Saint Francis officials recently announced that the longtime study-abroad program in Ambialet, France, is no longer available to students.
The University has been informed by the leaseholder of the monastery that it is to vacate the premises after 15 years of sending students to the property in southern France.
The lease with Mato Grasso, owner of the property, included a 60-year agreement. This agreement will not be fulfilled by the University.
“There is a different interpretation of the lease between the two sides,” said Mike McGinnis, SFU’s Vice President for Academic Affairs.
“The priory is a beautiful building and location,” said McGinnis, who visited Ambialet in July. “Seeing the people who dedicated their lives to Saint Francis and the students who visited there is what made this tough.”
According to McGinnis, there is an ongoing lawsuit between Mato Grasso and Saint Francis regarding the lease agreement.
Leona Horner, Director of International Education, said that while Ambialet may no longer be a study-abroad option for SFU students, this does not mean that opportunities to study away from Loretto are going away.
“We are currently looking to replace the Ambialet experience with three to five other semester-long options,” said Horner.
One of these possible new locations is Universite Catholique de Lille, a college which is approximately an hour’s drive from Paris.
“Study-abroad is not dead,” said Horner.
McGinnis said he has recently secured two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) for potential study-abroad locations in France and Ireland. This is the first step in establishing a study-abroad agreement.
Other future study-abroad locations may include Italy, Spain and Greece.
