Dear all,

Spring is still making its way to Iowa, but the Hawkeye women’s basketball team has made its way to the NCAA Final Four and all is right with the world! Regardless of the outcome of the championship tournament, we thank and congratulate Coach Lisa Bluder and the team for the excitement they’ve provided during this memorable season.

And while the Hawkeyes show their talent on the court, IP’s own team of accomplished faculty and staff has much to be proud of this past month as well. March has been one of the most active months this year for IP-sponsored events. Among the highlights were:

• War and Resistance: An Evening of Poetry to Promote Peace and Democracy, a joint venture between IP and the Division of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.
• World Café, held in conjunction with the University of Johannesburg and UI College of Public Health on the topic of substance abuse and addiction among youth.
• Sustainable Traditional Practices from an Indian Perspective, a fascinating presentation by the art historian and cultural theorist Seema Srivastava, hosted by the South Asian Studies Program, an IP affinity group.
• Frêquencias: Contemporary Afro-Brazilian Cinema and the Black Diaspora, a 2022-23 Obermann Humanities Symposium & International Programs Major Project Award, in collaboration with the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies and the Department of Cinematic Arts.

These events showcase the international reach of UI students and faculty while underscoring IP’s commitment to holding substantive discussions on crucial topics such as the war in Ukraine, drug abuse, environmental sustainability, and the aesthetic and social impact of the African diaspora. In mentioning these activities, we send our warmest thanks to our Communications and Relations team for organizing and promoting these events, all of which were very well attended.

In this vein, we note that later this month, our annual Provost’s Global Forum will take place from April 17-23. This year, we are doing something a bit different in organizing joint performances with the UI School of Music and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in a series of concerts entitled “Festival of Contemporary Music from Israel.”  All performances will be held in the Concert Hall of Voxman Music Building and are free and open to the public.

It was partly the collaboration between our School of Music and its affiliation with the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music (PGVIM) in Bangkok that occasioned my trip to Thailand from March 11-19. The UI is about to sign an MOU with PGVIM based on numerous interactions between our faculty over the years. This summer will see two performances in Bangkok between UI and PGVIM colleagues. While the institute is located in a very busy section of Bangkok, the campus grounds offer a sense of tranquility and reflection necessary to the composition and performance of inspiring music [insert photos].

In addition to visiting our partners at PGVIM, I attended two conferences, Trade Winds, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and APAIE, both of which are designed, in part, to assist with international student recruitment efforts. The Indo-Pacific region is home to 60% of the world’s population, and its influence is expected to grow substantially in the very near future. Iowa intends to extend and deepen its recruiting efforts in South and Southeast Asia, with countries such as India and Vietnam assuming greater importance than in the past.

Building institutional partnerships in the region is crucial to expanding opportunities for current Iowa students and for bringing future global Hawkeyes to our campus. Along these lines, I was able to meet with an admitted international student and his family while in Bangkok. We discussed the advantages of an Iowa education as well as the pleasant student life afforded by Iowa City. A week after our meeting, the student emailed to say he had paid his acceptance fee and was coming to Iowa this fall. We were, of course, delighted by this news, and are thrilled to welcome as many international students as we can into the Hawkeye Family. Without question, the term “Go Hawks!” rings as loudly abroad as it does at home.

With all best wishes,

Russ 

International Programs (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement.  IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.