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Office of International Programs

Office of International Programs

International Campus Update

March 3, 2009

International Campus Update is a monthly e-mail and online newsletter about international issues, events, and announcements at the University of Minnesota, compiled by the Office of International Programs.

In This Issue:

Headlines

global spotlight logoGLOBAL SPOTLIGHT is the Office of International Programs’ biennial focus on a region of the world and a pressing global issue. In 2009-2010, the focus will be on the continent of Africa and the issue of Water in the World. While sponsored by OIP, the initiative is designed to engage the entire University community, including all five campuses. All University units are encouraged to incorporate Global Spotlight themes into their events and programs. OIP is interested in promoting and possibly co-sponsoring these events. For more information, review the following:

CONFERENCE ON HIGH PERFORMANCE: "Bringing Lessons from the World’s Top Educational Performers to Minnesota" by Andreas Schleicher, one of the world’s most respected analysts of international education. He directs the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), considered one of the best measures of students’ mastery of the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the global economy of the Information Age. March 23, 9-11 a.m., Coffman Union Theater. Event is free, but pre-registration is required. To register or for more information: ready@umn.edu or call 612-625-3695. Sponsored by the University's College Readiness Consortium.

SLOVAK DELEGATION: Jan Mikolaj, Slovak Republic Minister of Education, will visit Minnesota and the University April 5-6. The Slovak Republic and the U.S. recently re-signed an agreement of cooperation in science and technology, including the areas of basic and applied research as well as trade, development, and innovation activities. While in Minnesota, the minister hopes to establish contacts with educational institutions and share best practices, especially in the area of charter schools and community colleges. The minister will also visit Seattle and San Francisco on this visit to the U.S.

TITLE VI 50th ANNIVERSARY CONFERENCE will be held in Washington D.C. on March 19-20. At the University, the Title VI program funds the Language Resource Center CARLA, the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition, and the National Resource Centers Consortium for the Study of the Asias, European Studies Consortium, and Institute for Global Studies.

Several University representatives will present at the conference:

NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR AWARD FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT: The all-University award is given to faculty and staff members—active or retired—in recognition of outstanding contributions to global education and international programs in their field, discipline, or to the University. Recipients receive a cash prize and an honorary title. The award is sponsored by the Office of the Senior Vice President for System Academic Administration and administered by the Office of International Programs. DEADLINE: June 15, 2009. (MORE)

JAPANESE HONOR FOR MONDALE: University alumnus and former Vice President Walter Mondale was awarded one of Japan's top honors on February 26. Mondale, who served as President Clinton's ambassador to Japan from 1993 to 1997, was given the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers, the highest honor the Japanese government bestows on foreigners.

ENDANGERED LANGUAGES: UNESCO has released the latest online version of its "Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger." (A paper version will be available in May.) The digital version of the atlas invites users to contribute with updates and allows them to search according to country, degree of endangerment, name of languages, or by number of speakers. The atlas says 200 languages have become extinct in the last three generations, and another 197 languages have ten or fewer speakers left, including 71 in the U.S.

Program News

CHINA CENTER: After more than three years of discussion and planning, the China Center will open an office in Beijing, China, later this spring. The office will serve as an on-site representative of the University of Minnesota in China and provide resources and services to faculty, staff, and departments to support their work in China. Services will include: welcome center for prospective students and alumni, meeting space, office support (such as copying, internet access, and cell phone usage), in-city arrangements and airport pickup, translation, and more. The office is conveniently located in central Beijing, 5 minutes from the subway and 15 minutes from Tiananmen Square.

JOSEPHSON AWARD: Betsy Stallman, graduate student in CEHD, received the Association of International Education Administrators' Harold Josephson Award for Professional Promise in International Education at its national conference in Atlanta last week. The award recognizes emerging leadership in international education through the student's graduate study and research, especially research in the field of international education.

Education Abroad

photo contest winnerPHOTO CONTEST: The winners of the Learning Abroad Center's annual photo contest have been announced. First place went to Emily Turner for her photo "Read Between Her Lines" taken in India. (WINNING PHOTOS)

SIMON ACT: The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act, which would authorize $80 million in grants for study abroad, was introduced in the Senate on February 24 by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). An earlier version didn't pass in the last Congress, despite clearing the House of Representatives. The bill is based on recommendations from the Commission on the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program, which set a goal of one million Americans studying abroad.

STUDY ABROAD RESEARCH: University of Minnesota researchers have found that the length of time students study overseas has no significant impact on whether they become globally engaged later in life. The findings are from the Study Abroad for Global Engagement project, led by co-principal investigators Gerald Fry and Michael Paige from the College of Education and Human Development. The project examines the long-term personal, professional, and global engagement outcomes associated with study abroad experiences that occur during the college years. (MORE)

Funding Opportunities and Announcements

INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL GRANTS for faculty are available from the Office of International Programs. Deadline is April 6 for activities beginning May-August. (MORE)

Events

global spotlight logoENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS: 2Tuesday Global Spotlight Series, March 10, noon-1:30 p.m., 101 University International Center (map). The Engineers without Borders, University of Minnesota student group, will discuss its efforts in Uganda to implement locally sustainable groundwater and sanitation systems, along with health education and malaria prevention initiatives. Lunch will be provided. The 2Tuesday Series is a monthly event to highlight University of Minnesota activities related to the Global Spotlight focus on Africa and/or Water in the World.

global spotlight logoSEISMIC SHIFTS: 20/21st Century International French and Francophone Colloquium, March 26-28, University of Minnesota. All keynote speakers have an Africa connection: Fehti Benslama is Tunisian, Boulam Sansal is an Algerian writer, and Francoise Verges is a postcolonial scholar who is currently working on a museum project on islands in the Indian Ocean. There will also be a screening of a Rwandan film "Behind This Convent" and the director, Gilbert Ndahayo, will be at the screening. Sponsored by the Department of French and Italian. (CONFERENCE WEBSITE)

INT'L WOMEN'S DAY: The 14th annual celebration will be held March 14, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Coffman Union. Keynote speakers are Fahima Vorgetts, Afghan Women's Fund and Women for Afghan Women, and Fionnualal Ní Aoláin, UofM Law School. Event will also include workshops, music, film, visual arts, arts and crafts vendors, and display and information tables from co-sponsoring organizations. Presented by the Advocates for Human Rights and the Human Rights Program at the UofM. Free and open to the public. (MORE)

AROUND TOWN:

global spotlight logoEvents noted with the spotlight logo support the Global Spotlight initiative—a biennial focus on a region of the world and a pressing global issue. In 2009-2010, the focus will be on the continent of Africa and the issue of Water in the World. For more events or to include your event on the calendar, go to the Global Spotlight website.

University of Minnesota
International Campus Update
Vol. 10, No. 2

Office of International Programs
Associate Vice President and Dean: Meredith McQuaid
Editor: Jennifer Schulz