The NAFSA Committee on Research and Evaluation (1958)

Many colleagues and IHEC Blog readers know that I have a strong interest in the history of the field of international education and predominately its history in the United States. I'm no historian. I just find it quite interesting and worthwhile to study.

During my three year tenure on NAFSA's Subcommittee on Information Management (focused primarily on publications) from 2006-2008 I had meetings in Washington, D.C. after NAFSA's Winter Leadership Meetings (WLM) and then a two and a half day meeting in the NAFSA library of their main office each August. I would always try to arrive to the NAFSA office as soon as possible in the morning and would spend breaks searching though their bookshelves for interesting and historical pieces of literature. I came across some really great stuff and would scribble quick notes before the meetings would resume. Just the other day I came across some of my messy notes and thought I would share as I think those interested in research and evaluation (and history) in the history of the field will enjoy. Of special note, similar efforts are currently underway by the Teaching, Learning & Scholarship (TLS) team at NAFSA and these efforts have a very nice connection to one of the members of this 1958 committee listed below. Stay tuned to IHEC Blog for more on this (as we approach the upcoming NAFSA conference in Kansas City) and in particular the TLS sessions during the conference!

Here is a little bit of historical information that I found to be of interest:

In 1958, the Committee on Research and Evaluation of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers embarked on a project to publish reviews of significant research studies in inter-cultural exchanges, together with a discusion of their implicaitons for campus foreign student programs. ~ M. Robert B. Klinger, Chairman of Committee, 1959-1960

Committee members:

- Arthur Feraru, Chief, Office of Operations, Research Evaluations, IIE

- Russell G. HAnson, Assoc. Counselor, Internatioanl Center, University of Michigan

- Erin Hubbeit, Internatioanl Educaitonal Exchange Service, Department of State

- M. Robert B. Klinger, Counselor, International Center, University of Michigan

- Virgil R. Lougheed, Foreign Student Adviser, Wayne State University

- Joseph A. Mestenhauser, Asst. to Foreign Student Adviser, University of Minnesota

- Lois D. Novas, Foreign Sudent Adviser, Columbia University

- Robert D. Porter, Foreign Student Adviser, University of Washington

- Werner Warmbrum, Foreign Student Adviser, Stanford University

Source: NAFSA Studies and Papers Research Series, Number 1

Research Studies in Inter-cultural Education: Reviews and Implicaitons for Exchange of Persons

Edited by Werner Warmbrum

Published by NAFSA, New York, 1960

Photo credit: Brittany G

What should I research for my dissertation?

After 3.5 years of night classes in downtown Chicago and then reading for and writing my comprehensive examinations (all while working full-time and having one then two and now three kids) I have been at the dissertation proposal stage for sometime now. However, I changed my topic a little over a year ago because I turned it into a chapter entitled “Qualitative Standards and Learning Outcomes for Study Abroad” for the upcoming book A History of Study Abroad: 1965 to Present to be published in March 2010 by Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad (I believe that everyone attending the upcoming Forum on Education Abroad conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA will get a copy of the book).

If I was explaining my current idea for a dissertation topic in a Twitter post it would look something like this: “Dissertation to be: Towards the Development of a Methodology to Measure Public Diplomacy Outcomes of International Education Programs”. I’m not trying to minimize a dissertation by talking about it in 140 characters. It’s just that this is all I have right now…an idea that is very interesting to me but now I need to figure out if this is a good idea for a dissertation topic and, if so, how I would even go about researching this.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

Okay, back to my lunch hour of reading all the resources on the Interagency Working Group (IAWG) on U.S. Government-Sponsored International Exchanges and Training website at http://www.iawg.gov/. Maybe I can focus my dissertation somehow on IAWG???

Photo credit: ionntag

Video of the Week - American Education Abroad at WACDC

For this video of the week I selected this April 1, 2008 panel discussion hosted by the World Affairs Council in Washington, D.C. I think it is a great discussion on international educational exchanges and public diplomacy and I recommend scheduling time to watch it. Please note that it runs one hour and twenty-five minutes so plan accordingly. I have copied and pasted the video description below:

“In the face of growing negative global opinion, international views of American education may hold a key in improving US diplomatic relationships by fostering better understanding between the US and peoples around the world. Join our panelists as they examine the role played by American education abroad and the long term impact of this highly regarded American export. Moderated by Dr. Mark G. Pomar: President of the International Research and Exchange Board. Panelists: The Honorable Julia Chang Bloch: President of the US-China Education Trust Dr. Allan Goodman: President and CEO of the Institute of International Education Dr. Joseph G. Jabbra: President of the Lebanese American University”

You might also find the many other videos on the World Affairs Council YouTube channel to be of interest which you can access here.

USCCD Online Database of Non-Profit U.S. Citizen Diplomacy Organizations now over 1,000 Resources

The U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy (USCCD) announced the launch of a comprehensive expansion of resources and search capabilities for their online database of non-profit U.S. Citizen Diplomacy organizations. Their database now has over 1,000 resources and has grown over 300% from last year!

Check out the database and put it on the radar of those who you think will be interested.

This is the first IHEC Blog post about the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy in 2010 but it will not be the last. Great things are happening in Des Moines, Iowa so stay tuned! Rather than hear about all of the great resources and initiatives happening at The Center from me why not sign up to receive updates directly from them which can do right on their homepage at http://www.uscenterforcitizendiplomacy.org/ (you can access the updated database from their homepage as well).

Emergency Assistance for Haitian Students on U.S. Campuses

Last week, the Institute of International Education (IIE) announced that they will provide emergency grants to Haitian students studying in the United States. The Haiti-EAS (Emergency Assistance for Students) is available to provide grants up to $2,000 to Haitian students who are experiencing “serious financial difficulties due to the recent tragedy in their home country. Nomination forms should be submitted to IIE by February 12, 2010.

U.S. campus administrators can learn more about this generous support for their Haitian student population at www.iie.org/HaitiEAS

Photo credit: ChrisM70

IHEC Blog nominated for the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs 2010

Yesterday I received news that IHEC Blog was nominated for the Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs 2010 competition held by Lexiophiles and bab.la. Voting is open through February 14th so if you have a few free minutes between now and the end of voting period please take a few (maybe several) to look at the various nominated blogs and cast your vote here!

Additionally, you may find my other website/blog International Education Blogs & News (IEB&N) to be of interest. You can access IEB&N here.

International Higher Education Consulting Blog (Kindle Edition)

Yes, you can now get IHEC Blog on the Kindle! I want to thank Penny Schouten (@PennySchouten) for suggesting this a few months ago. I finally found a few minutes this past week to investigate and that’s all that it really took to make it happen.

The main concern I have is that Amazon charges a monthly subscription fee. My intent with making IHEC Blog available on the Kindle was accessibility for readers and not pennies in my pocket. Additionally, Amazon set the monthly subscription fee at $1.99 while some blogs are available on the Kindle for only $0.99 a month and I’m not sure why. I would prefer the IHEC Blog Kindle Edition to be free. If you do subscribe I would love to hear what you think and if you could take a moment to provide a customer review I would appreciate it.  If you are interested in subscribing to IHEC Blog's Kindle Edition plesase click on the photo above and you will be directed to Amazon.com.

With a monthly subscription I’m not sure how many people will subscribe. Again, I didn’t do this to make money and any revenue generated by Kindle subscriptions I will donate to UNICEF. Even if you don’t have a Kindle or don’t want to subscribe to IHEC Blog please consider making a cash donation to UNICEF!

I have something else in the works for the mobile user and it will be free (assuming I read all the fine print correctly) so stay tuned…