March 4, 2016
Meet Leslie A. Bassett, U.S. ambassador to Paraguay, March 9
The Office of International Programs welcomes Leslie A. Bassett, the U.S. ambassador to Paraguay, to K-State's Manhattan campus on Wednesday, March 9.
Learn more about the strong relationship between the country of Paraguay and the state of Kansas during two meeting sessions with Bassett:
10-11:30 a.m. in the K-State Alumni Center's Tadtman Boardroom: The current state of U.S.-Paraguay relations and an informal discussion on diplomatic career opportunities.
2:15-3:15 p.m. in the K-State Alumni Center's Purple Pride Room: K-State faculty on campus with Paraguay past, present and future collaborations and interests.
Bassett arrived in Asuncion to assume her duties as ambassador in January 2015. Previously, she served as the deputy chief of mission for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. She is a career member of the State Department's Senior Foreign Service.
Bassett also has served as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassies in Manila, Philippines; Mexico City, Mexico; and Gaborone, Botswana. Bassett's career also includes service in Colombia, Israel, South Africa, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
The ambassador works closely with Comite Paraguay Kansas, CPK, the private nonprofit organization founded in 1968 to establish linkages between individuals and organizations from Paraguay and the state of Kansas. They recruit Paraguayan students to attend Kansas colleges and universities, as well as promoting volunteer opportunities for in-country development projects and programs. CPK is part of the international network based in Washington, D.C., called Partners of the Americas whose objective is to promote friendship, communication and understanding between Latin America and the Caribbean and the USA.
K-State's Paraguayan student population rose from 12 students in fall 2010 to 65 in fall 2015. Comite Paraguay Kansas was recognized with the 2015 Innovative Educator of the Year Award presented by the Office of International Programs during International Education Week in November 2015.