The UF Paris Research Center is on the move.
The UF College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has managed the Paris center since it opened, but control will officially shift to the UF International Center in July. The program, which began in 2003, will close its operation in Paris in July with plans to later relocate, said David Sammons, dean of the International Center.
Since fall 2006, about 1,400 UF students have attended study abroad programs in France and nearly half of them were involved with the Paris center, Sammons said.
The center is housed at Reid Hall in Paris, owned by Columbia University.
Sammons visited the center in October, when the Columbia University-affiliated landlord told him the college wanted to use the property for its own purposes.
UF’s lease will not be renewed.
The temporary absence of the UF center may require study abroad faculty members to devote more time to logistical concerns such as transportation and housing, Sammons said.
Sammons and other UF employees will reevaluate the center’s uses before re-opening it at a new location.
One of the issues to be discussed is the need for a new director at the center. The current director, Gayle Zachmann, completes her contract this year and will return to work in UF’s French department.
“The challenge is how do we maintain and continue our programs in France in the face of all these changes?” Sammons said.
