NYU Stern Faculty Serve as Leaders as NYU Extends its Global Reach

July 25th, 2011 by Admin

(Adapted from the New York Times)

A new partnership between NYU and the University of the People (UOP), an online school offering free classes, marks the University’s continuing commitment to education on a global scale, and honors the inspiration of Stern faculty members who have been committed to this unique institution since its inception 2 years ago.
University of the People, founded in 2009 by Israeli entrepreneur Shai Reshef, offers education in business and computer science using mostly volunteer professors and course materials available free online. While not yet accredited, the school serves English-speaking students from 115 countries, including individuals from war-torn and otherwise impacted regions of the world where education is not likely to be available.
John Sexton, the president of N.Y.U., was recently interviewed in the New York Times about the partnership, which offers students with exceptional promise after at least of year of studies at UOP to apply to NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus and be eligible for financial aid. “Our Mission is spreading our education and knowledge, and if we can find some amazing kids from Sub-Saharan Africa or Haiti though this wonderful vehicle of the University of the People and set an example among elite schools with resources, so much the better. Mr. Sexton said there were no specific promises of slots for UOP students, but he hoped a few might be admitted to N.Y.U.’s Abu Dhabi campus by 2012.
Several faculty members, particularly from The Stern School of Business, have been working with the University of the People on a volunteer basis since the school began. Russell Winer, chairman of the marketing department at N.Y.U.’s Stern School of Business, is chairman of the University of the People business administration department; Alexander Tuzhilin, a professor of information systems at the Stern School, serves as chairman of the University of the People computer science department; and Paul Affuso, an associate dean at the Stern School, is the University of the People’s chief financial officer.
Mr. Sexton said he hoped the collaboration would encourage more NYU faculty and graduate students to work with the online institution.

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