Salzburg Seminar, UD affirm their ties

For more than 60 years, the Salzburg Global Seminar has been hosting weeklong discussions to try to find solutions to global problems, and for half that time, UD faculty and staff have been participating.

In March, on the University campus, Stephen L. Salyer, Salzburg Seminar president and CEO, and UD President Patrick Harker signed an agreement affirming and enhancing that long-term relationship.

“I am pleased to announce that this relationship will continue to flourish through this new century,” Harker said at the signing ceremony. “We hope to establish new collaborative efforts in areas of research, teaching and service, and we plan to work together to find opportunities to support each other’s strategic plans.”

Salyer said he is impressed by UD’s “intellectual capital” and would like to explore more significant ways of collaborating. “We’re hoping by next year we can pick an issue that is of resonance and interest to both institutions and do something here at the University as a partnership activity,” he said

The Salzburg Seminar is a nongovernmental institution that has identified and convened leaders on topics of international interest and concern since 1947.

Founded by three Harvard alumni, it has gained a reputation as a venue where leading thinkers and activists from every continent examine topics of international importance.

UD has participated since 1977, when Arno Loessner, associate professor emeritus of urban affairs and public policy, became the first faculty member to attend the seminar. Today, Loessner coordinates UD’s program that includes Salzburg fellowships for qualified nominees and is administered by the Center for International Studies.

Four faculty members were selected to attend Salzburg Seminars this year. They are Maggie Ussery, assistant professor of Black American Studies; Delphis Levia, assistant professor of geography; Janet Johnson, associate professor of political science and international relations; and Stuart Kaufman, professor of political science and international relations.

Over the years, nearly 60 faculty and professional staff from UD have participated, and many have been invited back as Salzburg faculty to lead discussions.