Friday, October 13, 2006
Grants will allow USI to bridge cultural gaps between U.S., Middle East
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USI’s Office of International Programs and Services has been awarded two grants from the U.S. Department of State through NAFSA: Association of International Educators (formerly known as the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers), based in Washington, D.C. Both will allow the University to reach out to students from the Middle East. The first grant will fund a project entitled, “Increasing Cross-cultural Understanding and Competence through Collaboration and Dialogue: Addressing the Needs of Students from Saudi Arabia.” USI is the lead institution in the project, which involves the Destination Indiana network, a consortium of Indiana colleges and universities working to promote the state’s higher education system overseas. The goals of the program are to increase understanding of Saudi and other Middle Eastern cultures among members of the institutions as well as communities across Indiana, and to provide Arabic students at Indiana institutions opportunities to gain a better understanding of American culture. Because of a new Saudi scholarship program, institutions throughout Indiana have experienced an unprecedented increase in the number of inquiries, applications, and new students enrolled from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government initiative has presented a welcome opportunity to institutions seeking to increase the number of international students from the Middle East, but also poses potential challenges which need to be addressed in order to achieve mutually beneficially results for institutions, students, and communities. “We are anticipating a huge increase in the number of students from Saudi Arabia,” said Heidi Gregori-Gahan, director of International Programs and Services. “The Saudi government, over a five-year period, is giving a minimum of 25,000 scholarships to students to support studying in the U.S.” The project will: • Provide training to key “frontline” campus personnel (such as food service, housing, security, etc.) from 15 institutions in Indiana in order to respond most effectively to the students’ special needs and ensure their smooth and positive integration into our campuses and communities; • Develop training materials and curricula that can be replicated in other communities, including a training video for law enforcement agencies; • Develop a regional speakers bureau and identify other resources available to institutions and communities in our region; • Provide opportunities for students from Saudi Arabia and other Arabic countries to share their culture and traditions with people in host communities and to engage in meaningful dialogue with American students, faculty, staff and others. “The gist of it all is to increase mutual understanding among peoples,” Gregori-Gahan said. “Some of the activities will focus on the students themselves and give them an opportunity to understand more about American culture. Some will be campus-specific, for the USI community, and some will be community-specific. I envision our students going into some of the schools in the area and talking with children. With this grant, we’ll be able to buy some nice materials for school children to help bridge the gap between cultures. “We also are going to be identifying a resource database and speakers bureau within the state for topics related to Arabic cultures, Middle Eastern issues, and students' needs – various topics that could be tapped into for other campus programs and activities.” The funding for the grant comes from the U.S. Department of State. Additional funding will allow Destination Indiana to host an international meeting of educational advisors to discuss Middle Eastern students’ needs in the U.S. The conference will be held in Indianapolis in May. The other grant will allow Gregori-Gahan to visit educational advising centers in Jordan. She applied to the organization’s competitive Advisers Professional Partnership Program (APPP) and was selected by NAFSA and Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs staff to visit Jordan for the 2006 program. Jennifer Grady, associate director of the program, said, “We received over 95 applications and it was one of the most competitive programs that we have seen recently at NAFSA.” Expenses are paid for entirely by the Department of State. Jordan was one of three Middle Eastern countries Gregori-Gahan requested. “I thought it would be a nice tie-in with the collaborative training grant,” she said. “I’ve never visited there, and I hope I’ll get to do some recruiting for USI.” Gregori-Gahan will travel to Jordan in November. |
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