WORLD strengthens partnerships in Eastern Europe

During June 2018, WORLD staff cemented relationships with international partners of Stetson’s Program in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (SPREES).

In Kyrgyzstan at the American University of Central Asia (ACUA), Paula Hentz (back row, left), Stetson’s director of international learning, held meetings with Asel Umetalieva (back row, right) head of AUCA’s international students office, and AUCA’s president, Andrew Wachtel (front row, center). Hentz was joined by SPREES faculty administrators Mayhill Fowler  and Michael Denner (front row, right and left).

Stetson staff and faculty at commencement at AUCA

ACUA administrative building in Kyrgyzstan

Stetson staff meet up with Stetson student at the Collegium Civitas in Warsaw, Poland

Stetson staff lunch with staff of Nova Mova  Language Schools in Kyiv, Ukraine

David Rinker recognized for exceptional contributions to international learning

During Stetson’s May Board of Trustees Meeting, Dr. David Rinker, longstanding trustee at Stetson University, accepted a framed collage of students engaged in study abroad and expressions of gratitude for scholarships to support their study. Rinker and his wife, Dr. Leighan Rinker, an advocate for children’s education, are long serving benefactors of international learning at Stetson University.

Dr. Rosalie Richards, associate provost for faculty development, presented this recognition on behalf of WORLD: The David and Leighan Rinker Center for International Learning.

Recap: 2018 Inaugural Global Citizenship Symposium


Schedule of Events
What is Global Citizenship?

During April 6-17, 2018, Stetson University celebrated its inaugural Global Citizenship Symposium. This year’s event investigated immigration from the lenses of education, laws and policy, economy and business, identity, and the immigrant experience. The two-week event brought the world to Stetson University to grapple with borders and difference through diverse presentations ranging from panel presentations to creative expression. Most events offered Cultural Credit.


Opening Panel: Global Citizenship Symposium 
(Special session during the Colloquium on Teaching & Learning Innovation)

This panel session marked the launch of the Global Citizenship Symposium on Immigration, a multi-day interdisciplinary series of events exploring a topic of highly charged political debates and a site of crucial struggles for human and civil rights. Dr. Jelena Petrovic, assistant professor of communication and media studies, and Paula Hentz, director of international learning, discussed the need for placing immigration at the core of Stetson University’s commitment to global citizenship by developing systematic initiatives and resources for addressing the needs of immigrants in the campus community.


Campus Screening and Discussion of “Indivisible”
Trailer


In collaboration with Hope CommUnity Center, the Deland Campus community viewed the documentary Indivisible: Love Knows No Borders”. The film follows Renata, Evelyn, and Antonio who were young children when their parents brought them to the U.S. in search of a better life; they were teenagers when their mothers, fathers, and siblings were deported. Today, they are known as Dreamers. Frustrated with the stalled legislative process, the trio take matters into their own hands and petition for a special waiver that would allow them to leave the U.S to visit their families—and legally return. The screening was followed by discussion with Evelyn Rivera, activist and one of the main protagonists featured in the documentary. Rivera discussed the experience of participating in the documentary as well as challenges she and the others featured in the documentary experienced as they were fighting for immigration reform while undocumented.


Acirema Interactive Simulation

Acirema,  America spelled backwards, is an immigration simulation game designed to expose participants to the hurdles foreigners face when the come to the USA as to study abroad as students. Acerima was presented by WORLD Ambassadors and the Muslim Students Association. Any domestic student interested in learning more about the study abroad experience of Stetson’s international community was invited to participate. During the simulation, ambassadors and MSA students played roles as immigration officers, college admission officers, bankers, language proficiency examiners,  and more, to construct an authentic learning experience for participants. Each domestic student took on the role of a foreign student in order to to learn how to independently navigate the admissions and immigration process at an American college college.  Acirema is commonly used by international educators to encourage understanding and empathy for foreign students and employees.


Exhibit on Immigrant Art and Literature

Over the course of two days, students, faculty, and staff viewed and reflected on selected artwork and poetry about and by immigrants.  Hosted at the duPont Ball Library, exhibits featured the works of artists from other parts of the country as well as Stetson students’ poetry. Each artistic piece invited readers to think about struggle, discrimination, and invisibility of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.


Children’s Literature and Immigration
Workshop

During this interactive session, Dr. Carine Strebel and Dr. Mary Ellen Oslick shared children’s books and books written for young adolescent readers that depict immigrants’ reasons for leaving their home country, their at time perilous journey to a better life, and their stories of arrival and integration into the new environment. They discussed the benefits of (multi)culturally responsive literature for students, shared tips for evaluating and selecting multicultural literature, and facilitated a “tabletop twitter” activity in which the audience examined books and then shared personal experiences and insights gained through hashtags, a tweet on paper, a quote, or a quote.


Arepas, Tacos, and More: Foodways of the Latin America Diaspora

During this popular symposium event, Dr. Ana Servigna, visiting assistant profesor of anthropology, adjunct professor Maria Servigna, and students Valeria Servigna and Angelica Martinez, shared information about Latin American culinary traditions that are currently influencing the U.S. gastronomic scene. Arepas are a type of food made of ground maize dough or cooked flour prominent in the cuisine of Colombia and Venezuela. Students were able to sample Latin American foods and make their own arepas!


Common Treasure: Celebrating the UN Day of Peace

Dr. Rajni Shankar Brown, associate professor of education and the Jessie Ball DuPont Chair of Social Justice Education, Roxanne Lewis, international student and scholar services coordinator, and Lindsey Graves, assistant director of Interfaith Initiatives, teamed up to educate the Stetson community about the annual UN Day of Peace and ongoing world peace efforts. Shankar-Brown laid the foundation by reviewing The UN Peace Accord and the history of its creation while Graves and Lewis presented a recap of Stetson’s response to the UN Call for Peace over the past two years.  Comments and suggestions from the audience will frame Stetson’s 2018 Peace Day activities. The activity affirmed Stetson University’s commitment to addressing peace as a critical element of global citizenship.


Campus Screening and Discussion of “Dalya’s Other Country”
Trailer

This screening of “Dalya’s Other Country” was presented by Dr. Elisabeth Poeter and students from her Gender and Migration course. The documentary shares the personal story of a Syrian woman and her daughter immigrating to the US to escape war in their home country.  Following the film, the presenters engaged the audience in a robust conversation about immigration including common misconceptions and how immigration is typically represented in the media.


History, Politics and Policy
Immigration Panel

Is an “open border” policy possible and beneficial? In a lively debate, Dr. Paul Croce, professor of history, Dr. David Hill, professor of political science, Dr. Alan Green, professor of economics, and Dr. Steven Smallpage, assistant professor of political science, invited audience members to consider this question through an interdisciplinary lens and immigration as a phenomenon shaped by politics, economy, and U.S. history.


 Immigration and Business

During this presentation, Lou Paris, instructor of international business and new venture creation, shared his personal stories of immigration from Venezuela to Canada, Spain, Germany, and the United States.  He also discussed how immigration impacts and improves business globally.


Undocumented Students 
Workshop

In this workshop facilitated by the Hope CommUnity Center, audience members learned more about the personal stories of undocumented citizens in the Central Florida community.


WORLD Fair
Students, faculty and staff basked in the beautiful sunshine surrounded by the sights, sounds, and delicious foods and activities representing the various cultures found on the Stetson campus.

Members of the Stetson international community organized tables outside of the CUB where they highlighted information about their home country, provided samples of traditional food, and informed guests on immigration statistics.  Eman Elsayed Eltaher Mahmoud Abdelhalim, Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant and Arabic instructor at Stetson, showed participants how to spell their names in Arabic and dressed women in traditional garb. Attendees learned about different immigrant populations in the US, where they settle, why they immigrated, and where else in the world they tend to go.  Countries represented included Australia, Brazil, Estonia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Serbia, Venezuela, the UK, and others.


Lifting Our Lamps: Protecting the Human Rights of Refugee and Migrant Individuals, Families, and Children

Dr. Rajni Shankar-Brown, associate professor of education and the Jessie Ball DuPont Chair of Social Justice Education, led a discussion on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and how it pertains to today’s refugee crisis.  Participants engaged in creating an art display which shows Stetson’s commitment to promoting peace and supporting human rights.


Panel: Gender and Migration

Students in Dr. Elisabeth Poeter’s Gender and Migration course (GEND 400) presented research projects which examined the intersectionality between gender and immigration status.  Students’ research topics included an investigation into Syrian refugee women’s experiences; statelessness and state-created vulnerability; and migratory patterns of black LGBT+ people.


Stetson University extends deepest appreciation to the 2018 Global CItizenship Symposium Planning Committee:

  • Dr. Jelena Petrovic, assistant professor of communication and media studies
  • Paula Hentz, director of international learning
  • Dr. Carine Strebel, assistant professor of education and coordinator of English for Speakers of Other Languages
  • Dr. Chris Ferguson, professor of psychology
  • Mirrett Saad, student representative
  • Dr. Jessica West, assistant professor of finance; and
  • Dr. Sam Houston, Brown Visiting Teacher-Scholar Fellow in Islamic studies

The symposium is a program of WORLD: The David and Leighan Rinker Center for International Learning at Stetson University.

A Once In a Lifetime Educational Experience

My junior year abroad, as part of Stetson University’s program in Freiburg, Germany, will always mark one of the best years of my life.


I was in Berlin in  November 1989 with my fellow Stetson classmates, just days before the Berlin Wall fell and German reunification took place.  Also, the German national soccer team won the World Cup in 1990, where I attended two of the team’s games in Milan, Italy.  However, the highlight of my stay in Germany was taking a glider plane ride over the majestic Black Forest.

Located in the southwestern corner of Germany bordering Switzerland and France in the Black Forest, Freiburg boasts something that no other German city has – the most sun days per year in Germany. The city’s history, which dates back to the 11th century, is evident in its historic buildings, narrow cobblestone streets and of course, Muenster (Cathedral).

It was not until I arrived in Freiburg that I found that of the roughly 300,000 inhabitants, more than 100,000 were students at “The Uni”, the name its students affectionately refer to Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg. Yet, I feel the advantage Freiburg has over any large university in the US is its global reach and cultural diversity in attracting international students from 120 nations due to its geographical location and top-notch academics. In 2012, Freiburg Universitaet was ranked the best German university.

The best thing that the Freiburg program taught me was to have a real dialogue on different cultural and political ideas with Germans, Iranians, Turks, etc., while at the same time being the best ambassador I could for my country in educating students from other nations about the equality, individualism and private free enterprise that makes the US truly great.

Surprising to me was that my German major played more of a role than my political science major in landing my first job with a German commodities company in Manhattan in 1991. With this global corporation, Ruhrkohle Trading, I travelled the world continuing to build on the lessons I learned at Freiburg Universitaet in respecting other viewpoints and cultures. This greatly assisted in my successfully negotiating with foreign cultures across the globe, Brazil, China, Japan, South Africa, etc. in the trade of seaborne cargoes of natural resources.

I have worked for three companies, Ruhrkohle Trading, Evolution Markets and Wood Mackenzie, for 12 years in Manhattan as well as three years for a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal in Baltimore. The remainder of my career has been spent in home-based trading or advisory commodities businesses for global financial firms.

It is my belief that every student should take advantage of a semester or year abroad as part of their tertiary education in order to gain better linguistic skills and more importantly, a better understanding of foreign cultures and how other countries operate. Stetson University offers the best foreign exchange program available in unlocking this invaluable educational experience – Freiburg.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Markus Bates grew up in Darien, Conn. and earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science and German from Stetson University in 1991.

After earning his degree at Stetson University, Markus distinguished himself by leading operations for trading companies that resulted in becoming the largest exporter of steel raw materials from China for close to a decade. Overall, he has held senior executive positions in the trade of global commodities for 13 years. In 2011, he attained an ongoing education graduate degree in accounting from Sacred Heart University.

Today, Markus lives in Ridgefield, Conn. with his 13-year-old son and runs his own management consulting firm. He enjoys coaching youth sports, skiing and swimming.

April 12 WORLD Class Lunch & Learn: How to Embed Global Learning in Your Lesson Plan


Do you desire to internationalize courses you are offering in the summer or fall but are not sure how to do that?  Does it feel like the courses you teach are just not a good fit for including cultural competencies or global perspectives? Then come and learn from your colleagues about how they embed global learning in their courses and its impact on student learning and performance.  Come prepared for lively discussion and bring your ideas to share with others.

World Lunch and Learn featuring Dr. Rachel Core
Thursday April 12, 2018
12:00 pm-1:00 pm
WORLD @ 635 Bert Fish Road

All Faculty/Staff Welcome
RSVP via the Outlook Invitation
Lunch available at 11:30 am

Stetson’s first annual Global Citizenship Symposium starts Friday, April 6

WORLD: The David and Leighan Rinker Center is excited to present Stetson’s first annual Global Citizenship Symposium, beginning Friday, April 6, through April 17.  The Symposium was developed with the goals of providing education, support and opportunities for activism around topics of global significance.

This year’s theme is Immigration.

As a global and local phenomenon, immigration is not only the topic of highly charged political debates, but also the site of crucial struggles for human and civil rights. This year’s Symposium offers many opportunities for conversations, debates and direct actions that highlight the importance of these struggles, especially in relation to education, economy and business, identity and the immigrant experience.

A schedule of events is available online. Cultural credit and food will be offered at most of the events.  We invite the community to join us for interdisciplinary panels, workshops, exhibits, film screenings, and hands-on activities, and learn how immigration impacts Stetson and nearby communities.

For questions about the symposium, please email [email protected].

Paula Hentz
Director of International Learning
World: The David and Leighan Rinker Center for International Learning

Stetson welcomes staff, faculty from the Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg

Stetson University has enjoyed a longstanding relationship with Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg, or University of Education, Freiburg. For over 40 years, faculty have participated in teaching and research residencies and in some cases, international exchange programs have brought faculty and students from Freiburg to Stetson.

Stetson students study at the Paedagogische Hochschule, or the PH for short, where they may choose from a full curriculum of courses taught in German. Participants may also take courses at the Albert Ludwigs University, one of the oldest and most famous in Germany. Students can earn a minor in German in one semester. In addition, Dr. Elisabeth Poeter, professor of German at Stetson, leads the Summer Freiburg Program where students examine post-war social and cultural developments of  Germany.

Dr. J. Anthony (Tony) Abbott, professor of environmental science and studies at Stetson University (left), is participating in faculty exchange at the PH during spring semester 2018, where he teaches  courses in environmental science and conducts research. In exchange, Prof. Dr. Gregor Falk, professor at the PH Institut für Geographie und ihre Didaktik, is teaching courses at Stetson

The PH was founded in 1962 is the largest of six Universities of Education in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The PH enrolls some 5,100 students in a broad range of bachelor and master degrees along with teacher training programs. The University offers excellent research-based first-degree level qualifications and further education complemented by a large share of professionally accompanied practical and application-based modules.

Picturesque Freiburg is located in the heart of the Black Forest. Known as German Tuscany, it is said that the sun shines more often here than in any other city in Germany. Freiburg’s Münster, whose construction began in 1200, is one of Europe’s great cathedrals, and the medieval gates to the city can still be viewed today. Freiburg is filled with music, street theatre, and festivals. Located just 30 kilometers from France and 70 kilometers from Switzerland, there is ample opportunity to travel outside of the country as well as to points of interest within Germany.

Learn more about students experiences in Frieburg or for information about study abroad and faculty exchange, contact [email protected].

WORLD Ambassadors meet regularly to sharpen their peer-mentor skills

WORLD Ambassadors work with Wendy Viggiano, program coordinator for international learning, to sharpen skills for supporting and advising new international students.

Stetson’s WORLD Ambassadors serve as intercultural peer mentor-leaders to support diverse campus internationalization efforts, including new international student orientation, Study Abroad promotional activities, and events to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue.

WORLD Ambassadors comprise international students seeking a four-year degree at Stetson. As international students themselves, WORLD Ambassadors take the lead in significantly shaping the structure, presentation, and promotion of acculturation, education, and academic support at Stetson University.