April and May

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved a plan to launch a Global Gateway office in São Paulo, Brazil. Ohio State opened its first two Gateways in Shanghai, China in February 2010, and Mumbai, India in March 2012.

Luke Barbara, an Ohio State alumnus, was named director of the Brazil Gateway.

By having an institutional presence in three strategic regions, Ohio State opened the door to creating new partnerships and making lasting connections to benefit students, faculty, staff and alumni.

“We are extremely pleased to receive support from the Board of Trustees and university leadership to open the Brazil Gateway. Ohio State’s presence in one of the key markets in the world will certainly bring new opportunities for teaching and research collaborations, renew and enhance our friendship with a growing alumni base and contribute to Ohio’s economy through partnerships with businesses operating globally.”
– William Brustein, vice provost for global strategies and international affairs

September 13

Ribbon cutting ceremony officially opens the Brazil Gateway on September 13. Attending the event from Ohio State were Joseph E. Steinmetz, executive vice president and provost; William Brustein, vice provost for global strategies and international affairs; Bruce McPheron, vice president and dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; Patrick S. Osmer, vice provost for Graduate Studies and dean of the Graduate School; Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research; Christopher Hadad, dean of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; David B. Williams, dean of the College of Engineering; Luke Barbara, director of the Brazil Gateway; Keira Williams, program coordinator, Global Gateways.

Mayor Michael B. Coleman and Barbara Pratzner, executive director, Sister Cities International, also participated in the event.

“The Brazil Gateway will allow us to form new academic and business partnerships, attract talented new students, promote scholarship on global issues, engage with our alumni and offer exciting opportunities for our students and faculty to collaborate with colleagues throughout Brazil. It will be an embassy for the University in Brazil – a critical hub for Ohio State in the 21st century.”
– Joseph E. Steinmetz, executive vice president and provost

September 16

The Brazil Gateway facilitated the celebration that formalized Columbus’ sister city relationship with Curitiba, which was signed into place by Mayor Michael B. Coleman on September 16, 2014.

March

Hosted Rector Marco Antonio Zago and Vice President Raul Machado Neto of the University of São Paulo on the Ohio State campus to expand research collaborations. Ohio State and the Brazil state of São Paulo signed an agreement in 2013 that created a $1.4 million funding source to support research and innovation. The partnership encouraged researchers at Ohio State and universities in the state of São Paulo to collaborate on studies to help citizens in both countries and people around the world.

March 31

Ohio State hosted FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) Week North America, a two-day symposium that brought together Brazilian and U.S. researchers to conduct academic sessions and inspire future collaborations. Conference themes focused on health and wellness; energy and the environment; and food production and security.

March

Jane K. Aparecido ’15 LLM was named academic relations and alumni community manager for the Brazil Gateway.

September

Ohio State hosted President Maria Lúcia Cavalli Neder, University Federal Mato Grasso, to further collaborations with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Future plans included recruiting interns for International Programs in Agriculture and developing projects focusing on soil carbon sequestration. 

The Brazil Gateway served as the in-country liaison to support faculty and the hundreds of Ohio State students who have studied abroad in Brazil. 

The Gateway team has welcomed students from the Department of Design, Fisher College of Business, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and College of Education and Human Ecology, among others. 

June

Ohio State hosted the third annual Brazilian Graduate and Scholar Conference (BRASCON), welcoming over 60 Brazilian researchers to campus. Previous hosts of the conference were Harvard (2016) and University of Southern California (2017). Opening remarks were delivered by Gifty Ako-Adounvo, assistant vice provost for global strategies and international affairs at Ohio State. Ako-Adounvo emphasized Ohio State's internationalization efforts and highlighted the importance of the Global Gateways, including the Brazil Gateway, whose team helped bring BRASCON to Ohio State.

"I met amazing people! In particular, two great women scientists inspired me with the impact they are having in the world: Joana Felix and Duilia de Mello. It's incredible to see resilient, passionate and determined women doing what I want to do when I am a professor! Thank you BRASCON for the opportunity to work with you all! " - Paula Dalcin Martins, Ohio State alumna and president of the Brazilian Students Association.

September

President Michael V. Drake traveled to Brazil to celebrate the 55+ year partnership with University of São Paulo-ESALQ, the Brazilian global leader in agricultural academic research. The successful partnership includes an education abroad program with Ohio state’s Alpha Zeta Partners and a Tripartite Institute dual degree program in Translational Plant Science with Ohio State, University of São Paulo and Rutgers University. 

President Drake and the Ohio State delegation also met with representatives from FAPESP, a global research foundation, which funded close to 20 Ohio State research projects as well as GRAACC Cancer Research Hospital and Research Institute, which partnered with the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center to coordinate the Latin America Pediatric Oncology symposium.

February

Jane K. Aparecido was named second director of the Brazil Gateway.

January

Over 70 alumni and friends joined together in São Paulo to celebrate Ohio State’s sesquicentennial and 55 years of collaborations with the University of São Paulo. A photo exhibit illustrated Ohio State’s engagement in Brazil through 25 images depicting the first recorded Brazilian student, Isaac Abramson in 1946 to Ohio State’s first delegation visit to USP School of Agriculture (ESALQ) in 1964 to recent activities involving students, visiting scholars and faculty.

A delegation from Ohio State that included Provost Bruce McPheron and other senior leaders attending, highlighting the importance of recognizing long-lasting partnerships and building strong connections with Ohio State alumni.

June

The first of four CAPES PrInt workshops took place featuring research partnerships between Brazilian universities and Ohio State. CAPES PrInt awarded $60 million in funding for various projects.

September

The Ohio State Alumni Club of Brazil launched in São Paulo. Roberto Abramson, ’77 MBA, CEO of Abramson Strategics, served as the club’s inaugural president.

November

The Brazil Gateway helped facilitate the partnership that resulted in the first Digital Pathology Conference of the Americas, co-hosted by The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute and the Barretos Cancer Hospital (Hospital de Amor), São Paulo, Brazil.

February

The Brazil Gateway hosted a series of virtual events, such as Studying and Researching During COVID-19 and its summer webinar series, which focused on diverse topics relating to higher education, Brazil and the United States.

September

The first Amazon Journey: Creating an Arc of Regeneration at Ohio State was held virtually. This signature Brazil Gateway event, coordinated in partnership with Meli Bees, helped jumpstart dialogue to strengthen the international network to support sociobiodiversity in the Amazonian region.

March

Three Ohio State faculty members were appointed to serve as academic directors for the Global Gateways, Ohio State’s liaison offices in China, India and Brazil. In addition to their faculty appointments, they serve as part-time senior advisors for the Global Gateways and connect with Ohio State’s 15 colleges and regional campuses to identify new partnership opportunities abroad.

Roger Williams, associate professor of forest ecosystem analysis and management in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, is the academic director for the China Gateway; Jay Anand, William H. Davis Chair and Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Strategy at the Fisher College of Business, is the academic director for the India Gateway; and Fabio Leite, associate professor of psychology at Ohio State Lima, is the academic director for the Brazil Gateway.

May

The Ohio State University Alumni Magazine featured alumni from Brazil sharing travel tips on visiting the world’s fifth largest country; a sidebar story highlighted the value of the Brazil Gateway, serving as Ohio State’s mini embassy in São Paulo to drive student recruitment and facilitate education abroad programs, develop and sustain corporate partnerships, advance research collaborations and support and engage alumni.

December

The Brazil Gateway Forum on Climate Change explored agriculture and sustainability with a keynote address delivered by Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor in the School of Environment and Natural Resources. Experts in the field conducted panel discussions to share their research, challenges, opportunities and solutions to improve social, economic and environmental conditions for a better world.

This forum was sponsored by The Ohio Program and Center for Latin American Studies in collaboration with the Sustainability Institute and the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

January

The Office of International Affairs awarded $150,000 to six faculty members to support their research in the Global Gateway regions. Faculty receiving grants for projects related to Brazil included Alison Crocetta, Department of Art; Barbara Piperata, Department of Anthropology; and Lorrayne Miralha, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

May

The IV CAPES PrInt Workshop with Brazilian universities was hosted at The Ohio State University on May 23-24.