Tag Archives: international

News & Achievements Archive

Spanish students create informative video for community partner

The addition of courses for the new Spanish minor has yielded a valuable partnership between Drake students and Primary Health Care, a walk-in clinic located near Southridge Mall.

Students in Professor Inbal Mazar’s Spring semester class, Spanish for Healthcare Providers, shadowed language interpreters to experience the depth and breadth of their health and medical language vocabulary and usage. During this assignment, the 16 students brainstormed various ways they could give back to the organization, in thanks for the opportunity to collaborate with the clinic. They decided to create an eight-minute training video. The video outlines how to be culturally sensitive while explaining patient management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. The resulting video is in English with Spanish language subtitles.

The project itself was a collaborative effort between world languages and cultures and James McNab, media producer for Drake, who trained students in video production, and Sally Haack, associate professor of clinical sciences in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The video can be viewed on YouTube and is available on the world languages and cultures page.

If you have questions about world languages and cultures programs, contact Marc Pinheiro-Cadd at marc.pinheiro-cadd@drake.edu, or for questions about the Spanish for Healthcare Providers course, contact Inbal Mazar at inbal.mazar@drake.edu.

—Dorothy Pisarski, Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication

Featured Events Archive

International film series starts Sept. 25

Fall 2016 International Film Series, made possible by a gift from the Evans Foundation

Theme:  South American Politics and Human Rights
Countries:  Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia
Language:  Spanish with English subtitles

Sept. 25:  No (No)
Location: Sussman Theater, lower level of Olmsted Center
Time: 2–4:30 p.m.
Topic: The “no” movement on the presidential referendum on Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet

Oct. 12:  Hija de la Laguna (Daughter of the Lake)
Location: Meredith Hall, Room 101
Time: 7–9 p.m.
Topic: An Andean woman’s efforts to save lakes from the Peruvian gold rush

Oct. 23: Los Colores de la Montaña  (The Colors of the Mountain)
Location: Sussman Theater, lower level of Olmsted Center
Time: 2–4:15 p.m.
Topic: A young man’s experience in the midst of armed military and the guerrilla rebels fighting in the Colombian countryside

Nov. 13: El Clan (The Clan)
Location: Meredith Hall, Room 101
Time: 12–2:30 p.m.
Topic: Kidnapping for ransom in 1908s Argentina

—Denise Ganpat, Administrative Assistant 2

Campus Announcements Archive

From the Office of the Provost

Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum Workshop. June 13–June 15. RSVP to marc.pinheiro-cadd@drake.edu. 

Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum (CLAC) is a growing movement that enhances students’ abilities to utilize language skills by applying them in other disciplines. This workshop will inform faculty members about CLAC and describe how they can assist students in reinforcing and furthering their knowledge of other disciplines through the second language they have studied. Students will be able to acquire information about the discipline and recognize the distinctive viewpoints only available through the second language. Workshop participants will learn how to create a “linked” course—one that supports a course currently being taught but that utilizes curricular materials written in a second language and from a particular cultural perspective. (For more information, please see the CLAC Consortium’s website: http://clacconsortium.org. Drake is an institutional member.) 

For example, a course on the politics of the Middle East might be linked to a one-credit-hour course in which the students read and discuss texts in Arabic. The students return to the politics course and tell the students and professor what they learned from sources not generally accessible to most students. Another model has instructors incorporating elements of CLAC into an existing course without adding the additional one-credit-hour course. These are two models, but there are many other possibilities about which workshop participants will learn.

This is the second CLAC workshop held at Drake. Last summer, 12 faculty members attended the workshop and of those, eight have implemented a version of CLAC principles in a class. In October 2016, Drake will host the 10th Cultural and Languages Across the Curriculum’s national conference (http://clac2016.wp.drake.edu). 

Ten participants will be paid $200/day for each day of the two-and-a-half-day workshop. We will meet from approximately 9a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Wednesday. Lunches will be provided. Those who then develop a linked course will receive an additional $500 after the revised syllabus has been submitted to Marc Pinheiro-Cadd.

Details on the facilitator will be forthcoming soon.

 We hope you will join us in June.

Provost Mobile Office Hour:  Thursday, 1–2 p.m., Cowles Library Cafe

—Joe Lenz, Interim Provost

News & Achievements Archive

Spanish Language Conversation Table

Are you going to a Spanish-speaking country this summer or next semester? Would you like to begin learning a few words in Spanish for an upcoming study abroad semester or travel seminar? Do you want or need to keep up your foreign language fluency? Drake’s Department of World Languages and Cultures wants to help.

Spanish Conversation Table is scheduled for Mondays, 1–2 p.m., and Fridays, 2–3 p.m., in Meredith Hall, Room 204. All levels of Spanish speakers are welcome. The group warmly supports all participants with an opportunity to practice Spanish; no long-term commitment is required to attend. A native speaker facilitates the conversation in Spanish in an informal setting.

For further information, contact Associate Professor Eduardo Garcia Villada at eduardo.garcia@drake.edu.

—Drake International

For Students Archive

Exploring global affairs

A National Security Council Crisis Simulation with Brett Bruen and former Ambassador Kenneth Yalowitz will be offered 4–6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 8. The simulation is part of the Nelson Institute Undergraduate Conference on Global Affairs, which recognizes and shares high-quality undergraduate research on global topics.
Participants can engage in just the simulation and/or other parts of the conference if schedules do not allow full participation. If you previously registered for the crisis simulation only, please go back in to the registration link and include your name and email address. If you have not registered, please do so ASAP at: http://drake.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6KnfaEWh6vNZ5gF 

STUDENTS AND FACULTY ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND EVEN IF NOT PRESENTING A PAPER! Activities will include a crisis simulation, a networking social featuring international appetizers, a keynote address by noted scholar Valerie Hudson, student panels, and a closing luncheon with visiting Global Practitioner Peiqin Zhou from Nanjing University. A $200 award will go to the top presenter(s) selected by judges. Students who attend the full conference (both days) will receive a certificate of participation. Please direct questions to Denise Ganpat (denise.ganpat@drake.edu).

Schedule of Events

Friday, April 8 (Upper Olmsted)

  • Newly added:  4–6:30 p.m.  National Security Council Crisis Simulation with Brett Bruen and former Ambassador Kenneth Yalowitz
  • 4:30–5:30 p.m. Conference registration for those not in the simulation
  • 6:30–7:15 p.m. Networking with international appetizers
  • 7:30–9 p.m. “National Security and Women’s Insecurity” keynote address by Valerie Hudson

Saturday, April 9 (Upper Olmsted)

  • 8:30–9 a.m. Continental breakfast
  • 9–10:15 a.m. Student panels
  • 10:30–11:45 a.m. Student panels
  • 12–1:15 p.m. Student panels
  • 1:30–2:30 p.m. Sit-down/buffet lunch with speaker Peiqin Zhou
  • 2:45 p.m. Best Presenter Award

—Denise Ganpat, Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs

Featured Events Archive

Nelson Undergraduate Conference on Global Affairs

The Nelson Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs is pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Nelson Undergraduate Conference on Global Affairs, April 8–9, in upper Olmsted. The purpose of the conference is to recognize and share high-quality undergraduate research related to international and global topics.
Activities will include a crisis simulation, a networking social featuring international appetizers, a keynote address by noted scholar Valerie Hudson, University of Texas A&M; student panels; and a closing luncheon with visiting Global Practitioner Peiqin Zhou, Nanjing University. A $200 award will go to the top presenters as selected by faculty judges.

Please register at: http://drake.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_6KnfaEWh6vNZ5gF

STUDENTS AND FACULTY ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND EVEN IF NOT PRESENTING A PAPER!!! Participants can just do the simulation and/or other parts of the conference if schedules do not allow full participation. The registration deadline for those not submitting a paper is April 1. Students who attend the full conference (both days) will receive a certificate of participation. Please direct questions to Denise Ganpat (denise.ganpat@drake.edu).

Schedule of Events

Friday, April 8 (Upper Olmsted)

  • Newly added: 4–6:30 p.m. National Security Council Crisis Simulation with Brett Bruen and former Ambassador Kenneth Yalowitz
  • 4:30–5:30 p.m. Conference Registration for those not in the simulation
  • 6:30–7:15 p.m. Networking with International Appetizers
  • 7:30–9 p.m. “National Security and Women’s Insecurity” Keynote Address by Dr. Valerie Hudson 

Saturday, April 9 (Upper Olmsted)

  • 8:30–9 a.m. Continental Breakfast
  • 9–10:15 a.m. Student panels
  • 10:30–11:45 a.m. Student panels
  • 12–1:15 p.m. Student panels
  • 1:30–2:30 p.m. Sit down/buffet lunch with speaker Peiqin Zhou
  • 2:45 p.m. Best Presenter Award
For Faculty Archive, For Staff Archive

Ron and Jane Olson Outstanding Global Service-Learning Student Award

Nominations are now being accepted for the Ron and Jane Olson Outstanding Global Service-Learning Student Award. Nominations are due Friday, April 8, at 5 p.m. The selected awardee will receive $500 and will be recognized at the Adams Leadership Convocation April 22 at 12:15 p.m. in Sheslow Auditorium.

A letter of nomination should be submitted speaking to the award criteria.

Ron and Jane Olson established the Outstanding Global Service-Learning Award to recognize outstanding participation in global-service learning initiatives. Criteria for the award include:

  • Engaged in intentional global service-learning opportunities
  • Demonstrated an on-going commitment to global service-learning
  • Exhibited values that encourage global service-learning
  • Supported continuation of global service-learning efforts

The nominee must be a current student at Drake.

Nomination Process

The letter of nomination is due to Global Service-Learning Coordinator Maria Rohach no later than April 8. The letter should be sent as an attachment to maria.rohach@drake.edu. A committee of faculty and staff will review all nominations and make recommendations to the vice provost for international programs.

—Maria Rohach

Featured Events Archive

“Youthful Hopes, Painful Realities: Looking Back at the Arab Spring”

What: Esam Boraey—“Youthful Hopes, Painful Realities: Looking Back at the Arab Spring”
When: March 22, 7–8:30 p.m.
Where: Sussman Theater, Olmsted Center

Esam Boraey is a human rights activist working for freedom and democracy in the Middle East. This passion led him to play a key role in the Egyptian revolution of 2011, which helped overthrow dictator Hosni Mubarak. Esam taught classes and studied for his master’s degree in international relations at Cairo University.

During the Mohamed Morsi presidency, Esam worked for U.S. Agency for International Development and later left the country after being sentenced in Egypt’s criminal court to two years in prison for his work for human rights and democratization in the Middle East. Esam then moved to Washington, D.C., where he continued his work for human rights, working for the U.S. Institute for Peace.

He has worked with a number of civil society organizations (CSOs) in both the Middle East and the United States, fostered close professional relationships with political leaders throughout the region, and advised policy makers in the U.S. and European Union. This experience provides Esam a nuanced perspective to an understanding of Egyptian, Middle Eastern, and Islamic affairs that takes into account the concerns of stakeholders at various levels, both in the Middle East and beyond its borders.
—The Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship

For Faculty Archive

Fulbright opportunities for students

The Fulbright Scholar Program offers several kinds of grants for students to study, conduct academic research, engage in the creative and performing arts, or teach English in a range of countries after they earn their bachelor’s degree. The most common types of student awards are: 1) Study/research grants, in which graduates design their own projects to conduct abroad; and 2) English Language Teaching Assistant (ETA) programs, which place graduates in classrooms abroad to assist in teaching English while serving as cultural ambassadors for the United States.

I seek faculty help in identifying potential applicants and encouraging them to contact me for further information.

Who might be a promising potential Fulbright applicant? Generally, it’s a student …

  • With the interests and the personal suitability/temperament to serve as a cultural ambassador representing the United States
  • Who is prepared to adapt to living outside the country for up to one year and actively seeking to immerse him or herself in the host country
  • With a strong academic or artistic record of achievement and persistence
  • Who is actively engaged in the community or their chosen profession

For study/research grants, the student must also:

  • Be able to develop a feasible, interesting, and appropriate project for the proposed country, in terms of accessible resources, time, and the student’s academic and linguistic preparation. The project might involve graduate study, research, or the creative and performing arts.
  • Demonstrate talent and potential for growth
    For the English Teaching Assistant Program, the student must also:
  • Be able to develop and carry out a variety of learning activities under some supervision
  • Possess good facility with English usage and grammar in spoken and written forms, (e.g. clear, precise diction)
  • Be able to make presentations on U.S. culture and society

If a promising student comes to mind, please suggest the Fulbright program and encourage him or her to contact me at karen.leroux@drake.edu to learn more about available opportunities. You can also find more information at www.drake.edu/international/postgraduate/

If you have further questions about the Fulbright program for students, please contact me as well.

—Karen Leroux, Associate Professor of History and Coordinator, Post-Graduate Scholarships–Drake International