

"The next step for us would be to get people together and talk about how to get funding," Lauda said.

The consortium plans to seek funding with the World Health Organization and major corporations, especially drug manufacturers.

"I thought the lecture was very interesting," said Mary Harris-Robinson, an administrative support assistant in the College of Health and Human Services. "It's nice that they want us over there to work with them."