NEW ORLEANS – The support of the Deutsches Haus helped send three students from the University of New Orleans to Innsbruck, Austria, for the 2015-16 Academic Year Abroad program, and leaders of the Haus want to expand the program.
Dr. Irene Ziegler, program director of the Innsbruck Academic Year Abroad Program, recently sent Deutsches Haus President Keith Oldendorf three letters of thanks from the students, whose acceptance of the Deutsches Haus Award made their journey possible. "The generosity of the Deutsches Haus and the creation of the Deutsches Haus Award has supported and improved our students' study abroad experience in Innsbruck, Austria and for that we are very grateful," Ziegler said.
Innsbruck is in the Tirol state of Austria, where German is the official language. The UNO-Innsbruck Academic Year Abroad program, led by New Orleans native and resident director Dr. Margaret Davidson, enrolls students for one semester or an entire academic year, and was founded in 1998. UNO has a long-standing and very active partnership with the University of Innsbruck.
"We're very excited to receive acknowledgements such as these, and to see the impact of our efforts to preserve and promote German heritage here in the greater New Orleans area," Oldendorf said. "Our hope is that in coming years, we might be able to expand our contributions to the program and contribute to even more students' academic success."
The mission of the Deutsches Haus is to preserve and foster Germanic heritage and culture throughout the Gulf South.