“Participation in the China Southwest (with Tibet inclusion) IFDS has been one of the most useful and engaging professional development opportunities I've had in my 25+ years in International Education. I was able to fill in a huge gap in my understanding of China, a country and region that is considered to be a superpower in the making. Prior to my participation, I'd worked with Chinese students and scholars, and contributed to the best of my ability to our President's initiative in the People's Republic of China. But, I wasn't able to feel grounded until I personally and academically witnessed the history, environment, and reality of Chinese minority groups.
Since the IFDS, I've found videos, artwork, books, newspaper articles, and commentary on China more meaningful; and my ability to absorb current events and Chinese history, all the more informed as I talk with students and faculty about the role of China as an emerging power. It now rings true when I tell students about why learning Chinese is imperative for Americans and how issues of the environment and natural resource supplies for China are a global issue we must all be aware of.”
Martha Denney
Director of International Education
Colorado State University
China Southwest IFDS Alum
“At this moment, I'm digging out my notes from the Amsterdam IFDS for a discussion of prostitution and pornography in my Contemporary Social Problems classes. I have pictures and notes from Costa Rica on hold for later considerations of economic development and environmental issues. And, having finally mastered some basic digital technology, I'm using a PowerPoint of my pictures from Senegal and India to enhance presentations on cultural relativity, identity, religious traditions, families, and social change in my Principles of Sociology classes.
While such an account of integrating previous IFDS experiences into my courses demonstrates development of an increasingly global perspective, the actual effect of relating first-hand knowledge is more difficult to communicate.
Dozing students wake up. (“Imagine Dr. Lord drinking tea at the Prostitute Information Center!”)
Shy students ask questions. (“How do multiple wives in Senegal get along with each other?”)
Pencil pushers stop to think, consider, and ponder. (“How could out-sourcing be managed to benefit both Indian and American workers?”)
Students tell me that personal stories and insights bring the subject matter alive; some who have never traveled farther than Pittsburgh ask me about possibilities for studying abroad. Not only do International Faculty Development Seminars put me in touch with the world, but they also enable me to keep actively in touch with successive generations.
Resisting my sixty-something peers' talk about marking time toward retirement, I'm bent on gathering new information, raising new questions, and sharing new insights. Each IFDS experience whets my appetite for more.”
- Amsterdam IFDS Alum
“To teach for many
years, and to do it well,
requires the ability to grow
emotionally, intellectually,
maybe even spiritually. Of course, because our workload presses upon us with a great deal of force, we are tempted to repeat what we know. But, the affects of such stagnation should scare us. When I went on the CIEE seminar to Turkey, I went out of a sense that I needed something that only that country could give me. I wasn't sure what that would be exactly. During that amazing two weeks, however, and the years that followed, I did read different works, listen to the news differently, seek patience and fortitude in new ways that I had only vaguely longed for before. This trip continues to feed me. I bide my time before I once again sip tea with the Turks.”
Bryan Hull
English Department
Portland Community College
Turkey and Spain & Morocco IFDS Alum
