The First Chinese Student to Graduate from a University in the United States

As I continue to settle into my new home and begin to bring Bury Book International Education Library & Archive out of hibernation I am rediscovering all kinds of great and rare publications that focus on international education.

One such publication that I found tonight is: A Survey of Chinese Students in American Universities and Colleges in the Past One Hundred Years (1954). Written in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the graduation of the first Chinese student from an American University, Yung Wing, B.A. from Yale in 1854.  This publication was published under the joint sponsorship of the National Tsing Hua University Research Fellowship Fund & the China Institute in America).  Based on a quick skim of this publication I learned that were a decent number of Chinese students studying in the United States during the last half of the Nineteenth Century and into the early Twentieth Century.  Upon completion of my dissertation this will be one of the first publications I read.

After doing some searching on Google I discovered that Miami University (as do a few other institutions) has this publication in their library holdings.

Provide Feedback on the Development of an International Education Research Network (IERN)

Tonight I learned from the IDP Database of Research on International Education via Twitter at @IDPDRIE and IERES-L that The International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) is developing an International Education Research Network.  Those of you who know me well will understand that this is very exciting news for the field and I thank IEAA for taking on this important effort!

IEAA has launched a brief survey (approx. 5 minutes) seeking feedback on the development of IERN.  Readers who are conducting or are interested in the academic/research side of our field please visit http://www.ieaa.org.au/researchnetwork where you can learn more about this effort (including a brief discussion paper available for download) and complete the survey!

The National Security Education Program celebrates 20 years

On September 8, 2011 the National Security Education Program (NSEP) celebrated 20 years in Washington, D.C. with the author of the 1991 legislation Senator David L. Boren, currently President of the University of Oklahoma, in attendance.  At the celebration, Senator Boren and Dr. Clifford Stanley, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, addressed the Boren Fellows, Scholars, members of the NSEP Board as well as other lucky international educators and stakeholders in attendance.  

Following is an excellent video (11:12) of interview snippets with Senator Boren, Under Secretary Stanley, former Boren Scholars and Fellows as well as those in the federal government who employ Boren Scholars and Fellows.  

You can learn more about the Boren Awards for International Study at http://www.borenawards.org/ and the National Security Education Program at http://nsep.gov/.


Two days prior to this 20th anniversary celebration, on September 6, 2011, I started a new job at Chicago Booth (The Business School at The University of Chicago) as the Associate Director for International Programs.  I am very excited and fortunate to have landed this new position but I must admit I will miss much of my previous work as the Senior Adviser for International Initiatives in The College and as Assistant Director in The Office of International Affairs, both at The University of Chicago.  In particular, for the past eleven years I served as the Fulbright Program Adviser for the U.S. Student Program and as the Campus Representative for the Boren Awards for International Study/NSEP and it is the advising of prospective applicants to both of these Fellowship/Scholarship competitions that I will truly miss.  I must confess that my favorite group to work with has been the Boren/NSEP applicants as this is a small, select and focused group of young women and men.  I like the Boren /NSEP program so much that I am focusing my dissertation research on the service requirement component of the program.  The early history of the program is very fascinating, on many levels, and one that all students of international education should be familiar with (in my opinion) and that history will also be part of my dissertation.  I got caught up in an end of summer slump on the dissertation front and this 20 year celebration of the NSEP has certainly been a motivator for me!  More on all of that at at a later time...

IHEC Blog is a featured blog in The New York Times "Headlines Around the Web" section focusing on international education

For quite some time The New York Times section on International Education (online) has been feeding IHEC Blog posts to their "Headlines Around the Web" section of the page.  I find this section of The New York Times to be one of the most informative news outlets to learn about happenings across the globe related to International Education so this is, of course, an exciting thing for me so I thought I would share.  IHEC Blog is also included in numerous blog rolls across the web and I'm thankful to each and every one who has found enough value in IHEC Blog to include it in their blog roll.

You can access The New York Times section on International Education here.