The SOCCIS Internalization of the Curriculum Committee is administered by Whittier College, Professor Joyce Kaufman (jkaufman@whittier.edu). The committee planned and implemented a workshop, Crossing Boundaries: Internationalizing Across Disciplines, Time and Space, an all day program held on Friday, March 5, 1999 at Whittier College. The workshop included the participation of nine institutions in the southern California region.
The objective of this workshop was for faculty and administrators from member institutions to share ways in which they have internationalized "non-traditional" disciplines. The day was structured so that there were contributions from across a range of SOCCIS institutions, from small private colleges such as Whittier, to the larger private institutions, such as USC, to the institutions in the California State system, from community colleges through the Cal State and UC schools.
The day began with comments by the keynote speaker, Dr. Vishni Bahtia, Special Assistant to the President of Washington State University and a leader in the field of international education. His comments were followed by a panel entitled "Responses to the Keynote Address." Laurien Alexandre from Antioch, Linda Anderson from CSU, Fullerton, and Val Rust from UCLA served as panelists. Each of the participants responded to Dr. Bhatia's comments from the perspective of his/her discipline or role in the institution. For example, as Dean at Antioch, Dr. Alexandre put the comments into the perspective of what she feels are the most important aspects of students' understanding of the world around them. Dr. Anderson responded from the perspective of teaching foreign language as well as study abroad, and Dr. Rust couched his remarks in light of his experiences with exchange programs.
A second panel was provided during the afternoon and focused on "Application of Ways to Infuse International Perspectives" and was designed to share the specific ways in which different member institutions internationalize "non-traditional" aspects of the curriculum. Sarah Pratt, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Letters, Arts and Science at USC described the changes in her College's curriculum in order to give students a broader international understanding. Kim Thomas, Director of the Environmental Science Program at Whittier College, discussed a new course entitled "Science and Math in Context," which draws upon contemporary examples in order to make science more real and relevant to students. Elaine Haglund, Professor of Education at CSU, Long Beach, illustrated how an international focus could be incorporated into education training. And Rosalind Raby, representing the California Colleges for International Education/California Community Colleges, talked about the many ways in which the community colleges are internationalizing their curricula.
Crossing Boundaries: Internationalizing Across Disciplines, Time and Space
Introductions and Welcome
David J. Muller, Interim Vice President and Dean of Faculty, Whittier
College
Keynote Address
Dr. Vishnu N. Bhatia, Special Assistant to the President, Washington State
University
Introduced by Paul Lewis, Director, Center for International Education,
California State University, Long Beach
Panel I: Responses to the Keynote Address
Chair: Joyce P. Kaufman, Whittier College
Participants:
Linda Andersen, Dept. of Foreign Languages and Literatures, California
State University, Fullerton
Laurien Alexandre, Dean of Academic Affairs, Antioch University
Val Rust, Director of UCLA Education Abroad Program, and Professor, Graduate
School of Education, UCLA
Panel II: Applications of Ways to Infuse International
Perspectives into General Education Requirements
Chair: Dixon Johnson, University of Southern California
Participants:
Sarah Pratt, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Letters, Arts
and Science, University of Southern California
Kim Thomas, Director, Environmental Science Program, Whittier College
Elaine Haglund, Professor of Social Foundations of Education, California
State University, Long Beach
Rosalind Raby, California Colleges for International Education, California
Community Colleges
Wrap and Conclusion
The SOCCIS Internationalization of the Curriculum Committee met subsequent to the March 1999 workshop to review the workshop evaluations and to plan for the 1999-2000 academic year. It was agreed to hold another workshop, "Evaluation and Assessment of Foreign Study Experiences." This workshop was held on Friday, March 10, 2000, at CSU Los Angeles. The approach was much the same as the 1999 workshop, with a keynote speaker and panelists responding to the ideas put forward by that speaker. However, because of the range of this particular topic, it was decided that the afternoon sessions would include four sets of discussion groups, each focusing on a different aspect of the issue. The topics were: A. Financial Implications of Foreign Study; B. Recruiting and Preparing Students to Study Off-campus; C. Studying and Working Abroad; and D. On the Return to Campus.
Evaluation and Assessment of Foreign Study Experiences: A Workshop
Friday, March 10, 2000
California State University, Los Angeles
Sponsored by: Internationalizing the Curriculum Committee - SOCCIS
Introductions and Welcome
Joyce P. Kaufman, Chair, Internationalizing the Curriculum Committee
Michael Fels, Cal State University Los Angeles
Keynote Address - Bruce LaBrack, Professor of Anthropology and Director
of International Studies, University of the Pacific
Introduced by Dixon Johnson, University of Southern California
Responses to the Keynote Address
Chair: Paul Lewis, Director, Center for International Education, Cal State
University Long Beach
Participants: Christine Russell, Study Abroad Director, Coast Community
College District
Kazi Mamun, Director of Undergraduate Student Affairs, Marshall School
of Business, University of Southern California
Break-out Sessions I. Financial Implications of Foreign Study
Led by Catherine Graham, Director of Financial Aid, Whittier College
II. Recruiting and Preparing Students, including Safety and Liability
Issues
Led by Gary Rhodes, Director, Center for Global Education, University
of Southern California
III. Working Abroad
IV. On Returning to the Campus
Led by Bruce LaBrack, Professor of Anthropology and Director of International
Studies, University of the Pacific
Reports from each of the break-out groups,
Response from Carlos Manuel Haro on behalf of SOCCIS