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From the Director: New Challenges in International EducationAt a recent conference on “Global Challenges and U.S. Higher Education,” international educators from many disciplines assessed the future of international education. Despite much progress for international education during the past two decades, their projections about the future were sobering. The federal investment in international education since the 1950s has been significant. Although modestly funded, by federal standards, the National Defense Education Act (1958) and the Title VI section of the Higher Education Act have provided support for the teaching of critical and priority languages, the training of elementary and secondary language teachers, undergraduate curriculum development about global issues and the creation of business and international education programs and centers. The passage of the Mutual Education and Cultural Exchange Act (the Fulbright-Hays Act, 1961) authorized a wide range of cultural and educational exchange activities. The Fulbright and Fulbright Hays programs have supported international exchanges for thousands of students, scholars and administrators. Despite the successes of these programs, David Ward, President of the American Council on Education, warned the conferees about disturbing trends. American students are geographically “illiterate.” Last November, only 17 percent of young adults in the U.S. could find Afghanistan on a map. Compared with 18-24 year-olds in Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico and Sweden, US youth ranked next to last. Other alarming trends include a decrease in language study at all levels of education, and especially in the less frequently taught languages; an unimpressive number (5 percent) of U.S. students choosing to study abroad; and a decline in interest and support for area studies programs, especially in essential areas such as Middle Eastern Studies. Although many at the conference supported the reauthorization of Title VI funding in 2004, most believed that funding is only part of the solution. International educators were challenged to reconsider their pedagogies and their objectives. David Ward enjoined the participants to “rethink language acquisition” by becoming more innovative in developing language education, using new technology to deliver courses, and creating new ways to present the less frequently taught languages. Others at the conference argued for introducing international education in teacher training programs so that global issues would become an integral part of the K-12 curriculum. A more daunting challenge, now, several months after the conference, is how to conceptualize international education. The received wisdom of the past decade that the world is becoming globally more interdependent now seems less true. The inevitability of globalization is problematic. The new challenge for international educators is to explore what paradigm of international will replace globalization. Jim McCartney is the Director of the International Center and Interim Associate Vice Provost of International Programs. Papers from the “Global Challenges and U.S. Higher Education” conference are available online at: http://www.duke.edu/web/cis/globalchallenges/. Engineering Professor Wins FulbrightDr. William Jacoby, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant to teach and conduct research in Uruguay this summer. Jacoby will depart mid-June for Montevideo, where he will spend two months at the Universidad de la Republica. Jacoby’s interest in international travel and research was a factor in his initial decision to come to MU. He has since participated twice in the Global Scholars Program – once as part of a group seminar to Costa Rica, and also through an individual award that allowed him to pursue interests in Russia and Spain. Selecting Uruguay as a destination, however, came not through previously established contacts, but as a result of specific practical considerations. Not yet eligible for sabbatical, Jacoby was looking for a short-term opportunity for the summer months only. In addition, he wanted to go to a country where he could improve his Spanish skills. Consulting the Fulbright Award Catalog, Jacoby discovered that Uruguay was the one option that accommodated these priorities, plus his field of expertise. At the Universidad de la Republica Jacoby will teach a course on Statistical Quality Control of Industrial Processes. In addition, he will begin work on research involving the conversion of biomass into fuels and chemicals. Acknowledging that two months is not really sufficient time to carry out a full-scale research project, Jacoby sees this as an opportunity to lay solid groundwork for a longer Fulbright experience in the future while improving his language skills. More information about the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is available online at: /funding/faculty/fulbright.html. Funding Available for International Curriculum DevelopmentMU faculty who would like to add a global dimension to their teaching can look to two internal sources for financial assistance. The Council on International Initiatives (CII) and the Study Abroad Advisory Council (SAAC) are currently accepting proposals for either internationalizing an on-campus course or developing and leading a study abroad program for students. CII is offering up to ten $1,000 stipends for faculty with continuing appointments to develop a new international course or significantly revise an existing course to make it more international. The definition of "international" for this competition includes courses that focus on minority communities of international origin living in the United States. Interested participants are invited to submit a short proposal that includes: 1) a narrative description of the new course, or how a preexisting course will be substantially revised; 2) the course title and a (possible) course number; and 3) a discussion of the potential impact you expect the course to have on MU students and the university's international profile. The deadline for proposals is Friday, April 25th, 2003. For those interested in actually taking students abroad, SAAC seeks proposals for new study abroad programs for MU students. Successful applicants will be awarded up to $2,000 toward start-up costs. Programs must meet curricular needs not met by current study abroad program offerings and are expected to be self-supporting beyond the initial grant. Program proposals, including the prescribed application form, a narrative proposal and supporting documentation, are due by April 21, 2003. More information about both of these opportunities is available online at /announcements/funding. 2004-2005 Fulbright Competition OpensThe Fulbright Scholar Program is offering lecturing/research awards in some 140 countries for the 2004-2005 academic year. Traditional Fulbright awards are available from two months to an academic year or longer. The Fulbright Senior Specialists Program offers two-to-six-week grants in a variety of disciplines and fields. Application deadlines for 2004-2005 awards are:
Information and an online application are available on the web at http://www.cies.org. Spring Brings a Full Slate of Activities for EU CenterThe European Union Center has a busy spring planned. In April, the Center will be taking two teams to the Model European Union Simulation that takes place April 10-12 in Indianapolis. This year students from the University of Missouri will be representing the countries of Greece and France, and will be defending their "Best Delegation" award received at last year's competition. In May, the EU Center will be sponsoring the conference "Promoting the Civic Engagement of Minorities in the European Union and the United States." This two-day conference, held May 19-20 at St. Louis University, examines issues of citizenship in Europe and the United States. Topics include immigration policy and immigration law, regional development and conflict prevention, the provision of health care to minority populations, and the impact of globalization on minority issues. Closer to home, the EU Center has actively promoted EU scholarship at the University of Missouri and has welcomed a number of visitors to Columbia this spring. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate John Hume served as a Scholar in Residence at the University of Missouri from January 20-24. Dr. Hume was brought to Columbia through a joint collaboration between the EU Center, the School of Law, the School of Journalism, and the Truman School of Public Affairs. Other visitors to the Center included Frank Harvey from Dalhousie University in Canada, Joanne Hughes, Paul Carmichael, and Caitlin Connelly from the University of Ulster-Jordanstown in Northern Ireland, and Maarten Nijhoff Asser of Harvard University. A Brown Bag Lecture series which highlights significant issues in both Europe and the United States was also initiated this spring by the Center, and runs through May. Upcoming topics include “The Challenge of European Union Enlargement,” and “Media Pressures in EU Candidate States.” Details about this lecture series, as well as the other events taking place at the Center this spring, may be found online at http://eu.missouri.edu. SEVIS Implementation on TrackInternational Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) is making steady progress with full implementation of the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and plans to transition all MU international students to SEVIS documents by the end of the Winter 2003 semester. ISSS is currently testing its interface software program called FSA-ATLAS, which allows the uploading of batches of data rather than being limited to manual data entry on each record to SEVIS. FSA-ATLAS also allows ISSS to review and ensure the accuracy of the data before releasing it to SEVIS. While the statutory deadline for all international students to be transitioned to SEVIS is not until August 1, 2003, ISSS is working toward full-transition before many students travel over the summer break. David Currey, ISSS Director, said, “We want to make sure our students and their dependents have the new SEVIS documents to avoid any potential problems at the consulates and also upon re-entry to the United States during the summer months.” After July 31, 2003, students and scholars must possess the new SEVIS documents to gain admission to the United States. In the meantime, until the batch-mode is ready for full implementation, ISSS staff have been using the SEVIS “real-time interactive” (RTI) mode to enter prospective international students going through the admission process for Fall 2003. “RTI mode has not been without its problems,” said Currey, “and we’ll be glad to switch to the batch processing to alleviate some of the data transmission delays inherent when working with on-line manual data entry.” Nearly 400 MU international students have already been issued SEVIS documents and have been entered in the new database system mandated by Congress in 2001. MU international students and scholars not currently in SEVIS will be contacted by email when ISSS begins issuing the new forms in April. Currey anticipates that at least fifty percent of ISSS service efforts over the month of April and May will focus on the SEVIS transition. “This is really going to impact our routine document services, so I hope that MU international students and scholars will be patient with us during this time,” said Currey. For any updates regarding MU’s SEVIS implementation, check the ISSS website announcements at /announcements/isss/. Workshop: International Scholar Employment at MUInternational Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) will conduct a workshop on international scholar employment at MU on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 in Memorial Union’s Jesse Wrench Auditorium, from 9:00 am -12:00 noon. Topics to be covered include
The workshop is intended for MU faculty/staff interested in employing or retaining foreign nationals. Foreign nationals currently employed at MU are also invited to attend. Interested parties must RSVP via email to porterrh@missouri.edu. In the subject line please put “J-1, H-1B, PR workshop” and include the following information: name, department, position title, telephone and fax numbers, number of persons attending. Unexpected Opportunities
Under the supervision of Professor Daryl Moel, my first semester of coursework at MU allowed me to launch a project entitled "Senatorial TV Commercials: Whether and How the Young Audience Perceives Them." It is available on my website at http://www.missouri.edu/~mdn88. My opportunities, however, have not been limited to Missouri. I had read that Professor Susan Rasky in Berkeley, California was leading a seminar for "Political Junkies" and was supervising media coverage of the elections night there. Eager to work with her, I drove to California, where I spent almost three weeks comparing different standards in journalism education. I learned even more traveling alone with the old Ford Escort across the country. I took digital pictures and presented to my visiting professional colleagues a two-part PowerPoint novel of my journey on the Wild West before Christmas. February 6th, a day after Collin Powell's speech at the United Nations, I gave a brown bag presentation, "How Can a Small European Country Take Part in the Multilateral Coalition to Dissolve the Iraqi Crisis?" to the Noel Gist International Seminar. Don't ask me how I spent the whole night making a new PowerPoint presentation and checking the latest news from Brussels, Moscow, ten Vilnius countries, etc. one hour before the seminar! “I was particularly impressed by the way you designed your talk to be timely - right up to the minute the Gist session began," Professor Bob Beasley, organizer of the Noel Gist seminars, wrote me later. This semester, I am enjoying courses related to teaching, politics, media, and leadership. My most challenging project for the semester has been to assemble a team of international students and visitors, along with my personal contacts with journalists abroad, for an ambitious project called "Media Against Corruption All Over the World in the 21st Century." I will present final results at 12:00 pm on April 28, 2003 in Tucker Forum, Gannett Hall. This presentation will mark the end of my professional development year. And, while I didn’t know what to expect when I started, I do know what I will leave with: some completed projects, some audited classes, and some great experience. Safety and Security Update from the Director of Study AbroadA number of students, families and colleagues here at MU have expressed concern regarding the impact that the war between the U.S. and Iraq may have on MU Study Abroad programs. My staff and I understand that this is a time of uncertainty and heightened concern for Americans both in the United States and overseas. The safety and security of MU students abroad is of paramount concern to our office when assessing the current global situation. When monitoring MU study abroad programming, it is important to note that we do not have reason to believe that U.S. students studying in the parts of the world where MU operates study abroad programs are at any greater risk than they would be in the United States, even in light of the war against Iraq. With the exception of the Middle East, where MU has no students enrolled in study abroad programs, there has not been any organized or systematic aggression against U.S. citizens, nor have there been any threats against U.S. students in any part of the world. It is not MU’s intention to cancel or suspend any program currently offered unless there is a clear and present danger to MU students at a particular study abroad site. We are all aware that there have been numerous anti-war protests in the U.S. and abroad, and we have read news stories about growing anti-American sentiment. The MU Study Abroad Team has provided students with specific advice on dealing with the present global environment in our regular e-mail communications with them. Copies of these e-mail messages can be found on our web site at: /studyabroad/safety/. We have also asked our overseas contacts to discuss with students local reactions to U.S. policy. While we are concerned about student safety and security, we also believe that living abroad during times of conflict is an opportunity for personal growth and development. We have heard from many students abroad attesting to this fact and reassuring us that they feel safe at their study abroad sites. My staff and I continually monitor global events and are and prepared to respond should the current situation change. Barbara Lindeman is the Director of Study Abroad at MU. My Spontaneous Year in SwedenEveryone knows that not all things go as planned. When it happens in another country, however, with language and culture barriers, a little bump in the road can seem like a huge mountain. Granted, I could've planned my program abroad a little better. I could've even followed the little bit of a plan I had! But I'm proud to say that I had the best experience possible - I spent a spontaneous year in Sweden! I've always known that I wanted to study abroad, I just didn't know where. I remember walking into the International Center in the Spring of 2001 hoping that someone would just tell me where to go. But no. So I briefly thought about what I wanted out of the experience (a non-English speaking country in Europe), and begot my first spontaneous move in choosing Sweden. Upon arriving in Europe, a housing shortage at the university left me "spontaneously" finding a home in a real trucker’s haven, a hotel in a town that I would compare to Kingdom City. Next, dissatisfied with the computer classes I had enrolled in, I pulled yet another spontaneous move by changing all of my classes. I didn't want to program code in a lab all day - I can do that here in Columbia. I decided instead to focus on learning about Scandinavian culture, both inside and outside the classroom. Had it not been for the spontaneous, last minute decisions like these, I not only wouldn't have learned as much about Sweden and Europe, but I wouldn't have learned as much about myself. I now know that I prefer smaller class sizes, have a strong interest in European politics, and enjoy learning foreign languages, among other things. I may not have been a model study abroad participant. In fact, I am probably the perfect example of what NOT to do. I strongly believe, however, that my experience would not have been nearly as beneficial without a little spontaneity. Pangaea...One World, Many People
As with I-House, Pangaea will house both international and domestic students, and is meant to be an environment that fosters intercultural understanding and a respect for differences. To continue with the French and Spanish Language traditions, the community will offer students the opportunity to practice their foreign language skills with other students, including native speakers of the language. Both through foreign language development and cross-cultural learning, domestic students planning to study abroad can prepare themselves for an overseas experience. Lesley-Anne Clark, a current I-House resident, says that living in I-House last year is what convinced her to spend this past summer in Korea studying the language and culture. She doesn’t know where she will go next, but she is already making arrangements for another experience abroad. Throughout the current academic year, student staff has worked with residents of both I- House and the French and Spanish House to come up with the goals of the new community. Students will participate in discussion groups, local excursions, and “Culture Nights,” which feature the various cultures’ food, art, entertainment, politics, geography and history in order to promote respect and understanding for a variety of cultures and nationalities. To support high academic standards, residents can participate in a “Language Partner” program, create study groups, use an on-site language lab, and attend guest lectures and community dinners with MU faculty members with an interest in foreign language and international issues. Troy Lillebo, the Area Coordinator for the Dobbs/Blair Area where Laws Hall is located, says: “I think the new Pangaea Community will be a great way to connect our international students and domestic students with a passion for learning about other cultures and languages. It will be a rich environment for students to share their backgrounds, histories, religions, cultures, and traditions.” Pangaea is a prime example of how the MU community is working together to internationalize our campus. Fall 2003 New International Student OrientationThe Fall 2003 New International Student Orientation is scheduled for August 11 – 12, 2003 for graduate students and August 18 – 19, 2003 for undergraduate students. The International Center is planning to welcome approximately 500 new international students to campus in the fall. Students participating in orientation will receive information on topics such as BCIS check-in procedures, immigration rules and responsibilities, health and safety, US culture, and academic expectations. We also will discuss registration procedures and highlight the fact that a student must check-in with our office before registering for classes. For additional information about orientation, please contact Jill Hermsen at HermsenJM@missouri.edu or visit our website. |
Before arriving at the Missouri School of Journalism, I didn't have clear idea what exactly I was supposed to do during the 2002/2003 academic year. I came here through a program called Professional Development Year, sponsored by Voice of America. The goal of this program is to familiarize participants with American academic standards in journalism. The program allows me to audit some classes and return to Bulgaria in May 2003 with new knowledge and skills. Therefore, having my Ph.D. from Sofia University and almost twenty years in journalism experience, I became a student again. Frankly, I was glad to return to students' adventures and immediately enrolled in six classes.
Pangaea is the theory that once all continents existed as one. From this theory, the idea behind MU’s newest Sponsored Learning Community, Pangaea, was formed. The new community is actually the merger of two current communities, the International House (I-House), and the Spanish and French House, both housed in Laws Residence Hall. Recognizing the obvious connection between the two communities, the community “Stakeholders,” made up of Res Life professional and student staff, faculty members, and International Center staff, decided to combine the two into one new community.