Return to story

UMW eyes classes under the Tuscan sun OVERSEAS LEARNING

April 19, 2008 12:15 am

An Italian bed-and-breakfast with vineyards, olive groves and a swimming pool with a Jacuzzi that overlooks the Tuscan countryside may be the University of Mary Washington's next campus.

UMW's private real-estate foundation hopes to purchase the 15-acre site by the end of the year. The school would send two professors and 25 students each semester.

Acting President Rick Hurley said he'd like to open the facility by the fall of 2009. He said the foundation is negotiating a purchase price, but wouldn't give an estimate.

English department Chairwoman Teresa Kennedy presented UMW's tentative plans for the first time yesterday at a board of visitors meeting.

"The key point is that international education is really coming up on all schools' radar screens," she said in a telephone interview. "We have to go after it."

Kennedy, who speaks Italian, and two administrat- ors visited more than 60 potential sites during two trips to Italy in October and November. They narrowed those down to six properties for Hurley to look at in the first week of January.

The bed-and-breakfast, called Villa Cicolina, was appealing for several reasons, Hurley said, including its Internet access, location and condition.

"Literally all we have to do is move the staff over there and start using it," he said. It would come completely furnished, he said, with a stand-alone kitchen and dining area.

UMW plans to target undergraduates in the departments of Business Administration; English, Linguistics and Communication; and Classics, Philosophy and Religion. Students would take up to five classes during the semester overseas.

Plans also include using the site for a summer creative-writing seminar, educational opportunities for alumni, and conferences, tours and rentals.

The villa, located near the small medieval city of Montepulciano, is just two hours from Rome and 90 minutes from Florence.

Student tuition and fees would cover the costs of operating and maintaining the building, Hurley said. Students who study there would pay more, but the university hasn't determined how much.

"This is supposed to be a totally self-supporting endeavor," he said.

UMW rejected other properties because they were too isolated, needed too much work or didn't have enough classroom space. The villa has eight suites with bathrooms and large sitting rooms and three small apartments for faculty.

The school hopes to share facilities--including libraries and athletic fields--with nearby campuses.

Italy is the most popular destination for U.S. students studying abroad because of its culture and stable environment, according to UMW. Kennedy said the idea is to design courses that would take advantage of the location and fulfill course requirements.

These days, the villa's guests can opt for cookery courses, massages and wine tastings. But UMW students would be there to learn, Kennedy said.

"You're not going over there to have fun," she said. "You're going over there to change how you perceive things."

villacicolina.it

Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402
Email: jbranscome@freelancestar.com