Office of International Programs

Office of International Programs

News and Events

Winter 1998

Faculty

Economic crisis in Asia: The U responds

By Gayla Marty, International Dateline, Winter 1998

Asia's economic crisis is now profoundly affecting students and scholars at the University of Minnesota.

Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore are six nations identified to be experiencing economic crisis threatening their citizens at the University. The exchange rate has dropped by as much as 50% in relation to U.S. dollars since December.

Almost half the University of Minnesota's international population of approximately 3,000 students and scholars comes from East and Southeast Asia. Korea is the home of 350 students and scholars at the University, ranking second only to China.

Students most affected are undergraduates, professional students, and graduate students who do not hold a 50%-time assistantship or a fellowship, and those with accompanying family members.

Staff at International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) are monitoring the situation and mobilizing resources to assist those in financial trouble. They have met with student groups and held workshops to help them apply for existing financial resources, find campus jobs, and apply for off-campus work permission.

Despite rumors to the contrary, international students must remain registered for a full course of study to stay in legal status with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The University is investigating ways to offer deferred payment for students. Some students are known to have cancelled their classes and left the country.

"These students are a tremendous intellectual resource we do not want to lose," said ISSS director Kay Thomas. "We are doing everything we can to help them complete their degrees."

Department staff and faculty are encouraged to:

News about the Asian economic crisis from the Twin Cities and the United States

"The Institute of International Education announced on Tuesday the creation of a multimillion-dollar fund to provide emergency loans to Asian students at U.S. colleges and universities. The loan program is being financed by a $7.75-million grant from the Freeman Foundation, a family philanthropy based in Stowe, Vt. "

Expert from an article by Paul Desruisseaux. "Foundation to provide loans so students from Asia can remain at U.S. colleges," in the April 29 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The New York Times and Washington Post maintain up-to-date Web sites, which deal only with the Asian economic crisis.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has these articles on the economic crisis:

President Yudof Visits China

At the invitation of Minnesota governor Arne Carlson, President Yudof and his wife, Judy, traveled to China January 9-14 to participate in part of the Minnesota Business Development Mission and meet with Chinese higher education officials. Chief of staff Tonya Moten Brown and China Center director David Pui accompanied.

Follow these links to news stories about President Yudof's trip:

The Minneapolis Star Tribune ran the following stories:

International Partners Celebrate Inauguration

When the North Star mace was passed to Mark Yudof as fourteenth president of the University of Minnesota on Oct. 17, delegates from twelve countries witnessed the event and attested to the University's international character and role.

Because the delegates marched in order of their universities' charter dates, delegates from Germany and Austria led the delegate section in the processional. Representatives from Sweden, Turkey, Taiwan, People's Republic of China, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, Pakistan, and Italy also attended.

For the first time, a representative of international partner institutions was among those who greeted the new president during the inaugural ceremony.

"Partnership with others...is a necessity to keep universities viable for educating, for making space for artistic expression, and for rekindling enthusiasm for thinking and learning on a global scale," said Professor Dr. Ustun Erguder, rector of Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey.

Bogazici University signed an exchange with the University's Department of Political Science in 1989 to formalize a longstanding faculty relationship. Erguder and Dr. Ersin Kalaycioglu both attended the inauguration and met with Minnesota colleagues.

President Yudof Signs Agreement With Kyrgyz State National University

The University's newest institutionwide exchange agreement, signed in October, opens a door to Central Asia.

Delegates from the Kyrgyz State National University (KSNU) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, met with President Mark Yudof on October 16 for the formal signing of an exchange agreement, the first President Yudof has signed on behalf of the University.

The agreement calls for collaboration in the development of curricula and instruction in computer and information sciences at KSNU, as well as in the introduction of the U.S. credit system at KSNU. Collaboration on these and other projects is conditional on third-party funding.

Dialogue between the two institutions began in 1996, when the University of Minnesota hosted a conference on Central Asia where the keynote sppech was delivered by a prominent Kyrgyz author and diplomat, Chingiz Aitmatov.

The new exchange agreement was negotiated by Professor Michael Metcalf, assistant vice president and director of the Institute of International Studies and Programs, and Professor Josef Mestenhauser, coordinator of the international programs in the College of Education and Human Development, while visiting the Kyrgyz State National University in Bishkek in September.

Where is Kyrgyzstan?

The Kyrgyz Republic, the "Switzerland of Central Asia," gained independence from the former Soviet Union in 1991. About 15% of the 4.5 million population reside in the capital of Bishkek. For centuries the Kyrgyz economy has been anchored in herding and trade; the modern economy is industrial