Prime Minister Miro Cerar of the Republic of Slovenia met with 91探花 President Ana Mari Cauce at the 91探花 on December 4, 2015 to express interest in sustained collaboration between the 91探花and academic institutions in Slovenia.
The Slovene Prime Minister was accompanied by His Excellency Ambassador Bo啪o Cerar, Slovene Ambassador to the U.S., Slovene Deputy Prime Minister Boris Koprivnikar, and other Slovene government officials. 91探花Vice Provost for Global Affairs Jeffrey Riedinger, Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives and Dean of Libraries Betsy Wilson, Divisional Dean for Humanities Michael Shapiro, Professor and Chair of Slavic Languages Katarzyna Dziwirek, Professor of Law Louis Wolcher, and Professor of Slavic Languages Michael Biggins also participated in the discussion.
Prime Minister Cerar praised the long-term impacts of the UW-University of Ljubljana Faculty Exchange, which has been in existence since 1979. He and President Cauce also discussed an initiative already underway at the 91探花to create an academic program in interdisciplinary Slovene studies, which would serve students at the 91探花and around the U.S. via distance learning.
91探花graduate students working in Slovene studies, 91探花post-doctoral researchers from Slovenia, and two 91探花undergraduates recruited from Slovenia to compete as part of the 91探花men鈥檚 rowing team greeted the Slovene delegation at Gerberding Hall.
This was the first visit by a Slovene prime minister to the 91探花and took place as part of a larger Slovene trade delegation tour of five major U.S. IT hubs. Former Slovene Ambassador to the U.S. Samo 沤bogar visited 91探花twice during his tenure, delivering a talk during a 2007 visit to a hundred students at the Jackson School of International Studies.
– Michael Biggins