Credit: Ievgenii Karanov, Chronicle.lu
On Saturday 4 July 2026, Miami University's Dolibois European Center (MUDEC) in Differdange held its annual Independence Day celebration, bringing together around 130 students, alumni, host families, faculty, staff and members of the local community at the Château de Differdange.
Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Stephanie Shaheen, who took over as Executive Director of MUDEC at the beginning of July following the retirement of longtime director Raymond Manes, said the annual event provides an opportunity to strengthen ties between the university and its Luxembourg community. Alongside current students and alumni, this year's celebration also welcomed students from the University of Luxembourg and LUNEX University who will participate in an exchange programme at Miami University, allowing them to meet American students before travelling to the United States.
"We bring together our alumni. Some of those are Luxembourgers who studied in America. Some of those are Americans who studied in America, but then moved to Luxembourg. Then we have all of our community members, host families, former staff and faculty, current faculty and even some of our students." She added: "This year I'm really pleased we have LUNEX and University of Luxembourg students who are going to be doing an exchange programme at Miami. So they're meeting our students so they know somebody when they get to campus," Stephanie Shaheen explained.
Guests enjoyed a traditional American-style barbecue featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, crisps, vegetables with dip, watermelon, ice cream, brownies and chocolate chip cookies, alongside outdoor games including cornhole and volleyball. Stephanie Shaheen noted that such gatherings reflect how Independence Day is commonly celebrated across the United States, with families and friends coming together for picnics, barbecues, outdoor activities and, in many places, fireworks displays later in the evening. She added that Luxembourg also hosts a number of Fourth of July events each year organised by the American community.
Looking ahead to her first academic year as Executive Director, Stephanie Shaheen said MUDEC is preparing to welcome around 170 students for the autumn semester. In the meantime, she plans to visit alumni in four US states over the summer while the university completes the onboarding of several new staff members.
