Our Partnership with Iceland

By John R. Finnegan, Jr.
Dean and Professor
June 4, 2007

Two weeks ago, I was part of a delegation to renew the University of Minnesota's 25 year-old cooperative agreement with the University of Iceland. President Bob Bruininks led the group to Iceland with AHC Senior Vice President, Frank Cerra, and School of Nursing Dean, Connie Delaney. The University also awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree to Iceland Prime Minister Geir Haarde, a Minnesota alumnus who took a master's degree in economics in the late 1970s.

With a population of about 300,000 on an island the size of Ohio, Iceland has a robust economy, culture and influence on the world that reaches far beyond a small place. You may recall that Iceland played host to President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President Gorbachev when they decided to thaw the Cold War in the mid-1980s. If Iceland's current President, Olafur Grimson, has his way, an abandoned U.S. military base near Reykjavik may in the future be the site of an international center hosting students and scholars from around the world.

In addition, the University of Iceland sees its own future as importantly linked to health sciences research and education. It has made important investments in health informatics, for example, and seeks to develop public health research and training. To accomplish its goals, the University of Iceland regards collaborative relationships such as its agreement with Minnesota as key. We expect that this agreement will provide our faculty and students with additional opportunities in research and education in a global setting.

View photos of our visit

Related news stories

Embassy of the United States in Iceland

Iceland Review Online