The International Visitors Bureau (IVB) serves as a liaison between UCLA
faculty/administrators and international academic and professional leaders
by developing appropriate contacts. Through these contacts, IVB provides
opportunities to build intellectual exchanges and strategic international
alliances.
Established in 1966, the UCLA International Visitors Bureau (IVB) is
recognized nationally as one of the oldest and most respected university-sponsored
programs of its kind in the country. It schedules meetings, seminars,
luncheons, and campus tours for more than 800 visitors to the UCLA
campus each year. The IVB provides comprehensive programming for outstanding
leaders in government, politics, education, science, labor relations,
and other fields by incorporating the intellectual, cultural, ethnic,
and linguistic diversity of the UCLA campus.
The staff and volunteers of the IVB coordinate appointments with appropriate
members of the administration and faculty for visitors sponsored by the
International Visitors Program of the United States Department of State,
the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles, other universities,
corporations, foundations, government agencies, and members of the Consular
Corps.
UCLA increases its international visibility through the hospitality that
it extends to international visitors and benefits from the professional
exchanges with many of the world's economic, political, and social leaders.
Since its establishment, the IVB has hosted a wealth of world renowned
dignitaries, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, President
Frederik de Klerk of South Africa, Prime Minister Joseph K. Kolfligoh
of Togo, and President Rafael Callejoas of Honduras.
This form of worldwide outreach, heightened by the development of the
Internet, brings UCLA's affiliation to a global scale.