Welcome message by the president of the Board of Directors of the ICDA [ see video ]
As President of the Board of Directors of the Instituto Cultural Domínico-Americano, I am happy to welcome you to the Website of our educational institution.
From Right to Left Earl threan, Elizabeth de Windt, José del Carmen Ariza,
S.S Houston, Engracia Franjul de Abate,Arthure Valdez,Donald Reid Cabral,
Julio de Windt, Manuel Berges Chupani y Ernesto Betancourt
The
Instituto Cultural Domínico-Americano, ICDA, a non-profit
educational and cultural institution, founded in 1947 by
a group of Dominicans and of North American residents of
this country, with the basic purpose of making closer the
relationships of friendship and culture between the peoples
of the Dominican Republic and of the United States of America,
of fostering intellectual understanding through vast programs
of cultural promotion, has dedicated its fifty-five years
to teaching in general, and more especially the teaching
of English as a foreign language and of Spanish as a second
language.
The
Board of Directors has eighteen members, of whom sixteen
are active and three honorary. Among these members are their
Excellencies: Drs. Milagros Ortiz Bosch,
Vice President of the Dominican Republic and Secretary of
Education; Francisco Guerrero Prats, Secretary of
Foreign Affairs, and Hans H. Hertell, Ambassador
of the United States of America.
Lic.
Elizabeth de Windt, holds the
positions of Executive Director and Chancellor of the Universidad
Domínico-Americana.
The
members of the ICDA are important personalities in the economic,
political, educational, and social sectors of this country.
During
its fifty-five years, the ICDA has managed to attain a great
degree of expansion and institutional development in order
to serve the Dominican community by carrying out different
educational programs and cultural activities, through which
it is able to meet its goals.
Our most important achievement of the past years has been
the foundation and opening of the Universidad Domínico-Americana,
UNICDA, recognized by decree no. 389-01 of the Executive
Branch. UNICDA was born through the reclassification of
the Escuela Técnica Superior, ETS, which since 1989
formed professionals at the level of an Associate’s
degree in different disciplines that are now offered at
a Bachelor’s level: Systems Engineering, Business
Administration, Tourism and Hotel Administration, Marketing,
Graphic Design, Advertising, and Education, with a minor
in one of the following: elementary school, pre-school,
English, and Fine Arts.
Another
important achievement that we must mention here is the recent
accreditation of the Colegio Domínico-Americano by
SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
The
recently-founded Centro de Alta Gerencia (Management Center – CG) continues yielding fruit through the development
of special programs in administration and management, dedicated
to the training of the personnel in key managerial positions
and their lieutenants in the sector of national enterprises.
The Language School, (Escuela de Idiomas – EI) has
at present some 15,000 students at its main campus and its
extensions in San Cristóbal, Ensanche Ozama, and
Ensanche Evaristo Morales. Within it, besides out English
as a Foreign Language programs, the Spanish as a Second
Language program is growing day by day.
The
ICDA, through the Educational Counseling Office, known as
ECO because of its initials in English, gives advice to
persons who are interested in studying at U.S. universities.
They also administer the necessary exams to enter these
universities and other academic institutions.
Members Of The Board of Directors ICDA, with their Husbands and Wives
The Cultural Department, which, together with the Language Schools, makes up the original nucleus of the Domínico, continues serving the Dominican community by carrying out an intense program of expositions, concerts, and the presentation of plays and by giving series of courses and seminars to bring one up to date in several aspects of culture and the arts. It has a modern auditorium that can hold three hundred persons and which sponsors a Workshop Theater, the Domínico-Americano Chorale, and the “Julio Alberto Hernández” All-Male Choir.
True to is commitment to the community, the ICDA, as an institution of public services, has a vast program of scholarships meant for low-income honor students. Within this program, we offer both full and partial scholarships to study at UNICDA and at the Language School.
The Board of Directors, the managerial personnel, as well as the academic and administrative personnel of the ICDA and I myself thank you again for visiting our website, from where we shall be offering our educational services and quality to the Dominican community, the American community, and the whole world, through his new virtual dimension which puts at the services of mankind modern-day science and technology for a better development and understanding among men.
Ing. José del Carmen Ariza
President of the Board of Directors of the
Instituto CulturalDomínico-Americano, Inc.
