Return to UWM News Index
 |
Issued by: Laura Hunt
414-229-6447
llhunt@uwm.edu
Date: November 11, 2003 |
UWM's Center for International
Education Receives
National Resource Status and Funding
MILWAUKEE — UWM’s
Center for International Education (CIE) was recently named one of 11 National
Resource Centers (NRC) for International Studies by the U.S.
Department of Education for 2004.
The
Title VI NRC designation is awarded to universities with exceptionally strong
internationally focused teaching, research and outreach activities. In
recognition of its global studies programs, UWM will receive three years’ grant
funding totaling $735,000 to support curriculum development, outreach, research
and teaching initiatives.
The
money will be used to develop courses on two new tracks of UWM’s bachelor
of arts degree in Global Studies (BAGS) – Global Security and Global
Communication. The BAGS degree is a unique degree program that pairs the College
of Letters & Science with various professional schools at UWM to train
students who are better prepared to work in a global environment when they
graduate.
Interdisciplinary
faculty teams already have created three tracks, or field concentrations, of
the
degree program. The first, Global Management, debuted this semester. Global
Cities and Global Classrooms will be launched next
fall.
CIE
coordinates all international education activities at UWM, including
interdisciplinary undergraduate degree and certificate programs, study abroad,
international partnerships, international student and scholar services, faculty
research, and public programs such as those sponsored by the Institute of World
Affairs.
UWM’s
Global Studies initiative addresses an urgent need for practitioners and
professionals with global competency while fostering research and teaching with
global perspectives.
“This
gives UWM national and international recognition for its strength in
international studies, broadly defined,” says CIE Director Patrice Petro.
“It is a measure by which others can compare our international education
programs to those around the country.”
CIE’s
teaching and research agenda centers primarily on issues of globalization. The
NRC designation will support CIE’s efforts to:
-
Strengthen
professional development and add three faculty members in Arabic, Islamic
studies and Middle Eastern history.
-
Strengthen
foreign language teaching and expand Lao and Hmong instruction.
-
Expand
collaboration in Global Studies among UW System campuses.
-
Assist
K-16 teachers in incorporating Global Studies into teaching.
-
Improve
public understanding of globalization issues through an array of outreach
programs.