November 19th, 2009

On November 17, “Global Lunch in the Dining Commons” featured foods from Peru, India, Italy, and Canada in recognition of International Education Week. Schools, colleges, and universities across the United States celebrated the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide as part of this joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education.

Photo: Hannah Dale

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After President Giles-Gee made the celebratory first cut, Skye Stephenson and Steven Spiegel (GEO) served cake to all who attended the Study Away Fair on Thursday, September 17. The Global Education Office (GEO), formerly known as the National and International Exchange Office (NIEC), was celebrating a new name that better reflects their role as the campus hub for academic study away experiences and international student support.

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From Weston Forsblad, National and International Exchange Center: The winning photographs from the fall 2008 National/International Exchange Center photo contest are now online.

Our office holds this contest each semester to give students who have just returned from their study-away destinations a chance to share their experience with the campus community. The contest consists of four categories: Academics, Landscape, KSC Students Away, and Culture. Cash prizes of $50 are awarded to the category winners and a $100 cash prize goes to the grand prize winner. The winning photos are also on display on the Student Center third floor.

Grand Prize winner of the NIEC photo contest is Tessa Shea with her photo "Famous Gondola" in the Culture category.

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From Skye Stephenson, NIEC: The Study Away Fair will be held Wednesday, February 4, from 11–2 in the student center atrium. Come and learn more about the many opportunities for study away for academic credit during the semester or summer. Find out about the world of possibilities that expand your horizons and enhance your career options. A raffle will be held, with the winner receiving a $500 study away fee-waiver award!

A study away information session will be held on Thursday, February 5, from 4:30–5:30 p.m. and on Friday, February 6, from 11 a.m.–noon in the Madison Café. These sessions will provide detailed information about study away possibilities and choices for summer and fall ’09 semesters, ways to make study away affordable, outline study away options that have the same cost as a semester at KSC, and provide information about how study away can increase job possibilities in these challenging economic times. For more information, visit the NIEC website.

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From Kim Schmidl-Gagne, Academic Affairs: The National and International Exchange Program and the Campus Commission on Diversity and Multiculturalism will celebrate Keene State College’s International Education Week by sponsoring “Embracing Diversity at Home and Abroad,” November 17–21.

• Monday, November 17, noon–1 p.m., Mountain View Room (a light lunch will be available):
MacLean Gander, vice president for External Relations and Strategic Initiatives at Landmark College, will present “Learning Differences as Di-versity Rather than Dis-ability: New Lessons and Understanding in the United States and Arabic World.” This presentation will review current issues and developments in the field, and discuss a groundbreaking collaborative project in Saudi Arabia to work with students in the Arabic-speaking world who have learning disabilities.

• Tuesday, November 18, 9 p.m., Night Owl Café:
Fish Fall in Love, an Iranian film by director Ali Raffi. Atieh’s singular passion is food, and her small but popular restaurant on the sleepy Caspian coast is her pride and joy. But when Aziz, her former fiancé, appears after a twenty-year absence, the women believe he intends to close the restaurant, so Atieh prepares his favorite dishes, one after the other, in a desperate effort to convince him otherwise. Loosely based on the Persian fable of Shahrazad and the Thousand Myths (A Thousand and One Nights), director Ali Raffi uses the language of food to paint a richly textured portrait of life and love on the northern coast of Iran. Sponsored by the International Friends Club.

• Wednesday, November 19, 6–7 p.m. in the Madison Café:
Skye Stephenson, NIEC Director, will present ”Uni-versity/Di-versity/Plur-versity: Andean Indigenous Higher Education, Sustainability, the Good Life, and Wisdom.” Ecuador has one of the most active indigenous movements in the Americas, and a key goal of the movement has been the establishment of a university that reflects their nations’ and people’s ancestral knowledge and acknowledges the centrality of the Pachamama, or Earth. After a decade of development, the Intercultural University Amatay Wasi was accredited by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education in 2005. Skye Stephenson has visited this University twice, most recently in summer 2008. Come learn more about this truly innovative university as well as the burgeoning movement of intercultural universities throughout Latin America.

• Thursday, November 20, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. in the vending area, Student Center Atrium:
”Passport Day!” Apply for your official U.S. passport or renew your passport book or card on campus. Remember that a passport is now required for all travel to Canada and Mexico. For fee and application information, contact the Keene passport office.

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From Steve Spiegel, National and International Exchange Center: The winners from the NIEC photo contest are:
Grand Prize Winner: “Venice,” by Carleen Ryan.
KSC Students Away Category: “The Lone Sailboat,” by Ketura Rich
Culture: “Sahara Excursion,” by Patricia DaSilvia.
Academics: “Keene State Students in the School Patio,” by Jessica Williams.
Landscape/Scenery: Patricia Danilova

The grand-prize winner received $100, and the four first-place winners each received $50.

Photo by Carleen Ryan, NIEC Photo contest grand prize winner “Venice.”

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