Category: Announcements

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2018 WORLD Open House

The staff at WORLD: The David and Leighan Rinker Center for International Learning cordially invites you to its annual Open House.

October 18, 2018
4:00-5:30 pm
WORLD: Rinker Center for International Learning
635 N. Bert Fish Rd, Deland, FL 32723

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10/18/2018 04:00 PM
10/18/2018 06:00 PM
America/New_York
Summary of the event
WORLD Open House
WORLD – 635 Bert Fish Road

 

  • Grab a glass of wine and sample a few hors d’oeuvres
  • Learn how WORLD can support your interests in international learning
  • Meet faculty and staff engaged in international learning
  • Meet faculty and staff interested in learning more about your work
  • Learn about WORLD Class Lunch & Learn Series, Travel Awards, Study Abroad, and other opportunities abroad
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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

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Call for Presentations at Stetson’s Inaugural Global Citizenship Symposium: April 6-17, 2018

Stetson University invites proposal submissions to its inaugural  Global Citizenship Symposium. The Symposium kicks off on April 6, 2018  with events continuing through April 17, 2018.

Call for Proposals
Deadline: March 13, 2018

The Symposium is a forum for the Stetson and broader communities to celebrate, grapple with, and implement viable collaborative actions related to global issues of local and regional significance.  While this year’s core theme is Immigration, presentations are invited that address topics such as the internationalization of curriculum and campuses, the value of international education, experiential learning in local and global communities, the roles of immigration in business, law, health, and more.

Presentation types range from panels, workshops, and simulations to sharing of personal stories and creative expression.

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Stetson Law’s JR Swanegan becomes Presidential Fellow of the Association of International Education Administrators

Congratulations to JR Swanegan, assistant dean for international programs at Stetson College of Law. JR was selected as  2017-2018 Presidential Fellow of the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA). Swanegan is one of only two Fellows selected for this prestigious international award. He accepted the award on February 19, 2018 at the AIEA Conference in Washington, D.C.

he AIEA Presidential Fellows Program is a mentorship program for new Senior International Officers (SIO). Each fellow will spend as much as up to a week visiting and shadowing a mentor’s campus to learn about the policies, politics, and procedures at the mntor ‘s institution. Ideally, the mentor would also plan a shorter visit to the Fellow’s campus to better understand the challenges facing the Fellow. Throughout the balance of that academic year, the Mentor will be available for consultation and advice as requested by the Fellow, to address topics of interest to the Fellow and areas of desired growth identified from the AIEA Standards of Professional Practice. The award also includes a $2,000 stipend provided to the Fellow’s home institution  to defray travel costs and other related expenses of the Fellow and if appropriate, the mentor.

As assistant dean of international programs at Stetson University College of Law, JR is responsible for study abroad programming, international student scholar services, and facilitating international institutional relationships.   Swanegan was a participant in the inaugural class of the AIEA Academy for New SIOs, and previously initiated international programming at the University of Missouri-College of Engineering.  He earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science and JD from the University of Missouri.

Congratulations, JR!

 

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How to Plan and Lead a Study Abroad Program: February 6

During this WORLD Class Lunch & Learn, faculty and staff will offer tips, insight, and ideas on how to plan and execute a study abroad opportunity for Stetson students. Faculty who have successfully conducted study abroad experiences will share lessons learned.

The deadline for proposing a study abroad course or program is September 15, 2018. Come and learn how we can help you! Lunch is provided and space is limited.

All Faculty/Staff Welcome
Time: 12:00-1:00 pm
Location: WORLD: Rinker Center for International Learning; 635 Bert Fish Road
RSVP: Lunch provided

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WORLD welcomes Wendy Viggiano, program coordinator for international learning

WORLD: The Rinker Center for international learning is delighted to welcome Wendy Viggiano to Stetson University. As program coordinator for international programs,  Ms. Viggiano will support faculty-led and other study abroad programs, supervise Stetson’s WORLD Student Ambassadors, and works with campus departments to increase awareness and participation in global learning initiatives including Peace Corps Prep.

Ms. Viggiano comes to Stetson University with over a decade of international education experience, most recently as the College Relations Manager with IES Abroad, a non-profit study abroad provider, where she specialized in student recruitment/ program promotion, academic advising, and curriculum integration. She holds a M.S in Higher Postsecondary Education and a B.S. in Communication and Rhetorical Studies, both from Syracuse University.

Welcome to HatterNation!

More about Viggiano

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New International Instructors Boost Language Offerings at Stetson

Stetson University has collaborated again with the ALLEX Foundation to secure Asian language instructors and offer Mandarin Chinese courses.

ALLEX Fellow Renjing Lin joins Stetson University from Macau, China to offer Mandarin Chinese during the current academic year and through 2018-2019. His fellowship boosts Stetson’s ability to offer Mandarin to students consistently. Lin spent time teaching in Macau and Taiwan. His diverse experiences prepare him to bring multiple perspectives to the classroom.

“I really enjoy teaching here and a handful of students told me that they are also enjoying my class too”, said Lin. “I really like them and I am very happy that they are making progress day by day.”

Lin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance with specialization in financial engineering from the Unividade De Macua. Meizhou, his hometown, is in coastal Guangdong Province of southeast China that borders Hong Kong and Macau. 

The ALLEX Foundation enables universities to initiate or maintain high quality Chinese or Japanese language programs by providing professional trained, native Chinese or Japanese instructors. Lin is Stetson’s second ALLEX Fellow.

For a number of years, Stetson has collaborated with the Fulbright Program to attract Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTAs).

As FLTA at Stetson, Eman Elsayed Eltaher Mahmoud Abdelhalim of Alexandria, Egypt, joins the community to teach Arabic during the 2017-2018 academic year. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Teaching English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) from Notting Hill College in Alexandria, Egypt.  She also holds a certificate in negotiation and mediation from the Susan Marbarak Women’s International Peace Movement Institute for Peace Studies and the U.N. affiliated University for Peace.

Abdelhalim is already making an impact on campus. She recently served as a panelist at the Call for Action: Waging Peace discussion during Stetson’s celebration of U.N. International Day of Peace. She has a clear goal in mind as she continues to develop as a teacher.

“I want to make a significant change in the Egyptian education system to implement the modern and innovative techniques, especially for young learners”, she said.

Greici Buzzi joins Stetson from Brazil to teach Portuguese. Buzzi earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English/Portuguese. She currently works with Pamela Cappas-Toro, Ph.D., assistant professor of World Languages and Cultures (Spanish), to offer Portuguese 101 and Portuguese 102 courses which are open to all students.

Hailing from Rodeio, Brazil, a Santa Catarina municipality in the south region of Brazil, Buzzi applied to the FLTA program to achieve two goals.

“This opportunity puts together the two things I pursue the most at this moment: (a) learning more about the American culture and about the English Language itself; and (b) teaching Portuguese”, said Buzzi.

An avid music fan, she has played guitar and piano since she was six years old from which she has learned discipline, determination and patience.

Welcome to HatterNation!

Read about 2015-16 international language scholars
Read about 2016-17 international language scholars

Stetson’s language instructors are housed in the Department of WORLD Languages and Cultures. ALLEX fellows are in residence for two academic years and Fulbright scholars serve one year. Language instructors are required to engage in professional development by taking courses at Stetson. Fellows also participate in New Faculty Orientation and other new faculty onboarding activities. The language instructor residency program is coordinated by WORLD: The David and Leighan Rinker Center for International Learning.

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International Student Success Initiative adopts Konkeros employment tool

At Stetson University, we understand that bringing your student to an American university may be part of a bigger plan. Your goals may include enabling your student to gain work experience in the U.S. after graduation, or perhaps giving your student the opportunity to develop a prosperous career in the U.S.

If this is your case, the process to gain employment starts today.

Parents:
Ideally, you are reading this message while your student is a first-year student, sophomore, or junior, because gaining employment in the U.S. requires significant time and effort.

The first action we recommend is to get an immigration attorney as soon as possible – even if this is your student’s first year. A good attorney will assess your student’s profile and determine the most viable employment/immigration strategy. An attorney may even help your student develop a profile that is more favorable for employers and immigration officers.

Understand that most international students gain employment in the U.S. through networking. For this reason, we strongly advise students to focus their job-seeking efforts on developing a professional network, instead of submitting work applications online.

Stetson University is the first higher education institution in the U.S. to implement Konkeros. Konkeros is the most powerful tool your student could use to find a job in the U.S.. The site includes a business ranking system, which can be used to find and rank all the companies most likely to hire your student. This platform provides a viability score to help your student rank prospective employers,. The score indicates which companies are more likely to hire your student based on your student’s profile and historical company data.

Stetson will also give international families, at no additional cost, a book entitled “Konkeros 2018: An International Student’s Guide to Finding Employment in the U.S.” This cutting-edge book describes in detail the process to gain employment in the U.S. The book will be available in the fall 2017.

Lou Paris
Instructor of International Business and New Venture Creation
Assistant Director, Prince Entrepeneurship Program

For more, see International Student Success Initiative.