This month, I had the honor to attend a reception at the ambassador's residence, organized by the US-China Strong Foundation and Project Pengyou. The event was an opportunity to mingle with fellow students and educators who are living and studying abroad in China. Regarding Sino-Chinese relations, Ambassador Branstad has reiterated his commitment to his friendship with Chinese president Xi Jinping and the well-established connection between Iowa and Hebei.

One hundred years ago this October, the Red Army deposed Russia’s Provisional government and declared the world’s first socialist state. How did a revolution waged in the name of liberating workers and peasants from oppression and ending war produce one of the most oppressive regimes in modern history?

A new staffing model for the UI’s four cultural and resource centers empowers the staff members to bring passion to their roles and foster a sense of community for students.

University of Iowa student Shane Weitzman spent the summer studying Hindi in Jaipur, India as an awardee of the 2017 U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship.

International Writing Program members discuss free press and fake news on an global scale.

If the problem with fake news is not informational, then its solution will not be informational either.

Brenda and Joe Ewing of Iowa City raised their kids to be curious about the world. Discussions around the dinner table included current events and what they might mean for Iowa. Family vacations exposed them to great museums and unfamiliar cities, and some of the travel was international. When all five Ewing children attended the University of Iowa, they pursued majors suited to their individual goals and ambitions, but the common thread was that each one studied abroad, some more than once.

2017 marks the hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution. That tumultuous century saw Russia reject the Romanov dynasty which had ruled for over three hundred years and embrace a new ideology whose leader, Vladimir Lenin, would become the head of the world’s first communist state. Guests on the November 1 WorldCanvass will help us understand Russia’s historical trajectory, the cultural and social fallout from the revolution and its aftermath, and its place in today’s geopolitical constellation. WorldCanvass will take place from 5:30-7 p.m. on November 1 at MERGE, 136 South Dubuque Street. The program is free and open to the public. Please come early for a pre-show catered reception from 5-5:30 p.m.

International Programs will host a Boren Awards and Critical Language Scholarship information session on Wednesday, October 18, from 5-7 p.m. in 1100 University Capitol Centre. Learn about award requirements, the application process, and have your questions answered by Boren representative Randi Butler and CLS Campus Advisor Karen Wachsmuth. 

Destiny Foster says she’ll always remember leaving the study abroad office and calling her mom to tell her they were going to “need to sell some candy bars or something” because she was going to Spain over the summer. “There was something that told me I needed this experience,” she said. “It was a calling and I had to answer it. I’m so glad I did because here I am, months later, filling you in on my unforgettable journey abroad.”