Dominican Republic and Barry team together offering leadership opportunities

Dominican Republic and Barry University team together to offer Dominican students leadership opportunities

Miami Shores, Fla. – In an effort to form cooperative partnerships with universities across the globe, Dominican Republic’s Secretary of State for Youth is teaming up with Barry University’s Andreas School of Business and their Institute for Community and Economic Development (BICED) to bring young Dominican students to campus. The students will take part in an intensive leadership development program focusing on communication skills, team building, strategic planning and other leadership topics.

During fall semester, the Honorable Franklin Rodriguez, Dominican Republic’s Secretary of State for Youth, met with Barry University President Sister Linda Bevilacqua OP, PhD, Susan Kaye from the School of Adult and Continuing Education, Dr. Tomislav Mandakovic and Dr. Manuel Tejeda, dean and associate dean of the Andreas School of Business, respectively, to formally enter into an agreement bringing Dominican students to Barry’s campus. Rodriguez was joined by other representatives from the Dominican Republic, including Education Undersecretary Luis Diaz, Communication Undersecretary Jose Felice, Secretary’s Chief of Staff Cristian Beltré and JPLD Representative Andy Andujar.

By partnering with Barry University and other academic institutions that share its mission, Secretary Rodriguez is hoping to create an opportunity for young Dominicans to participate in rewarding, character-building academic programs that will have practical application when they return to the Dominican Republic.

“This is an example of Barry’s commitment to adding value to education for the young people not only in South Florida but all neighboring regions that have a stake hold in South Florida,” said Dr. Mandakovic.

Barry’s school of business will provide the curriculum and faculty for the program, scheduled to begin in the spring of 2010. Leadership training will consist of modules covering topics such as conflict resolution, supervisory skills, motivating and coaching, time management, valuing diversity, change management, negotiations, strategic planning and human resources.

All workshops will be facilitated by Barry faculty, including Fulbright scholars, journal editors, government advisors and consultants in the Andreas School of Business, which is accredited by AACSB-International. Sessions will be highly interactive, as participants will engage in experiential activities to put learned skills into practice. Program participants will also be introduced to topics such as effective leadership, management strategies, negotiations, and group organizing. Participants will have an opportunity to practice their skills as well as interact with local community members, organizations and local elected officials.

The Secretary of State for Youth in the Dominican Republic is responsible for developing, coordinating and executing the Dominican Republic’s policy on all youth-related matters and strives to “facilitate the integrated development of all Dominican youth between the ages of 15 and 35 through the effective implementation of youth policies guided by a focus on human rights.” The governmental body is hoping to accomplish this mission by establishing strategic partnerships with government agencies, non-governmental organizations and institutes of higher learning like Barry, which is committed to serving students primarily from South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean through collaborative and mutually productive partnerships.