Tuesday, December 13, 2016

You? You Speak Second A Language? Huh, I Never Would Have Guessed!


Below is just a small sampling of some well know individuals demonstrating their second language speaking abilities!  To be sure, there are more but these are the ones I decided to highlight.  If you know of more please provide more specifics and a link in the comment section below.  Thanks!













This additional Bradley Cooper interview in French is for my wife.  On night after we were driving home from seeing the movie Silver Linings Playbook I told my wife "You know, Bradley Cooper speaks French fluently" to which she replied "I Know, As If Wasn't Hot Enough!"  :-)

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

IEAA Excellence Awards 2016: Stuart Hughes (Professional Commentary in International Education) @IDPDRIE

I have worked at the University of Chicago in various international education roles since September 2000.  I love it here and just may remain here the remainder of my professional career (not counting various international higher education consulting projects I find myself involved with for other institutions and organizations)!

That said, I think Stuart Hughes has one of the best jobs on the planet!  Stuart runs the IDP Database of Research on International Education which is managed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and supported by IDP.  Someday our paths will cross and I will finally meet Stuart and we can share some beverages together!

At the recent Australian International Education Conference held in Melbourne, Stuart received the well deserved IEAA Excellence Awards 2016 for Professional Commentary in International Education.  Last Thursday, IEAA tweeted out a wonderful video on Stuart and his contributions (on a global level) to the field of international education and I have embedded that video below.

You can access the IDP Database of Research on International Education at http://opac.acer.edu.au/IDP_drie/index.html

You can follow the IDP Database of Research on International Education at https://twitter.com/IDPDRIE

Finally, if you have published your work related to international education please consider adding it to the IDP Database of Research on International Education.  See the IDP-DRIE homepage link above to learn more about contributing your work.

Friday, December 2, 2016

"No Certificate of Global Citizenship" - Donald Trump in Cincinnati, Ohio on December 1, 2016

December 1, 2016 - During the first stop of his "Thank You Tour" in Cincinnati, Ohio, President-elect Donald Trump spoke on many issues but at the 15:00 mark his words signaled what could be his administration's approach to and support of international educational and cultural exchanges. You can view and listen below:

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Foreign Students and the Beijing Imperial Academy (Temple of Confucius at Beijing) during the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties

Back in November 2013 I attended the Partnership in International Management (PIM) conference in Beijing, China.  After the conference I spent the weekend in Beijing with my friend Weidong (Jim) and he took me to all of the sites including the Great Wall of China.

One of the places he took me to visit was the Temple of Confucius at Beijing.  Built in 1302, it is the second largest Confucian Temple in China after the one in Qufu.  I really enjoyed my visit and learned that the Imperial Academy, also known as Imperial College, was the highest educational institution in feudal China and it was the only school to enroll foreign students coming from top sending countries such as Korea, Russia, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand among others.

Following are several photos of my visit to the Temple of Confucius at Beijing and a three photos are of display signs highlighting the recruitment of foreign students.











Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Two More Big International Education Related Announcements at the University of Chicago!

Last Monday, November 21st I posted about Two Big International Education Related Announcements at the University of Chicago over the Weekend!

Well, two more big international education related announcements were recently made and I wanted to briefly highlight below.  The University of Chicago has another Marshall Scholar and another Rhodes Scholar!  You can read more about both here and here.


Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Family Member Global Birth City Photo Project at my Son's School


I've posted many times here on IHEC Blog about some of the wonderful things happening at the school my children attend (The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools which was founded by John Dewey) that provide an international/intercultural perspective.  Today, after dropping off my 8 year old son at school, while I was waiting in the lobby for the shuttle to take me close to my office I was reminded of a late summer request we received from the Parent's Association for the Lower and Nursery/Kindergarten Schools (my youngest son is in 2nd Grade to 3 Year Old Nursery School building).  The Parent's Association asked parents to submit a family photo and only listing the city and Country where everyone in the family was born and the pictures were hung in the main lobby since the beginning of the school year (see photo above with all of the submitted photos arranged on the lobby window).  This is a wonderful project as it provides a the children with an opportunity to see how diverse and how global our school community truly is.

After finding our family photo I began to look for other children/families we know.  It is fascinating to the wide ranging and global diversity of cities where members of many families were born.  Below is a small sample of photos I took of the diverse locations where some people were born in some families.  My family photo is also included below as my wife Ana was born in Osaka, Japan as her father was studying and teaching Dentistry at Kansai Gaidai University and her mother was teaching English in Osaka.















This is the original photo submission of my family and where each of us was born.  I wanted to include the photo I took of my family photo as part of the project with this post (see above) but I also wanted to include the original family photo to show off my wonderful family!  Photo taken in June, 2016 at my daughter's 8th grade graduation.

Monday, November 14, 2016

Connecting Your Campus with International Education Week - Marlene Johnson of NAFSA #IEW2016


NAFSA Events and Resources Supporting 2016 International Education Week

Follow the Twitter Backchannel from the Canadian Bureau for International Education Annual Conference, November 13-16, 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario #cbie2016

Canadian Bureau for International Education Annual Conference website.

Progress Being Made in Diversifying The U.S. Study Abroad Student Profile but More Needs to be Done!






Institute of International Education. (2016). "Profile of U.S. Study Abroad Students, 2004/05-2014/15." Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. Retrieved from http://www.iie.org/opendoors

Follow the Twitter Backchannel during the release of the 2016 Open Doors Report on November 14, 2016 #OpenDoorsReport

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Follow the Twitter Backchannel during International Education Week 2016 #IEW2016

Friday, November 11, 2016

From Eid Dinner to Dia de los Muertos - Just Two Examples of Why I Love the School my Kids Attend!

I've blogged in the past about the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools where my kids attend (see links to past articles below) and I want to highlight two recent opportunities for my children to learn about and respect other cultures.

Just over two weeks ago our family attended the annual Eid Dinner at their school:




Tonight I was at my eight year old son's second grade classroom potluck and I came upon a wonderful Dia de los Muertos display in the hallway:




Japanese Magic Lantern: The Minwa-za Company of Tokyo and the Art of Utsushi-e

The internationalization of Room 404 [a 3rd grade class at The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools]

The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, 1896-1904 (the Dewey Years)

A Brief History of Research on Education



Work now begins on writing a book chapter on short-term international educational exchanges between the U.S. and China!

A sampling of books found in my Bury Book International Education Library & Archive!


Tuesday, November 8, 2016

In Washington, DC next week during International Education Week 2016? #IEW2016

UPDATE 11/14/16:  The International Education: What Place in U.S. Diplomacy? event at the United States Institute of Peace will be webcast.

UPDATE 11/11/16:  I will not be in Washington, DC next week.  I was to attend the Fund for Education Abroad (FEA) 2016 Fall Gala next Wednesday evening (Nov. 16th) and the FEA Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, November 17th.

There is much going on that week and in particular next Monday, November 14th with IIE's release of Open Doors Report and NAFSA's Research Symposium.

The following event hosted at the United States Institute of Peace from 2:00-4:00pm on November 14th may also be of interest to you:

 International Education: What Place in U.S. Diplomacy? 
A Strategy on Study Abroad Can Boost Foreign Policy and Peacebuilding 


Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Photo Gallery from the #GenerationStudyAbroad #IIESummit2016

Following are some of the photos I took from the recent IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit held in Washington, DC held October 23-25, 2016.

Wagaye Johannes, Project Director, Generation Study Abroad, 
Institute of International Education (IIE)

Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, 
United States Department of State speaking at the opening plenary

Allan Goodman, President and CEO, Institute of International Education
speaking at the opening plenary

Obligatory selfie with one of my GoAbroad.com hats!

Finally met Eduardo Contreras, Director of Studies Abroad, University of Portland and co-author of a book chapter we are writing, along with Lily Lopez-McGee who is lead on the chapter, on diversity in education abroad.

 Gary Rhodes of California State University of Dominguez Hills asking the panel a question during the U.S. Government Initiatives to Advance Study Abroad session

I wrote my dissertation on an aspect of the National Security Education Program!

Rajika Bhandari of IIE, Christine Farrugia of IIE, Brett Berquist of the University of Auckland and Steve Nerlich of the Australian Government Department of Education and Training at the start of their What are We Counting and Why: Trends in Non-Credit Education Abroad and Global Best Practices for Tracking Non-Credit Students session.

Lisa Loberg of California Lutheran, Ann Hubbard of the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) and Gary Rhodes of California State University of Dominguez Hills at the start of their the Data-Driven Decision-Making: Documenting Study Abroad's Impact on Academic & Career Success session

Allan Goodman, President and CEO, Institute of International Education
speaking at the closing plenary

Holly Hudson of the University of South Alabama accepting award from Allan Goodman for her institution meeting their institutional Generation Study Abroad goals within two years!

Mala Adiga, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Academic Programs, 
United States Department of State speaking at the closing plenary

My name badge

Monday, October 31, 2016

Updating one's resume before studying abroad, while abroad & after returning from abroad! Idea out of #GenerationStudyAbroad #IIESummit2016


A week ago, I was attending the 2nd annual IIE Generation Study Abroad Summit in Washington, DC and as I indicated in previous posts it was an excellent experience on many levels!

Last Friday, I posted about my favorite session at the Summit entitled Data-Driven Decision-Making: Documenting Study Abroad's Impact on Academic & Career Success presented by Lisa Loberg of California Lutheran, Ann Hubbard of the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) and Gary Rhodes of California State University of Dominguez Hills.

While speaking during the session, Gary brought up a very interesting idea that I really like.  In short, he suggested that students update their resumes before studying abroad, while they are studying abroad and after they return from study abroad.  I think this is an excellent idea and valuable exercise for study abroad students should consider doing!

Have you done something similar with students you work with who are heading abroad?

Photo credit: @UC_Global

Friday, October 28, 2016

Data-Driven Decision-Making to meet Institutional and Organizational Generation Study Abroad Goals

Earlier this week I was at the IIE Generation Study Abroad 2016 Summit in Washington, DC and I attended many great sessions.  For me, the most informative and valuable session was the Data-Driven Decision-Making: Documenting Study Abroad's Impact on Academic & Career Success session presented by Lisa Loberg of California Lutheran, Ann Hubbard of the American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) and Gary Rhodes of California State University of Dominguez Hills.

To be sure, I have a strong interest in and respect for the research side of the field.  I firmly believe that making decisions to advance study abroad on your campus or in your organization should be informed by data and research results.  Some of the questions that guided the presentation and discussion follow:

  • What are the most compelling findings?
  • How do we make them common talking points?
  • How can we use these data more effectively to show that study abroad is not only beneficial, but essential?
  • How can the case for study abroad be more powerfully made to administrators, trustees, faculty, students and families?














Numerous research studies in the field have demonstrated that study abroad has a positive impact student academic and career success.  All three of my colleagues presented strong evidence on the positive impact of study abroad and were very engaging during their talks.  If you have a chance to attend a future conference session that Lisa, Ann or Gary are presenting at I highly recommend joining their session!


What study abroad data and research results have you found to be most useful in helping you advocate the benefits of study abroad to students or institutional leadership/decision makers?