European Study Center Thriving

The international search for the new director of the Center for European Studies and Architecture (CESA) located in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, has culminated in the appointment of Dr. Athanasios Moulakis from the University of Colorado. Formerly, he was the head of the department of political and social sciences at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and was a Fulbright professor at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany. A native of Greece, he earned his Ph.D. in history from Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, and speaks German, Italian, French, and English, as well as modern Greek.

Thanks to a highly competent, dedicated staff at CESA and guidance from the main campus, the center never faltered while it was without a director. During the 1999 fall semester, 29 students from the Pamplin College of Business were in residence at the center studying international finance, marketing, and management with three faculty members from the college. Also in the fall, 10 students and two faculty from Stuttgart University joined with 14 Virginia Tech architecture students and one architecture faculty member for a two-week architecture workshop that began at Stuttgart University and concluded at CESA. Later in the semester, 32 students participating in the study abroad program conducted by the College of Architecture and Urban Studies spent time working at the center during their travel.

The spring semester was equally busy with 32 students from the College of Arts and Sciences and 12 students from the College of Architecture and Urban Studies in residence along with four faculty members. With seven different groups each spending one to two weeks at CESA, sometimes concurrently, the summer of 2000 was an exciting time. These groups comprised over 100 students and 13 faculty members from human development, architecture, biology, near environments, horticulture, and communication studies. They were joined by faculty from the University of Tennessee, the University of Vermont, the University of Bonn, the University of Minnesota, and Bemidji University. In addition, for the past several summers, the College of Architecture and Urban Studies has offered a continuing education course on international architecture and design, which this year was attended by 19 design professionals.

Now ensconced in the cultural and civic life of Riva San Vitale, CESA is living up to the promise made to the Swiss officials who approved the university's purchase of the center that Virginia Tech would be a good citizen of the community. For example, the entire town and surrounding communities were invited to a concert given by Quantum Brass of Virginia Tech at the Scuola Media in Riva last October. The town and CESA have co-hosted architectural exhibits and even jointly hosted a reception for the local soccer team. The center is flourishing in its cultural surroundings.