2/2/98
ATHENS, Ohio -- Dutch Ambassador to the United States Joris Michael Vos will visit Ohio University on Wednesday for a series of meetings that highlight the major educational links between the Netherlands and the university.
Ohio University has separate academic arrangements with three Dutch universities, allowing faculty and student exchanges as well as research opportunities. The avionics engineering department works with the University of Delft, sports administration with the University of Groningen and the School of Journalism with the University of Utrecht.
While Vos' visit is not related to these programs specifically, Vice President for University Relations Adrie Nab -- himself a Dutch national -- said it will give Ohio University an opportunity to strengthen ties that make such initiatives possible.
"It brings attention at a very high political level to what Ohio University has been doing in Europe in general and in the Netherlands in particular," Nab said. "It ties in extremely well with our recent initiatives to position Ohio University in the European market as a major institution of higher education in the United States."
At Alden Library, Nab and Dean of Libraries Hwa-Wei Lee will show Vos extensive archives of the Cornelius Ryan Collection of World War II Papers on the daring but failed attempt in September 1944 to end the war in Europe early though an airborne invasion of Holland. Nab is a survivor of Operation Market Garden, which was described in Ryan's enormously successful book, "A Bridge Too Far."
Ohio University exhibited a portion of the Ryan Collection at three locations in the Netherlands in 1994 to mark the 50th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. It was exhibited in Dublin, Ireland, in 1995, in Washington, D.C., in 1996 and in London in 1997. The university is negotiating to exhibit a portion of the collection dealing with Ryan's book "The Last Battle," about the Battle of Berlin, in Bonn, Germany, this summer.
Vos became the Netherlands' ambassador to the United States in October 1997 after a 30-year diplomatic career that included assignments on four continents. His most recent assignment before being named to his current post was as undersecretary for political affairs from 1993 to 1997. He also has served as Netherlands' ambassador to Australia, the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation.
While on campus Wednesday, Vos also will tour the Avionics Engineering Center, the Kennedy Museum of American Art and the Edison Biotechnology Institute.