The University of Miami’s decision to join the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2004 has proven to be a sound strategic maneuver—for academics as much as athletics. Through the ACC’s International Academic Collaborative, faculty and students from all 12 ACC schools have been participating in research projects, study abroad, conferences, and other experiences enriched through the virtue of teamwork.

“Our diverse group clearly elevated our stature among our hosts,” says Daniel Suman, professor of marine affairs and policy, who traveled last year with two UM colleagues and eight faculty members from other ACC schools to Vietnam and Southwest China. “We were able to meet with officials who probably would not have noticed our visits had we been mere individuals.”

Ralph Mead, UM assistant professor of marine and atmospheric chemistry, and Shouraseni Sen Roy, assistant professor of geography, joined Suman in the ACC delegation, which visited universities and governmental ministries in Vietnam and China to foster collaborations on water resource issues. The delegates, whose expertise ranged from law to hydrology, presented seminars on their research and met with local scientists and water resource managers to discuss methods for maintaining clean water sources.

This summer, UM geography professor Richard Grant will be joining ACC colleagues on a three-week field study in Uganda, Rwanda, and South Africa on the next International Academic Collaborative, Post-Conflict Reconciliation and Reconstruction in Africa.