(Burbank, CA/San Salvador, El Salvador ­ July 26, 2001) Woodbury University today launched an innovative partnership with a leading Salvadoran university to develop an e-commerce program that will teach Central American business leaders the fundamentals necessary to compete in today's information-driven, global economy.

Woodbury is the only university in California and one of a few in the country to offer bachelor's and master's degrees in e-commerce.

In addition to collaborating on an MBA program with an emphasis on e-commerce for Universidad Francisco Gavidia (UFG), the two schools will work together on certificate courses and student/scholar exchanges and training. Woodbury also will share its expertise with UFG in developing business incubators, designed to increase employment, provide higher incomes and enhance the viability of the existing business community.

The agreement was signed today in the Salvadoran capital of San Salvador. Dignitaries participating in the ceremony included Richard King, dean of Woodbury's School of Business and Management, and Satinder Dhiman, professor and chair of Woodbury's School of Business and Management, and UFG officials. Sandy Bleifer, a member of the board of governors of Woodbury's School of Business and Management, also was on hand. Woodbury representatives will meet on Friday with Dr. Hector Silva, mayor of San Salvador. Earlier this week, King and Dhiman met with officials from Texaco, telephone giant Telecom, the El Salvador Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador.

UFG is one of the leading universities in El Salvador, offering bachelor's degrees in business and management, arts and sciences, law, engineering and architecture.

Founded in 1884, Woodbury University is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Southern California. An accredited, nonprofit university, Woodbury is located on a 22-acre residential campus in Burbank and offers bachelor's degrees from the School of Architecture and Design, Business and Management, and Arts and Sciences. Woodbury also offers a master of business administration as well as weekend and evening study for working adults. A San Diego campus was established in 1998 to offer bachelor of architecture degrees.