Since at least 1920, Venezuelan students have been attending the University of Illinois. Early Venezuelan Illini have included agriculturalists, chemists, dancers, electrical engineers, fencers, student leaders, and transfer students too.

Read on to learn about early Venezuelan Illini!

Early Illinois – Venezuela Connections

As early as 1917, Illinois alum Ms. Thekla M. Siebens (A.M. German, 1914), of Minonk, Illinois, might have been the first alumni to work in Venezuela after graduation. From 1917 until 1918, she worked as a Presbyterian missionary in Caracas. [1] Of course, Mr. Virgil D. Winkler (B.A. 1938; M.S. 1939; PhD Geology, 1941), of Mackinaw, Illinois, had a long, distinguished career as a geologist working for the Creole Petroleum Corporation and for the Universidad Central de Venezuela too. [2]

By the 1940s, Illinois faculty and administration were already connected with Venezuela too. In 1940, after being awarded a Guggenheim fellowship, Geography Instructor Raymond E. Crist went to Venezuela to study human geography. [3] Just two years later, in 1942, Botany Professor Harry J. Fuller (Record Series 15/4/25) became involved in a joint USDA and Rubber Reserve Company project involving researching rubber and supervising work rubber plantations in Venezuela too. [4] At about the same time, the University was under negotiations with Venezuelan writer Mr. Mariano Picon-Salas to become a visiting professor in the Department of Spanish and Italian for academic term Spring 1944. [5] And finally in 1954, College of Engineering Dean William L. Everitt (Record Series 11/1/20) even visited Venezuela and Colombia, during a trip to meet with officials at the University of the Andes (which had already sent students to Illinois for further study). [6]

Pierre E. Kiener (A.M. Chemistry 1959; PhD Chemistry, 1961), of Switzerland, came to work in the wood chemistry division of the National Laboratory of Forest Products in Merida, Venezuela, after completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zurich. After a decade of work in Venezuela, Mr. Keiner came to Illinois to complete his graduate studies sponsored in-part by the Creole Foundation of the Creole Petroleum Corporation. At the time of Mr. Kiener’s arrival at Illinois in 1958, there were as many as 63 other students from Venezuela receiving scholarships through this program to study at schools across the U.S. During his first semester of study, Mr. Kerner was invited to speak about the Venezuelan economy at the local Rotary Club. In 1960, the Creole Foundation even sent an additional grant to the University, in recognition of its participation in their international education program.

During the 1960s, multiple Venezuelan cultural exchange opportunities were organized on campus. In 1965, ACCION recruiters came to campus to give information about their community development work in Venezuela. In 1967, a group of Venezuelan students and one professor stopped at the University as part of a national tour to learn about American cultures. On a Tuesday evening in May, a panel discussion was organized to include the Venezuelan guests, University faculty, and members of the Student Project for International Responsibility. As the DI reporter wrote, the conversation included national comparisons of civil rights, racism, and how U.S. Latin American connections could be improved. Of particular interest to the reporter was that from the perspective of the Venezuelan guests, meaningful development between nations was less about financial investment but much more about building human relationships between one another. In 1970, Danzas Venezuelas came and performed a variety of dances found across Latin America.

Students

The first Venezuelan student might have been a Mr. Ernesto Wulff (Engineering, 1920-1921); however, little information about him has been identified beyond his name in a Daily Illini article.

The second Venezuelan student might have been Mr. Luis Garcia (1937-38) who was a transfer student too. During a YMCA-hosted fall welcome reception for foreign students, Mr. Garcia may have been the Venezuelan student quoted for his observation that party’s chocolate drinks had probably used chocolate sourced from Venezuela. For winter 1937, the Daily Illini identified Mr. Garcia among 80 foreign students who were in-town during the holiday break. The off-campus YMCA organized a Christmas party for students and a student reporter interviewed other students to learn about their holiday plans, including Mr. Garcia. During his interview, Mr. Garcia explained that South Americans were more fortunate than North Americans because they received gifts on two winter holidays–Christmas and the Epiphany. While Mr. Garcia’s winter break plans mostly involved studying, like many other students in town, he added that he planned to hike nearby Turkey Run Park often. The following year, Mr. Garcia was interviewed again to describe Christmas holiday practices in Venezuela.

During the late 1950s and through the 1960s, a great wave of Venezuelan students came to the University for study. Francisco A. Bustamante, (B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1958), of Caracas, might have been the first Venezuelan Illini to complete his bachelor’s degree. Jesus A. Zamora, (B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1963) of Caracas, might have been the first of a series of uninterrupted Venezuelan students during the 1960s. While Cesar E. Tinoco, (B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1964), of Caracas, might have been one of the first Venezuelan student leaders. In December 1963, during the campuswide International Week and in coordination with the Colombian student’s upcoming Colombia Night dinner at the YMCA, Mr. Tinoco was the Program Chair for the cultural event “Club Copacabana” at the Illini Union. With other Latin American students, the Illini Union lounge was decorated to resemble a South American night club featuring Latin American students as performers in the club. The goal of the program was for Latin American students to be cultural “hosts” to American students for one night, for the benefit of American students to learn what to expect in a South American trip. (The Club Copacabana was annually organized by Latin American students since at least 1955.)

Rodolfo “Rudy” Bartha Jr., (B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1965), of Caracas, was an engineer and an athlete too. Mr. Bartha Jr. was a member of the Illinois Fencing Team’s saber squad. He was undefeated at the Illinois-Iowa meet (February 1963), he had a difficult game against Notre Dame (February 1963), and by April Coach Mac Garrret was quoted for saying that he saw in Mr. Bartha Jr. “tremendous potential“. This was quite a sophomore year for him. The following year, Mr. Bartha Jr. continued on the team and they won the 1964 Big Ten championship. Mr. Bartha Jr. could dance too. At the 1964 Club Copacabana, Mr. Bartha Jr. danced the Venezuelan Joropo with Mercedes Calle. As the Daily Illini reporter described, the dance “simulated a bull fight, the male representing the bull“. Later students included Carlos Ermoli, (B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1966), Arturo H. Betancourt-Vasquez, (B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1967), and Arturo H. Betancourt-Vasquez.

Organizations

During the 1960s, with the first great increase in Venezuelan Illini enrollment, the Venezuelan Students Club was formed; however, more information has not yet been identified. Enrollment of Venezuelan students had gradually increased during the 1960s and 1970s, before briefly dipping and then increasing during the 1990s up until the present day. The opportunities for reading about future Venezuelan Illini are promising.

Are you a Venezuelan Illini? Do you know someone who is? We’d like to hear from you! Please send us a message or leave a comment below. We want to include you and your story, as we celebrate the first 150 years of the University of Illinois.

Happy First 150 everyone!

References

[1] “Thekla Maria Siebens”, The Semi-Centennial Alumni Record of the University of Illinois, Edited by Franklin W. Scott, page 807.

[2] For a rich biography, please see the Virgil Dean Winkler Papers, Record Series 26/20/142.

[3] Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, April 25, 1940, page 790, Record Series 1/1/802.

[4] Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, December 15, 1942, page 202, Record Series 1/1/802.

[5] Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, October 29, 1943, page 739, Record Series 1/1/802.

[6] Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, September 29, 1954, page 86, Record Series 1/1/802.