University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee officials return home after Brussels attack

SARASOTA -- The two University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee officials who were in Brussels earlier this week during the terrorist attacks, have returned home safe and sound.

Regional Chancellor Sandra Stone and Global Engagement Office director Amela Malkic were in Brussels on Monday as part of a trip set up through the Global Engagement Office when the city was attacked and more than 30 were killed.

"We would like to thank everyone for their messages and well wishes while we were abroad during the tragic events that took place earlier this week," Stone said in a statement through the university. "I want to thank our hosts from Odisee University for their generous hospitality over the last few days, and I would like to extend my deepest condolences to everyone affected by this horrible tragedy."

The Sarasota-Manatee Global Engagement Office is an arm of USF Tampa's USF World program. The local office opened in May 2014, and enrolled 50 international students from 17 foreign countries in the fall of 2015. In addition to bringing international students to USFSM and helping USFSM students study abroad, the Global Engagement Office works on diverse initiatives aimed at expanding the international reach of USFSM, including global perspectives in the curriculum, according to the office website.

Two explosions in the departure hall at the Brussels airport killed at least 14 people just before 8 a.m. local time, or 3 a.m. EDT. About an hour later, an explosion at the Maelbeek subway station in central Brussels, not far from the European Union's core institutions, killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 106.

Stone began her tenure at USF Sarasota-Manatee on Nov. 1, 2014, coming to USF from the Dalton State College in Georgia, where she was vice president for academic affairs.

Malkic, a former international adviser for USF Sarasota-Manatee, was named the assistant director of global engagement when the office launched in 2014, and was named director in the spring of 2015.

Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter@MeghinDelaney.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee officials return home after Brussels attack ."