CCIS NEWSLETTER
CCIS 22nd Annual Conference held March 16-18, 2011 in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
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The 22nd Annual CCIS Conference was held in historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia March 16 to March 18, 2011.
The workshops preceding the conference drew record attendance. The first one, Using the Consortial Model, was led by Alci Craig, Truman State University and Cindy Sittler, Marymount Manhattan College. The second workshop concentrated on Safety and Responsibility in Study Abroad and the presenters were Katherine Bradford, Westfield State University, John Moore, Global Education Solutions and Margot Popowycz, Cultural Insurance Services International. The workshops were sponsored by the University of Rhode Island and Cultural Insurance Services International
The Plenary speaker was Ambassador Edward Gabriel, President, The Gabriel Company, LLC. The Ambassador was appointed by then President Bill Clinton and he served the U.S. in Morocco. He discussed the political and economic situation in the Middle East and North Africa and he congratulated CCIS members for their efforts in providing cross-cultural experiences for U.S. students.
A special guest of Norman Peterson, Mrs. Harriet Fulbright, attended the Plenary session. The Ambassador and Mrs. Fulbright were able to share memories of the late Senator Fulbright.
Deborah Stengle, Conference Chair, thanked Ambassador Gabriel and then invited everyone to the Conference Reception. The reception was sponsored by Broward College and St. Bonaventure University.
The 22nd CCIS Annual Conference theme, “Study Abroad: The Impact” was introduced during the first conference session entitled, “Social-Media: Gateway to Global Connections.” Joshua Irons, Educational Dynamics, and John Duncan, Terra Dotta, LLC. challenged participants to fully utilize these contemporary forms of communication. Breezy Wente, University of Indianapolis, chaired this session, sponsored by StudyAbroad.com.
CCIS study abroad alumni described the impact of their study abroad experiences on the student panel chaired by Alice Sayegh, St. Bonaventure University. Peter Decresendo (College of Staten Island), Jalil Fayson (Lincoln University of Pennsylvania), and Carlton Ashton (St. Bonaventure University) engaged conference attendees in a lively discussion.
During the Conference Awards luncheon, Dr. Eric Reno, Chair CCIS Board and President of Northeast Lakeview College, presented awards to conference donors including: Broward College, the College of Staten Island, Cultural Insurance Services International, the Foundation for International Education, Montana State University, St. Bonaventure University, StudyAbroad.com, the University of Indianapolis, the University of Limerick, the University of Rhode Island, The National University of Ireland-Galway, The National University of Ireland-Maynooth, and Truman State University.
The luncheon ended with presentation of the CCIS International Leadership Award to Dr. Eric Reno, Chair CCIS Board and President of Northeast Lakeview College.
The CCIS conference continued with a session that highlighted the types of financial assistance impacted by studying abroad. The chair, Baharah Moradi, Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, discussed Fulbright faculty opportunities. Sarah Gleisner described the Boren Scholarship and Fellowships while Malaika Serrano talked about the critical languages through CAORC. The panel ended with former CCIS member, Jody Dudderar representing the Institute of International Education.
The next panel moderated by Deborah Stengle, College of Staten Island, surveyed new programs and new options in CCIS. Namibia, Peru, Russia, Greece, and France were highlighted.
The last day of the conference continued the theme Study Abroad: The Impact with a session on “Internship and Volunteer Opportunities in CCIS Programs.” Alice Sayegh moderated the panel. Arian Kotsi, American College of Thessaloniki, Phoebe Mayer, Salzburg College and Jayme Kreitinger, Montana State University explained the opportunities available through their respective institutions.
The final session focused on the value of networking with the CCIS membership. Several themes were provided for small group discussions and ideas were then shared in an open forum. Rebecca Parillo, Ashland University was the facilitator.