With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, NYU President John Sexton and President Esperanza Aguirre of the Madrid Regional government today agreed to begin a study of ways to expand NYU’s academic program in Madrid. The Government of Madrid has identified an exceptional property where such an expanded program might be located – el Palacio del Marqués de Salamanca de la Finca de Vista Alegre – where the Memorandum of Understanding was signed.

NYU and Government of Madrid agree to Explore Expansion of NYU Academic Program in Madrid
NYU President John Sexton and President Esperanza Aguirre of the Madrid Regional government sign agreement April 29, 2011

With the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, NYU President John Sexton and President Esperanza Aguirre of the Madrid Regional government today agreed to begin a study of ways to expand NYU’s academic program in Madrid.  The Government of Madrid has identified an exceptional property where such an expanded program might be located –  el Palacio del Marqués de Salamanca de la Finca de Vista Alegre – where the Memorandum of Understanding was signed.

Madrid is home to NYU’s longest-standing study away site.  NYU in Madrid, now based in the north of the city, was established in 1958 and NYU has long enjoyed a particularly close relationship with the region of Madrid and with Spain.  An expansion of the current program would cement these long ties and would make the Madrid site a central hub in NYU’s emerging global network.    

With its global network, NYU is building an organic integrated system that allows faculty and students to pursue their scholarly interests in multiple locations or in multiple combinations of them.  In addition to degree-granting campuses now in operation or under consideration in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai, the network includes a dozen other global academic sites on six continents, including new sites under development in Washington, DC, and Sydney, Australia.   

NYU’s global network was recently recognized with the Sen. Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization by NAFSA: Association of International Educators.  A full explanation of the global network university idea can be found online: (http://www.nyu.edu/about/leadership-university-administration/office-of-the-president/redirect/speeches-statements/global-network-university-reflection.html )

John Sexton said, “There is a compelling symmetry.  Here in the city where NYU took its first steps in providing global educational opportunities over half a century ago at the dawn of the study abroad movement, we now return with a new architecture for the modern university –  the global network university – and a mutual desire to create an important hub in the NYU network here.  We are thrilled to have found partners who share our vision and outlook, and with whom we have shared so much of our history.”

Esperanza Aguirre, President of Madrid’s Regional Government, underlined that, “This project will further strengthen the excellence of university education in Madrid and will contribute to the internationalization of our region, especially our educational system. The community will benefit from a constant exchange of ideas and knowledge with students and faculty from around the world, creating new opportunities, enriching from each other´s differences, and developing what we believe will be crucial in the years to come: a better understanding and knowledge of what is happening in other parts of the world.”

As is the case with all the other sites abroad, the site would be financially self-sustaining and discretion for all academic matters – including the development of curriculum, the recruitment of faculty, and the selection of students – would rest with NYU, while Madrid would provide its significant expertise in higher education, bilingual education, and internationalization at the university level.              

As a consequence of today’s agreement, NYU and the Government of Madrid will continue to carry on discussions about their ongoing partnership and hope over the course of the coming several months to move towards a final agreement that would lead to the establishment of a significantly expanded NYU presence in Madrid.


NYU President John Sexton and President Esperanza Aguirre of the Madrid Regional government


NYU President John Sexton and President Esperanza Aguirre of the Madrid Regional government

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