BIDDEFORD — On Jan. 10, 23 students from the University of New England acted as amateur ambassadors from the U.S. to the country of Morocco.

The students were the first to attend classes at the University of New England’s new Moroccan campus, located in Tangier, within easy access to the downtown, the main beaches and the major cultural activities the city has to offer.

While students have been in the area studying and exploring for several months, on Tuesday, the official dedication of the Tangier campus took place. It occurred less than two years after entering into a formal agreement with the American School of Tangier to become the only American school of higher education in Morocco.

Those attending the dedication included UNE President Dr. Danielle Ripich and several other university representatives, as well as dignitaries and officials from Morocco, Maine Gov. Paul LePage, and the U.S. Ambassador to Morocco Dwight L. Bush Sr.

While in Tangier, students have taken language and cultural enrichment courses along with laboratory classes. Faculty members include UNE and Moroccan scholars who teach physics and chemistry, as well as basic Arabic and courses about Moroccan history and society.

Students have also immersed themselves in the culture and have gone exploring through trips to European and Moroccan cities like Budapest, Amsterdam, Rome, Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Casablanca, Fez and Marrakesh.

Students attending the Tangier campus pay the same rate of tuition and room and board as students attending school on the Maine campuses in Biddeford and Portland, and they also retain their scholarships.

Students are required to arrange for their own airfare, but the inaugural students received Global Education scholarships funded by donor Josephine “Dodie” Detmer, which paid for their round-trip airfare to the new campus.

According to the university website, the goal of UNE Tangier is to “be a monument, however modest, to our strong belief that education and culture can and should play a major role in improving international relations and creating a better world for all.”

The new campus is “reflective of UNE’s commitment to advance the internationalization of higher education, create truly global citizens, and open new windows of opportunity not only for UNE students, but also the entire State of Maine,” said Ripich in a statement from the university.

“The campus here in Tangier not only provides a great experience for students from our great state and throughout the country,” said LePage, “but it’s going to give them more than academics.”

They’ll be able to learn about another culture and also be part of the global market, he said.

And when they return home, LePage told the students, “You’re going to bring back a culture that is rich. ”¦ You’re going to help us introduce global education to all the kids in Maine.”

In addition to visiting UNE’s new campus, LePage said he made the trip to northern Africa because he hopes to expand relations between Maine and Tangier, and all of Morocco.

“As one of the most important free trade zones in the world, Morocco has aggressively developed its infrastructure to become a gateway to North Africa and the European Union,” said LePage. “There are excellent opportunities for Maine companies to expand foreign investment in our state. To keep creating jobs here at home, we are doing everything we can to reach new customers for Maine-made products abroad.”

“Tangier has instituted numerous infrastructure and economic improvements in recent years,” said UNE Vice President of Global Affairs Dr. Anouar Majid, who also attended the dedication. “Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has just launched major economic and social projects to transform the historic city into the most dynamic metropolis in the southern shore of the Mediterranean within five years.

“UNE couldn’t have chosen a better location to build its first campus overseas.”

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or [email protected].