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International Education Week begins Nov. 11

November 7, 2013

International flags in front of Holmes Student Center“Global Communiversity” is the focus of this year’s International Education Week on campus, which begins Monday, Nov. 11, and runs through Friday, Nov. 15.

Sponsored by the Division of International Programs, the goal of the week of special activities is to draw attention to NIU’s increasing global profile, said Deborah Pierce, associate vice president for International Affairs.

“With our theme we wanted to highlight that the reach of NIU extends to the global community,” Pierce said. “The recent appointment of Dr. Raymond W. Alden III as vice president for International Affairs signals the importance of our global accomplishments and the centrality of international projects to the life of the university.”

NIU is actively pursuing opportunities for more students and faculty to engage in international study through study abroad opportunities as well as programs such as the federally funded Fulbright awards and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

Highlights of the week include a Friday, Nov. 15, lecture by Chie Ikeya, assistant professor of history at Rutgers University, and the announcement of winners of campus international education awards. International menus are being offered in the residence halls and Blackhawk Food Court all week long, and international displays are up in Holmes Student Center and Founders Memorial Library.

There are also a number of campus activities open to all. These include:

Monday, Nov. 11.

  • Cookie giveaway in MLK Commons, Holmes Student Center, DuSable and Barsema Halls
  • “Minorities and Study Abroad” at 7:30 in DuSable Hall 212.

Tuesday, Nov. 12.

  • Country Exhibit in Neptune Central from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • International Career Panel in Barsema Hall Room 300 from 4 to 6 p.m.
  • College of Business keynote speaker Datuk Noripah Kamso will talk on on Islamic banking at 6:30 p.m. in Barsema Hall Auditorium. This event will also be broadcast live.

Photo of puzzle-piece globeWednesday, Nov. 13

  • NIU members of Phi Beta Kappa will sponsor a talk by J.D. Bowers from 9 to 10 a.m. in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center.

Thursday, Nov. 14

  • Fulbright Specialist Award workshop for NIU faculty and research associates from 11 a.m. to noon in the Sky Room.
  • Student Fulbright workshop from 1 to 2:30 p.m.  in the Sky Room, Holmes Student Center. Pierce will discuss how best to apply for, and experience, this short-term Fulbright appointment to spend two to six weeks at universities abroad. Janet Hathaway is leading the student workshop.
  • A 7:30 p.m. facilitated screening in DuSable Hall 148 of Crossing Borders Education’s “The Dialogue,” a 70-minute documentary about Chinese and American students traveling together in China.

Friday, Nov. 15

  • The week’s capstone lecture, “Intra-Asian Families and Conjugalities in Colonial Burma and Southeast Asia: A History of Intimacies in the Age of Global Empire,” will be given at noon by Chie Ikeya in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center.
    • A light lunch buffet will precede Ikeya’s talk, which is being co-sponsored by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the Division of International Programs and Graduate Colloquium.
  • International Education Week will conclude with the second annual International Global Village Potluck & Dance from 6 to 10 p.m. in the Barsema Hall atrium, sponsored by the Division of International Programs, the College of Business, the Foreign Language Residence Program, the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the ELS Language Center. There will be dance performances, cultural displays and an international food tasting followed by a DJ-hosted dance.

Phi Beta Delta logoIn addition to public activities, the Division of International Programs is also hosting a number of invitation-only events during the week, including receptions for study abroad program directors and alumni, and NIU’s outstanding international educator, department and student awards.

Phi Beta Delta, the international honor society, will induct new members in a ceremony Nov. 14.

“NIU offers more events celebrating International Education Week than virtually every other university in the region,” Pierce said.

For more information, contact International Programs at (815) 753-9526 or slindell@niu.edu.