Dear all,

Happy March! The move toward spring has begun, and after a deep February chill, a turn of seasons is in the air. The month of February may have been a cold one, but activity within International Programs remained warm and engaged. February kicked off with our annual Provost’s Global Forum, which focused on private-public partnerships in higher education. Iowa has a long history in this area, both domestically and internationally. The conference featured speakers from Kosovo, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore, whose participation was complemented by UI faculty, staff, students, and members of the local business community. Topics dealt with curricular innovation, internships, as well as new models of collaboration between the education, business, and government sectors. Overall, the forum focused on workforce development in today’s global economy. A highlight of this year’s Provost’s Global Forum was the annual Joel Barkan Memorial Lecture delivered by Catherine Chong, director of the Office of Industry Engagement at the Singapore Management University (SMU), who discussed how SMU has built business curricula for the private sector from the bottom-up, working directly with industry from the beginning to design and update courses that meet market needs. For the lecture, we were delighted to welcome our dear friend Sandy Barkan, who attended in person. It was wonderful to reconnect with her, and we are deeply grateful to Sandy and the Stanley-University of Iowa Support Organization (SUIFSO) in their roles as champions of IP’s endeavors.

The middle of February was marked by two events, the first was the recognition of multiple international students by the #daretodiscover campaign run by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR). You may know that the DARE initiative has been a prominent feature of the OVPR’s programming for several years. Many international students have figured into the DARE campaign, but this recent spotlight is the first to underscore the contributions of international students as a group. What stands out are the varied disciplines in which our international students have excelled in research—be it biomedicine, engineering, public health, business, writing, and the performing arts. We are proud to have our international students showcased in this fashion and IP joins OVPR in applauding their many accomplishments.  

International students also played a large role in the annual Lunar New Year celebration organized by International Programs and the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies (CAPS), an IP affinity group. The festivities were held online, and included videos of family celebrations in Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, and the U.S., as well as panel discussions recalling the symbolism associated with Lunar New Year and the bonds shared as people all over the world celebrate the arrival of spring. The celebration concluded with a toast to the Year of the Snake, whose sign represents wisdom, mystery, and grace.

February ended with the wonderful news that the University of Iowa was named a Fulbright Top Producer for the ninth year! Rounds and rounds of applause and congratulations are in order for the recipients themselves, to Associate Director of International Fellowships Karen Wachsmuth and International Grants Assistant Sylvia Dean, to our numerous faculty mentors, and to IP’s great Communications and Relations staff who continually publicize the accomplishments of our Fulbright operation throughout the year. Our applicant-to-award ratio was in the top three for doctoral granting institutions, thus adding to the prestige of Iowa’s achievements. Top Producer status not only involves numbers, but it also encompasses disciplinary variety, project originality, and institutional commitment to global education. We are so very proud to build on our success, as we add this year to all the others in the Iowa Fulbright pantheon. 
 

All the best, 

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.