LSU New Orleans joined the University of Innsbruck in Austria to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the LSU New Orleans-Innsbruck International Summer School, one of the longest-running transatlantic academic partnerships of its kind. The milestone also marked 30 years of the Sister City partnership between New Orleans and Innsbruck.
From June 29 to July 4, 2026, more than 500 people, including student and faculty alumni, dignitaries, community partners, and current students and faculty, took part in a weeklong series of events honoring the roughly 14,000 students and faculty who have participated in LSU New Orleans-Innsbruck programs over the past five decades.
“This special week served to remind us that academic and civic partnerships are built over the years by individuals who are committed to educational and cultural exchange and understanding,” noted Dr. Nick Mueller.
A Milestone Rooted in Decades of Partnership
The celebration was made possible with funding support from the Lt. Governor’s Office, the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development, New Orleans & Company, and Ochsner Health. Roy Baas, a former LSU New Orleans-Innsbruck faculty member, sponsored the 50th anniversary website, and the New Orleans Jazz Museum facilitated the collaboration with musician James Andrews. Additional support came from the LSU New Orleans Research and Technology Foundation and the University of Innsbruck Foundation. Former UNO Chancellor Dr. Tim Ryan and his wife, Louise Schreiner, also made a generous gift to fund six LSU New Orleans-Innsbruck scholarships in honor of the anniversary.
Symposium Opens the Celebration
The week opened June 29-30 with a Symposium on International Perspectives and Partnerships in Cultural Tourism, held at Kaiser Leopold Hall. Roughly 100 attendees heard welcoming remarks from Innsbruck Vice Mayor Georg Willi and University of Innsbruck Vice Rector J. Rupnow, followed by keynote addresses from Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser, himself a 1985 UNO-Innsbruck alumnus, along with Joe Pine, co-founder of Strategic Horizons and best-selling author of The Transformation Economy, and Mark Romig, Senior Advisor at New Orleans & Company. Sessions over the two days examined trends in cultural tourism, including sustainability, sports, mobility, and international education partnerships.
Alumni Return to Innsbruck from Around the World
An alumni reunion and transatlantic partnership celebration ran from June 30 to July 4, drawing roughly 50 U.S. alumni, former faculty, and their families from ten U.S. states as well as Italy, Austria, and Finland —representing the full fifty-year span of the program’s history.
Highlights of the reunion included:
• A welcome reception at the Haus der Musik, where alumni shared their personal connections
• A nostalgic campus tour and an open-mic testimonial session, “Memories and Meaning”
• A private tour of Swarovski Kristallwelten
• A cable car excursion to the summit of the Nordkette mountain overlooking the Inn Valley
• A 50 Years of Partnership dinner at Villa Blanka for 200 guests
• A New Orleans-style second line led by musician James Andrews, joined by the University of Innsbruck Big Band, followed by the presentation of commemorative 50th anniversary coins minted in Hall, Tirol
• Guided tours of Innsbruck landmarks, including Old Town, the Golden Roof, Castle Ambras, and the Bergisel Olympic ski jump
Opening Ceremony Draws 450 Guests
On July 3, approximately 450 people, including alumni, students, faculty, and more than 100 invited dignitaries, attended the 50th Opening Ceremony of the LSU New Orleans International Summer School at the Innsbruck Congresshaus. Dr. Marc Landry, 2026 faculty director, served as Master of Ceremonies for a program that included remarks from former UNO President Kathy Johnson; Janette Walde, Vice Rector for Teaching and Students at the University of Innsbruck; U.S. Ambassador to Austria Art Fisher (via video); Mark Romig; Vice Mayor Willi; Kimberly Cook-Nelson, Executive Vice President and COO of Entergy and a 1989 UNO-Innsbruck alumna; and Dr. Mueller, CEO and Founder Emeritus of the National WWII Museum.
The evening featured a retrospective video of the partnership’s history, musical interludes by the Innsbruck String Quartet, and a second line led by James Andrews and the 17-member University of Innsbruck Big Band.
A Fitting Farewell
The celebration closed on July 4 with a visit to the Ropferstub’m alpine inn, including a farm museum, short hikes to traditional cold-water wading pools, and a Tyrolean lunch served family-style. That evening, alumni gathered for a final farewell dinner at the Grünwalderhof in Patsch, closing the week with a toast to the partnership’s past, present, and future.
“I didn’t expect to get so emotional, but hearing everyone’s stories and realizing we’re all connected by our shared study abroad experience in Innsbruck filled me with so much gratitude. It made me truly appreciate what a special opportunity it was and how lucky I am to have been part of it,” reflected reunion attendee, Kayla Demma (UNO-Innsbruck 2016).
About the LSU New Orleans-Innsbruck International Summer School
Founded 50 years ago by Dr. Gordon H. “Nick” Mueller, the LSU New Orleans-Innsbruck International Summer School anchors the transatlantic academic partnership between LSU New Orleans and the University of Innsbruck. Over five decades, roughly 14,000 students and faculty have participated in programs on both continents, reinforced by a 30-year Sister City relationship between New Orleans and Innsbruck.
