Faust Visits Chile, Brazil

This week University president Drew G. Faust will explore Harvard’s involvement in Latin America though a week of travel in Chile and Brazil.

The trip is part of Faust’s effort to emphasize global education and is one of a series of international voyages that she has embarked on since becoming president. In 2009, Faust was the second Harvard president to visit the continent of Africa.

Faust—who traveled from Chile to Brazil yesterday—met with government and academic leaders, visited a childhood education program, and participated in a symposium on Chile’s earthquake reconstruction.

“The timing is also poignant because an important element of the visit involves looking for ways in which Harvard faculty and students can learn from and participate in reconstruction efforts in Chile following last February’s terrible earthquake and tsunami,” wrote Harvard Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood ’75, who is also on the trip, on the Harvard Gazette’s blog.

On Monday, Faust met with President of Chile Sebastián Piñera, who received his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Harvard.

Piñera mentioned the “Harvard boys” in his cabinet, including the finance minister, the planning and cooperation minister, and the minister of justice—all Harvard alumni.

Faust and Piñera committed to promoting an increase in the number of Chilean students enrolling in Harvard through a proposed partnership between Harvard and the program Becas Chile.

That evening, at a State dinner held in honor of President Obama—who was also in Chile at the time—Piñera said in Spanish, “Forty years ago, Mr. President, I had the privilege of studying for a doctoral degree in the same University where you and your wife studied law, Harvard University, whose president, Drew Faust, is with us today.”

Faust spoke about the challenges and opportunities facing research universities in an increasingly global context with the presidents of Chile’s leading universities.

“Given the influence that Chile and Brazil have had in the economic and political arena in the past decade, I think it is very important that Harvard is taking an interest in this region,” said Giselle M. Huerta ’12, who grew up in Chile.

Jorge I. Dominguez, vice provost for international affairs, discussed the benefits of international partnerships in the sciences and advocated for strengthened relations between the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Medical School with foundations and government in Chile.

Garcia said she would like to see more partnerships between Harvard and universities in Chile. Harvard could bring a multi-disciplinary and liberal arts approach and fresh perspective to Chile’s more specialized educational system, she said.

On Tuesday, Faust participated in a symposium with government leaders, representatives from NGOs, and Harvard faculty on the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Chile in February of 2010.

“I feel fortunate to be here today to help introduce the next stage of what had already been a strong and mutually beneficial partnership between Harvard and Chile,” Faust said at the symposium, according to the Harvard Gazette.

Ellwood also attended the symposium and spoke abut the need for disaster preparation and partnership in recovery.

“If you see a problem and want to make a difference before and after, you have to make it vivid,” Ellwood said.

Faust also attended a ceremony on Monday honoring the partnership between Harvard, the Municipality of Estación Central in Santiago, a number of universities, the Fundación Oportunidad, and the ministries of education, health and planning.

The ceremony took place in a kindergarten classroom of the Estación Central School, which was repainted in honor of Faust’s visit.

Faust was welcomed by the mayor of Estación Central, who discussed the importance of Un Buen Comienzo—a childhood education program modeled on Head Start.

Faculty at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Harvard Medical School are currently working with the Chilean UBS team to evaluate lesson plans and teaching.

Garcia said that if she were in Chile, she would show President Faust the coast to explore the heritage and local food.

“She would have to have a marisco empanada,” Garcia said of the famed seafood dish.

—Staff writer Zoe A. Y. Weinberg can be reached at zoe.weinberg@college.harvard.edu.

CORRECTION: MAR. 28, 2011

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction.

The Mar. 24 article "Faust Visits Chile, Brazil" incorrectly stated that University President Drew G. Faust was the first Harvard president to visit the African continent. In fact, former University President Derek C. Bok first visited Africa on a trip in 1975.