President Christina Paxson signed a memorandum of understanding with administrators from the Universite Paris-Est Creteil (UPEC) on Feb. 12, 2013. The MOU includes faculty and student exchanges and the creation of joint research programs, courses, and seminars. UPEC President Luc Hittinger, Chief of Staff Francoise Travernier, and Vice President of International Relations Isabelle Alfandary traveled to Brown to take part in the signing in President Paxson’s office. The MOU is a formal strengthening of ties between Brown and UPEC, a relationship that began when officials from UPEC first visited Brown in the spring of 2012. In addition to signing the MOU, the UPEC delegation also met with faculty from comparative literature, English, French studies, and German and toured the Alpert Medical School during their visit.