Two great universities – the Sorbonne (Paris – Sorbonne University) and the University of Strasbourg.  Each has a long history and rich traditions.   Visiting each of these recently only reinforced their place in history of higher education, especially French higher education. They have stood the test of time.  And yet over the years, they have changed and there is more change to come.  I learned during the recent visit that the universities in Paris including the University of Pierre and Marie Curie (UPMC) will be engaged in merger and transformation – quite a significant change I imagine.  We will watch with great interest.   

These two universities will play an important role in the visits of the Global Perspectives programs organized for this summer.  In May 2012, the Future Professoriate Global Perspectives program participants will visit the University of Strasbourg as part of our visit to universities of the Upper Rhine and partners of the University of Basel.  While in Strasbourg, we will visit the campus and learn first-hand about the the University, the Doctoral Schools, and the French system of higher education.

 In July 2012, the new global perspectives program designed for graduate deans from U.S. universities will visit the Sorbonne (the UPMC and other universities in Paris) as well as the University of Strasbourg.  It will be quite wonderful to experience the visit with two different groups (graduate deans, graduate students) and to watch as the streets of Paris reveal the universities hidden in plain sight and as the tram meanders the streets of Strasbourg and onto the central campus of the University of Strasbourg.