| Year |
Program Development |
Participant Development |
Administrative Development |
| 1991 |
Worcester Institute for Students of Europe (WISE) founded by Dr. Hanson. |
First students arrive from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. |
Students lived at 33 Institute Road in Worcester, the home of Dr. Hanson, President and Executive Director. Mary G. Laband, M.B.A, was hired as Administrative Director. |
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| 1992 |
WISE begins offering summer exchange programs for American medical students. First European Meeting held in Bratislava, Slovakia |
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| 1993 |
Second European Meeting held in Prague, Czech Republic. |
Program expands to students in Poland. |
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| 1994 |
Third European Meeting held in Olomouc, Czech Republic. |
Program expands to students in Yugoslavia and Slovenia. Program initiates an exchange with the Worcester Art Museum for a student from Pushkin, Russia. |
WISE program began housing participant and extensively renovating a house on 157-159 Highland Street in Worcester. |
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| 1995 |
Program name legally changed to Worcester Institute for Student Exchange (WISE). Fourth European Meeting held in Budapest, Hungary. |
Program expands to students in Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Albania and Israel. |
Eric Ranvig was hired as Assistant Director to oversee renovations and program development. Constance Whitehead Hanks, with her background in international student affairs at Clark University, was hired consultant for student concerns. |
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| 1996 |
Fifth European Meeting held in Bratislava, Slovakia. |
Program initiates a music exchange involving classical musicians from Bratislava and a jazz guitarist from Jamaica. |
Dr. Hanson, and with him the WISE psychiatry-track participants, began work in Bangor, Maine. |
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| 1997 |
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Program expands to house up to two psychiatry-track students in Bangor, Maine. Arrival of research-track students regularizes to two new students every two months. |
Barbara Guidotti hired as Administrative Assistant to the WISE program in Bangor, Maine. |
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| 1998 |
Sixth European Meeting held in Zakopane, Poland. |
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Mary Laband moves with her family to Tennessee, and David DeSmith replaces her as Administrative Director. |
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| 1999 |
Program begins to use the title Worcester Institute Supporting Exchange of culture and science (WISE). Legal name remains Worcester Institute for Student Exchange (WISE). |
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Dr. Robert Humphreys left his position as a student advisor at UMass to focus on his biotechnology company. David DeSmith moves to become the priest for an Episcopalian parish in Western Massachusetts, and Eric Ranvig replaces him as Administrative Director; Robert (Bobby) Laferriere is hired as Assistant Director of Administration in Worcester. |
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| 2000 |
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Some WISE Psychiatry-track participants begin to be housed in Acton, MA. |
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| 2001 |
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Program expands to students in the Ukraine. |
Keith Reed is hired to oversee renovations in Worcester |
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| 2002
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Sarah Shapiro, an undergraduate at Harvard and a summer intern with WISE facilitated and edited the Twelve Year Report and establish an Alumni Database to be available to incoming students searching for a position and for advice from previous participants.
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| 2003 |
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Michal Cerny, WISE participant, researched data on previous WISE participants, whose profiles are included in this book. Jeremy Jamieson, a Colby College undergraduate, and summer intern with WISE finalized the report and assisted with editing and publication. |
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| 2005 |
The WISE program of medical student exchange continue and a music student exchange is initiated with the conservatory in Bydgosz,Poland. In autumn WISE celebrates it fifteenth year in a meeting in Hungary. A morning of medical updates is presented. Music students from Poland and Slovakia attend the meeting and perform.
Longtime WISE bookkeeper Bobby Laferriere resigned, moving to Maryland to assist aging parents. |
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| 2006 |
The WISE program of medical sudent exchange continues. The WISE office moved to Acton, and the WISE property in Worcester was sold, making possible the purchase of two condominia in Budapest. The WISE private foundation in Hungary was established and a program in art was developed in addition to continuation of the medical student program in Hungary. A fellowship in history of science and medicine was provided to Rainer Broemer, Visiting Scholar at Harvard, who also helped document the history of the WISE Foundation. |
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| 2007 |
The medical student exchange program continues. Zoltan Bokanyi joins Keeler Ranvig in administration of the WISE foundation in Hungary and in management of the WISE property in Budapest. American medical students in exchange program reside for the first time in WISE apartments in Budapest. The WISE program in the USA expands by hosting economics students from Omsk, Russia. European meeting of WISE is held in Moravia, with musicians from Poland and a program of medical updates. |
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| 2008 |
Medical student exchange program continues. WISE in collaboration with the Boston Ballet invites students from the Kirov School in St. Petersburg for exchange student program. |
