Follow the Twitter Back Channel from 2013 NAFSA Annual Conference

In case you are not on Twitter there is a great back channel happening and you can follow along here!

Also, you may find my Int'l Ed. News & Views Twitter list to be of interest!

Tweets about "#NAFSA13"

A Note of Thanks to Everyone Who Helped Me with my Dissertation

As this blog posts here on IHEC Blog I am participating in commencement at Loyola University Chicago and will receive my Doctorate in Cultural and Educational Policy Studies, Comparative and International Education.  It was a long nine years to complete this degree and there are many to thank and I wish to specifically thank everyone who helped me with my dissertation and those acknowledgements follow:

THE NATIONAL SECURITY EDUCATION PROGRAM AND ITS SERVICE REQUIREMENT:  AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF WHAT AREAS OF GOVERNMENT AND FOR WHAT DURATION NATIONAL SECURITY EDUCATION PROGRAM RECIPIENTS HAVE WORKED

I would like to acknowledge everyone who has assisted me throughout my doctoral studies over the years.  I would first like to acknowledge my adviser, Dr. Noah Sobe, for agreeing to serve as my adviser and for his patience and feedback during the many courses I took with him and as I completed my dissertation.  Additionally, I would like to thank Dr. Robert Roemer and Dr. David Ensminger for agreeing to serve on my dissertation committee.  I truly appreciate all of their time and assistance as I navigated this process!

A very special thanks is due to my friend and colleague Dr. Kevin Gormley at the National Security Education Program for his encouragement dating back to a lunch meeting in Los Angeles in 2009 to our phone conversations and e-mail communications throughout 2010 and 2011 about my project.  This dissertation would not have been possible without Kevin’s support and assistance!  I also wish to thank the many staff members at the National Security Education Program including Dr. Michael Nugent, Judy Collier, Roy Savoy, Katie Davis, Alison Patz, and Stuart Karaffa for their approval of my project, their time in reviewing my survey instrument and providing valuable feedback at our meeting back in November 2010 and their assistance in launching my survey instrument.  I also wish to thank Genie Lomize, Treasurer of the Boren Forum, and Dr. Philip Lyon, Former Executive Director of the Boren Forum, for their support of my dissertation and for Dr. Lyon’s continued support and time to meet at the National Security Education Program Office in November 2010 to review and provide feedback on my survey instrument.  A note of thanks is also due to Christopher Powers, Director of the Boren Awards for International Study at the Institute of International Education for answering my e-mail questions about historical program dates.  I hope that the National Security Education Program, the Boren Awards for International Study and the Boren Forum will find some value in the results of my dissertation.

I also want to thank all of the National Security Education Program Alumni (Boren Scholars and Boren Fellows) who took time out of their busy schedules to complete my survey instrument!

Additional gratitude is offered to many colleagues in the field of international education who provided resources and feedback as I worked on my dissertation.  This list of individuals includes the following:  Dr. Gary Rhodes and Dr. Miloni Gandhi from the Center for Global Education at the University of California, Los Angeles for taking time out of their busy schedules to review and provide feedback on my dissertation proposal and survey instrument; Mickey Slind for sending me her personal collection of primary documents related to the early years of the National Security Education Program (they will always have a home in Bury Book International Education Library & Archive); Elizabeth Mandeville for sending me a valuable  primary document pertaining to the early years of the National Security Education program; Stephanie Kirmer for taking the time out of her schedule to meet with me and provide a statistics tutorial and for lending me one of her publications as I worked on the data analysis portion of my dissertation; Kyle Flynn for helping me better understand the statistical analysis of my results; and, Dr. Louis Berends for his friendship and support throughout our studies and time at Loyola University Chicago and beyond.

Further acknowledgement and thanks is due to my supervisor Christine Gramhofer at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.  Her support for time off to work to research and write my dissertation was truly helpful and greatly appreciated!

Thank you to my mother Vicky and Sam, father Jim and Mary Ellen, and my mother and father-in-law Therese y Don Carlos for their encouragement and continued support over the years and their enthusiasm as I neared my goal.

Finally, but most importantly, I wish to thank my wife Ana and children Gabriela, Andrés y Lucas for their patience, assistance, support and faith in me.  The nights away from the family while attending classes and the days and nights away from them while writing my comprehensive exams and, in particular, this dissertation were truly difficult.

I could not have completed my research without the support of all these wonderful people!

International Education News & Happenings over on IHEC Blog's Facebook Page

Life post dissertation continues to be crazy and, dare I say, even more so.  In the month since I defended (I walk next Thursday, May 9th) I have received a couple of consulting offers, accepted a JSIE submission to review, been asked to facilite some online discussions in advance of a large upcoming international education conference, received an Press invitation to an upcoming international education event that will convene here in Chicago and have fielded vice requests to read my dissertation (Abstract available).

While I have continued to post weekly to IHEC Blog (copy and paste jobs of press releases and embedded videos and conference twitter #hashtag feeds) I spent more time over on Twitter and on IHEC Blog's Facebook page.  I find the opportunities to post and connect in these other spaces to be more economical for my time at the moment and I will continue to be more active in these spaces for the near future.  Following are some of the tings posted to IHEC Blog's Facebook page and if you are interested in coming along for the ride please feel free to do so at https://www.facebook.com/IHECblog:

- Institute of International Education Impact & Results by the Numbers at http://bit.ly/157VGUO

- In collaboration with the University of Chicago, on Monday, May 6, the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board will host a public discussion, Fulbright 2.0 – e-Learning, MOOCs, OERs, and the Future: What Does New Technology Mean for Global Education? A panel of experts will explore the evolving role of e-learning technologies in global education and the potential to apply these within the Fulbright Program, including how such innovations can empower Fulbright participants to share knowledge and resources with audiences around the world. The event will be Live Streamed at http://go.usa.gov/4nvF


- Education Abroad Graduate Students and Young Professionals
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Education-Abroad-Graduate-Students-Young-4948281/about
Twitter https://twitter.com/EAGSYP
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EAGSYP


- Tara Sonenshine, Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, is reported to be leaving State Department in July according to the Washington Post "In the Loop"] at http://wapo.st/17kEAAo

- World Bank Executive Director Ian H. Solomon will join The University of Chicago as the VP for Global Engagement: http://ow.ly/kiEdt

- U.S. Senator Raises Concerns About Student Visas in Wake of Boston Bombing [via The Chronicle of Higher Education] at http://bit.ly/10wMg3r and via Senator Paul Rand's website at http://1.usa.gov/10wMkA9

Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals (TAICEP) - A New International Professional Association Supporting and Serving Inernational Credential Evaluation

The Association for International Credential Evaluation Professionals (TAICEP) is a new international professional association that has the single purpose of supporting and serving the profession of international credential evaluation. 
“The need for education and training of credential evaluation professionals has a global impact, involving professionals worldwide. An international association will facilitate communication and knowledge, as well as strengthen standards,” Steering Committee member Sandy Gault said. 

“TAICEP is the only association dedicated solely to the interests and needs of the profession of international credential evaluators. Members will have a place to develop their knowledge and skills, interact with colleagues from around the world and contribute to the professionalism of their field. This organization will work cooperatively with the other associations in so far as their activities relate to the profession and the mission of the association,” Steering Committee member Margit Schatzman said. 

A steering committee of professionals came together to take action on ideas that have been discussed among those in the profession for several years. TAICEP is an international association and members from all countries are welcome to join, participate in activities, and take leadership positions. 

The steering committee is dedicated to move the association to the next level of involvement by a larger group of people in the field. TAICEP's Steering Committee includes: 

Darryl Calkins, Northeastern University 
Sandy Gault, University of Missouri-Kansas City 
Nancy Katz, Evaluation Service, Inc. 
Christine Kerlin, retired, Everett Community College 
Margit A. Schatzman, Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE) 
Linda Tobash, Institute of International Education, Inc. (IIE) 
Kitty Villa, retired, University of Texas at Austin 

The primary goals of TAICEP are to identify and develop theories, methodologies, and best practices used in international credential evaluation and to be an advocate for the profession. The operational principles of TAICEP are collaboration, volunteerism, inclusiveness, and international orientation. 
A small steering committee of current and former professionals in the field is developing a symposium to be held in October 2013. The symposium will bring together a broader group of professionals to assist in the development of TACIEP that will be open to individuals and interested parties worldwide. 

One can become involved in the association by becoming a member, attending the symposium, nominating others to participate in the association, informing colleagues about the association, and by adding ideas to surveys and other forums that will be used to develop the association. 

Please visit the website to obtain information on becoming a member, friend or a supporter of the association. 
WWW.TAICEP.ORG 

Contact: Nancy Katz 
email: nkatz@evaluationservice.net
tel: (847) 477-8569 

Write to your Members of Congress and urge them to support robust FY14 funding for Department of State exchanges at $625 million

The following IHEC Blog post is a copy and paste of an e-mail I received from Lisa Heyn, Policy Specialist at the Alliance for International Educational & Cultural Exchange, and it is re-posted with her permission.  Please take a moment to review the information and if you support this effort then please take a moment to send a letter as it literally takes less then one minute to submit the templated message the Alliance has prepared if you don't have time to write your own letter!

The Senate State-Foreign Operations appropriations subcommittee will hold its first hearing on FY14 funding tomorrow (Thursday, April 18th) which is why it is critical that we boost our efforts today and spread our message far and wide via Twitter and letters to Congress!

So far, 161 letters have been sent. While this is a great start, we need to have many more letter sent to lawmakers today, especially to House and Senate appropriators!  Our goal is to have at least 500 letters sent by the end of today!

An editable sample letter is available on the Alliance Action Legislative Alerts and Updates webpage. If possible, please include specific examples demonstrating the (economic) impact of exchanges in your community. You can find your Members of Congress here.

Tweet #ExchangesImpact

We also need to gather as many Tweets as possible today using the hashtag #ExchangesImpact – please take our message to Twitter and tweet your Members of Congress about the importance of international exchanges, using their individual Twitter handles. For a complete list of Member Twitter handles, refer to these House and Senate lists. Sample tweets are included below for your use.

Thank you for taking action today by tweeting about #ExchangesImpact, and for helping us reach our goal of having at least 500 letters sent to Congress in support of FY14 funding for Department of State exchanges at $625 million.

Sample Tweets

·         Support FY14 funding at $625 million for Dept. of State exchanges, a proven and cost-effective PD and smart power tool #ExchangesImpact

·         Leadership, cultural learning & language study: International exchange programs prepare Americans for the global economy #ExchangesImpact

·         Exchanges teach Americans critical skills and enhance U.S. global competitiveness #ExchangesImpact

·         Exchanges are a cost-effective investment, expanding the vision of current & emerging leaders across the globe #ExchangesImpact

·         International exchanges enhance U.S. national security & smart power by engaging future leaders across the world #ExchangesImpact

·         Exchanges change lives and minds, creating a vast reservoir of goodwill toward the U.S. across the globe #ExchangesImpact

Photo credit:  studentofrhythm

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the Impact that Violence in the United States has on Prospective International Students

ABSTRACT - "The National Security Education Program and its Service Requirement: An Exploratory Study of what Areas of Government and for What Duration National Security Education Program Recipients Have Worked" a Dissertation by David Comp, 2013

If you are interested in reading my dissertation and are unable to locate it electronically then please feel free to e-mail me and I will send it to you as an e-mail attachment.