Office of International Programs

Office of International Programs

International Campus Update

February 10, 2006

Headlines

U.S. PRESIDENTS SUMMIT: On Jan. 5-6, President Bruininks attended the U.S. University Presidents Summit on International Education, hosted by the U.S. Departments of State and Education. The purpose of the summit was to engage leaders of U.S. higher education in a renewed partnership to strengthen international education, emphasizing its importance to the national interest. During the summit, President Bush launched the National Security Language Initiative, which will dramatically increase the number of Americans learning critical-need foreign languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Farsi through new and expanded programs from kindergarten through university and into the workforce. Bush will request $114 million in FY07 to fund this effort. The Provost’s Office has started reviewing ways the University can participate in this new initiative. MORE: http://www.state.gov/r/summit/

PEACE CORPS: The Twin Cities campus ranked 10th among large universities in the number of students who became Peace Corps volunteers in 2005, with 64 volunteers. The top institution was the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with 104 volunteers. COMPLETE RANKINGS: http://www.peacecorps.gov/news/resources/stats/pdf/schools2006.pdf

TOEFL ACCESS PROBLEMS: Educators in Europe are concerned about the internet-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), an essential part of the admissions process for non-English-speaking international students wishing to study in the U.S. Criticisms of the test include system malfunctions and lack of access to testing dates. Note that most programs at the University also accept scores from other English language proficiency tests, such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The TOEFL is administered by the Education Testing Service (ETS), which recently announced that it would delay launching the internet-based version of the GRE until 2007, citing the problems it had launching the TOEFL.

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR INT’L EDUCATION: A recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults found that Americans overwhelming believe international education is a key to preparing their children for success in the global age. They believe that foreign language skills will make their children more competitive in the job market and that it is important to have the opportunity to study abroad and to interact with students from other countries while in college. FULL REPORT: http://www.nafsa.org/nationalsurvey

Program News

ARCHITECTURE: Faculty and students will travel to Azerbaijan this spring to help prepare a preservation plan for the walled city of Baku, one of 34 endangered World Heritage Sites. This is the first initiative of the school’s new Center for World Heritage Studies, a joint venture with UNESCO/World Heritage Committee to involve students in international preservation. MORE: http://www.cala.umn.edu/worldheritage/

MIC: The Minnesota International Center has been awarded the 2006 Carol Marquis Award for Excellence in School Programs by the World Affairs Councils of America. This past year MIC reached more than 21,000 K-12 school children through its International Classroom Connection, which matches Minnesota elementary and secondary classrooms with international people (including University students) to learn first-hand about other cultures. MORE ABOUT MIC: http://www.micglobe.org

RADIO K: Latin Voices is a new show on the University’s Radio K that features the music and culture of Latin America. With narration in Spanish and English, the show is designed to enhance international awareness at the University. The show airs on Thursdays from 9 to 10 p.m. Tune in your radio to 770 AM or listen online. MORE: http://radiok.cce.umn.edu/

Professional Notes

BRIAN ATWOOD, dean of the Humphrey Institute, has been elected chairperson of AFS International’s Board of Trustees. AFS is one of the world's largest not-for-profit community-based volunteer organizations dedicated to building a more just and peaceful world through intercultural exchange.

HONG YANG, director of the University of Minnesota China Center, will receive the International Immigrant Achievement Award at the 2006 Twin Cities International Citizen Award Ceremony on April 26. The awards, sponsored by the International Leadership Institute, honor Twin Citians whose work has contributed significantly to international understanding, cooperation, friendship, and development.

TARA FORTUNE and DEE TEDICK, of the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), visited Nuuk, Greenland, where they were invited by educational leaders to discuss research and present information about effective program models and curricular and instructional practices for developing multilingual children through schooling. The majority of children enter school speaking Greenlandic; however, since schooling at the secondary level is offered mainly in Danish, Greenlandic-speaking children need to be proficient in Danish to remain successful academically and have access to university-level education. Also, Greenlanders are interested in learning English as a third language and begin their study of English in grade 4.

LOUIS JANUS, coordinator of the Less Commonly Taught Languages Program at the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA), is serving as external examiner for Norwegian at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Norwegian is taught there under Arizona's Critical Languages Program, which this semester offered around 20 languages, including Apache, Hindi, Punjabi, Turkish, and Vietnamese.

Study, Service Learning, Intern, Volunteer, Work, and Travel Abroad

DIS AWARD: Michael Ortemba, a Twin Cities senior majoring in Global Studies and French, received the Academic Excellence Award from the Denmark International Studies program. The award recognizes outstanding academic performance, diligence, and commitment among students who participated in the study abroad program. MORE ABOUT DIS: http://www.dis.dk/

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE SERIES: Every Thursday from Feb. 9 to March 2, the Learning Abroad Center will hold sessions on a variety of work, intern, and volunteer abroad opportunities:

LEARNING ABROAD FAIR: The Learning Abroad Center will host its annual spring fair on Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Great Hall at Coffman Union. This is a chance for students to learn about international opportunities, meet with program advisers, ask students about their past experiences abroad, and learn about scholarships. Attendees may also vote for their favorite photo in the international photo contest. MORE: http://www.umabroad.umn.edu/news/index.html

Funding Opportunities and Announcements

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL GRANTS for faculty are available from the Office of International Programs and the McKnight Arts and Humanities Fund. DEADLINE: April 3 for activities beginning May-August MORE: http://www.international.umn.edu/travelgrant/

MEDICAL STUDENT TRAVEL AWARDS: Applications for the Gault, the Karolinska Institute, the Jacobson, the Seoul National University, the Kersey, and the Spink Research travel awards are now available. DEADLINE: April 30 APPLICATIONS: http://www.med.umn.edu/imer/home.html

NIIGATA MEDICAL SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP: To foster the University of Minnesota and Niigata University Medical School Exchange Program, NU Medical School recently announced a scholarship program for third or fourth year U of M medical students to attend a 6- to 8-week educational experience at NU. APPLICATIONS: Pick up at the IMER Office at B683 and B685 Mayo Bldg

TRANS-ATLANTIC SUMMER INSTITUTE IN GERMAN STUDIES: Graduate student fellowship program in Berlin (July 20–August 4, 2006). Presented by the Center for German and European Studies. DEADLINE: March 15 MORE: http://www.cges.umn.edu/fellowships/tasi.htm

TRAVEL GRANTS: Through Title VI grants from the U.S. Department of Education, the University’s Institute for Global Studies and the European Studies Consortium offer faculty travel grants to Twin Cities campus faculty and instructors in support of internationalization of the curriculum, international interdisciplinary research linkages, and participation in national or international professional conferences or meetings coupled with additional activities contributing to the internationalization of the university. Preference will be given to activities that are linked to the strategic goals of ECS or IGS.
DEADLINE: April 3 for travel occurring June to December 2006
ECS: http://esc.cla.umn.edu/FacultyTravel.htm
IGS: http://igs.cla.umn.edu/academics/facgrants/igstravel.htm

Events

AUSTRIAN STUDIES SPRING LECTURE SERIES:

"AUDIENCE" AND "PROTEST"—TWO SHORT PLAYS BY VÁCLAV HAVEL: Performances are March 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and March 12 at 2 p.m. The March 10 performance will be preceded by a reception/seminar on Havel by Dr. Josef Mestenhauser, University professor emeritus and Czech Honorary Consul. All events will be held at CSPS (Sokol) Hall, 383 Michigan Street, St. Paul. MORE: http://www.cs-center.org/events/vaclav_havel.html

BOOK SIGNING: Norwegian Princess Martha Louise and Norwegian artist Svien Nyhus will talk about their children's book, “Why Kings and Queens Don’t Wear Crowns,” on April 13 at Andersen Library. Nyhus will discuss his techniques at 3 p.m., and the Princess will speak about writing the book at 4 p.m. Following their presentations in English, they will autograph the English translation. The event is free and open to the public. MORE: k-hoyl@umn.edu or 612-624-4817

CEHD INTERNATIONAL PIZZA & TALK: "The Synergy of Italian and Greek Partnerships in Research: A European Collaboration," by Carol Leitschuh, Kinesiology. March 6, noon-1:30 p.m., 250 Wulling Hall. MORE: http://cehd.umn.edu/IntEduc/Pizza/

EPIDEMICS IN THE MAKING—POLITICS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES SYMPOSIUM:

MINNESOTA INTERNATIONAL CENTER:

See also LEARNING ABROAD FAIR and INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE SERIES in Study Abroad section above.

University of Minnesota
International Campus Update
Vol. 7, No. 1

Office of International Programs
Assoc. Vice President: C. Eugene Allen
Editor: Jennifer Schulz

Interested persons may request to receive this newsletter as an e-mail update by contacting the editor at schul160@umn.edu or calling 612-624-0557.

The next issue will be sent in March. International Campus Update welcomes submissions. Please send items to be included by March 3rd to schul160@umn.edu or call 612-624-0557.