Erasmus+ Partnership Brings Global Perspectives to Gonzaga

The purpose of a Gonzaga University education is to develop the whole person — intellectually, spiritually, culturally, physically, and emotionally. This can clearly be seen in the diverse curriculum that is required by all of its students. From philosophy to fine arts to global studies, students are not educated solely for a career but for a life supporting the common good.

Through study abroad opportunities, Gonzaga is preparing graduates to become thoughtful leaders who contribute to a more just and humane global community. Through these programs, students thoughtfully engage with the world in places across Europe, Africa, Asia, Middle East, Central, South and North America and more.

Through the Erasmus+ Global Mobility Program, the university is furthering international partnerships that benefit not only students, but also faculty and staff. By fostering collaboration with institutions like the West University of Timisoara in Romania, Gonzaga is living out its Mission to educate globally aware leaders. Erasmus+ is a partnership funded by the European Commission and supports student, staff and faculty mobility programs and provides opportunities for study, teaching, research, and professional collaboration abroad.

Ashley Davis, director of International Student and Scholar Services at Gonzaga's Center for Global Engagement, says the program reflects the strength of Gonzaga's international partnerships.

"The European Commission-funded Erasmus+ is a very prestigious program,” Davis says. “I am grateful that Gonzaga students, faculty, and staff can benefit from this wonderful opportunity, made possible through the connections and diligent work of Adrian Popa, interim dean of the School of Leadership Studies, to bring it to fruition.”

For Sherri Lynch, assistant dean of the School of Leadership Studies, this program was a chance to expand her views on leadership. At first, Lynch admitted that she didn’t feel prepared for this experience.

“I didn’t know much about Romania, so I went in pretty blind,” she explains.

So, on her first day there she visited the Memorial of the Revolution (Memorialul Revoluției) in Timisoara to learn as much as she could about the history of her surroundings. The museum features informational exhibits, historical photographs, and a film about the 1989 revolution that toppled the communist regime, restoring personal and political freedoms and fundamental human rights.

While she continued to learn about the history and culture that surrounded her, her idea of leadership expanded.

“Travel exposes us to how much we don't know... it really makes me question my own leadership and how I am seeing and valuing people around me, even when they're not from the same context,” Lynch says.

Those opportunities, she said, are exactly what make international partnerships so valuable. Beyond building relationships with universities abroad, they encourage participants to approach leadership with greater humility, curiosity, and openness. These are experiences that ultimately strengthen Gonzaga's campus community when staff and students return home.

When asked how the Erasmus+ partnership supports Gonzaga's mission, Lynch points to its emphasis on leadership and service.

“I think that it reinforces our desire to help students develop lives of leadership and service, and really how do we learn what service and what common good means unless we're out exploring the world?” she says. “Our world is small now. The bigger that we can make our world and the more we can expose ourselves to a variety of cultures, the more we really can figure out what the common good is and continue to strive for that.”

For Lynch and Davis, the value of Erasmus+ isn't measured simply in miles traveled or places visited, but in the relationships built and perspectives gained. Those experiences continue to shape classrooms, strengthen partnerships, and advance Gonzaga's mission of preparing students to lead and serve in an increasingly interconnected world.