HSU Champions International Education

International education experts tackle immigration, globalization

Humboldt Sentinel
11/10/08
By Sentinel Staff

ARCATA -- Humboldt State University is hosting a series of panels, presentations, informational sessions and cultural events next week to increase local understanding of an increasingly interconnected world.

For the seventh straight year HSU is hosting International Education Week in partnership with the Departments of State and Education. Officials are inviting the public to take advantage of more than 40 hours of panels, presentations, informational sessions, and cultural events from Sunday, Nov. 16, through Thursday, Nov. 20.

The week itself is a unique academic experience, said Selma Sonntag, Professor of Politics, Fulbright Scholar and past chair of HSU’s International Advisory Committee. More than 30 students earn academic credit as part of a colloquium jointly sponsored by a half-dozen departments across the University, from Anthropology to World Languages & Cultures. But the events are directed ultimately at the campus and the community at large, Sonntag emphasized. “What people see and hear during IEW broadens horizons.”

Starting the week’s events will be two keynote addresses by visiting speakers who have noted careers in world affairs. Ron Schmidt, Fulbright Scholar, Professor of Political Science and past recipient of the Outstanding Professor award at CSU Long Beach, will discuss “Immigrants and America’s Future: What Are the Stakes? Why Should We Care?” at 7:00 p.m. Sunday evening in Goodwin Forum. Schmidt’s research focuses on the incorporation of immigrant communities in the U.S. and abroad, with emphases on language policy, ethnic and racial politics and Latino issues.

The following evening, Monday, at 7:00 p.m. in the Kate Buchanan Room, Al Sweedler, Assistant Vice President for International Programs at San Diego State University, will speak on “Engaging Students & Faculty in Study Abroad.” A Professor of Physics, Sweedler is founder of SDSU’s Center for Energy Studies and Co-Director of its Institute of International Security and Conflict Resolution. He has investigated the impact of energy use in the U.S.-Mexico border region and worked extensively on the relationships among energy, arms control and international security.

Tuesday will feature a talk by HSU Geology Professor and Scholar of the Year Lori Dengler on “Chasing Tsunamis: A Global Perspective.” She will speak at 7:00 p.m. in the Kate Buchanan Room.

Students from abroad are among the presenters and they are “excited to participate and to educate their peers and community members about the countries they come from,” observed Marci Fradkin, International Programs Coordinator. According to Fradkin, a growing number of international students—approximately 140 this year, a record—are attending HSU from some 35 countries. Reciprocally, more than 180 HSU students went abroad during 2007-08.

Among the many other events are panels led by faculty, staff and students on Living in the Middle East, Militant Islam & American Foreign Policy and Cross-Cultural Experiences; scholarly presentations on Nationalism & the Olympics, Cultural Globalization & the Call Center Industry and International Perspectives on Family Planning; information sessions on International Work, Volunteer and Study Abroad Opportunities; an International Fashion Show; a multi-ethnic Noodle Tasting; and “Walk on the World,” an interactive experience in which participants literally globetrot with the aid of oversized maps covering the floor of the Kate Buchanan Room. Most will take place in Goodwin Forum (Nelson Hall East) or the Kate Buchanan Room at University Center. A detailed schedule and directions are available at www.humboldt.edu/iew.

Sponsored by HSU’s Office of International Programs and the International Advisory Committee, International Education Week showcases the involvement of faculty, staff, students and community members in a wide variety of international initiatives. “California State University has determined that global awareness should be a pillar of the education we provide to our students,” said Guy-Alain Amoussou, Professor of Computing Science and HSU Director of International Programs. “We often speak of Humboldt County being hidden behind the Redwood Curtain,” he noted, “but like anywhere else, the North Coast is connected to the rest of the world in a thousand different ways. This week’s events highlight HSU’s links to important global networks and enhance the diversity of the mind of our community.”

The State Department emphasizes that international education readies U.S. citizens to live and work in an increasingly “globalized” world. It is also a vital service industry, bringing more than $14.5 billion into the U.S. annually.

“At a time when America is involved in two wars and faces an international financial crisis, it has never been more important to enrich the cultural sophistication and international awareness of our citizens,” added Stephen Jenkins, Professor of Religious Studies and Chair of Humboldt State’s International Advisory Committee. “Through our activities during International Education Week, the scholars and students of this University are showing a commitment to develop the level of awareness needed to solve crucial problems and create a future of productive and even joyful global relations.”

IEW was first held in 2000 and is now marked by communities and universities in more than 100 countries worldwide.