Center for Peacemaking Receives Grant from Frankel Foundation for Israeli-Palestinian Programs
New Courses Focusing on International Topics
International Journalists Attend Edward R. Murrow Forum on Marquette’s Campus
Obama and Biden Win Big in OIE Mock Online Election
OIE and Alumni Association Launch International Alumni Initiative
Recent Surveys Show Impact of Study Abroad Extremely High, Interest Growing at Marquette
Marquette Among Top Producers of Peace Corps Volunteers
Center for Peacemaking Receives Grant from Frankel Foundation for Israeli-Palestinian Programs
Marquette’s Center for Peacemaking, with help from the Office of International Education, recently received a large grant from the Frankel Foundation to continue their work encouraging the peace process between Israel and Palestine. The grant represents a major increase from past awards the Frankel Foundation has provided for this work, and will allow the Center for Peacemaking to further pursue the following initiatives:
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Internship
This internship program is designed to allow students to work toward the development of a peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine using conflict resolution techniques. In collaboration with the Office of International Education and the Service Learning Program, the Center for Peacemaking plans to provide up to five Marquette students with a meaningful experience working with nongovernmental organizations that are part of ALLMAP, the Alliance for Middle East Peace. This coalition of 44 NGOs promotes people-to-people coexistence and reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. As a complement to the internship, students will also give public presentations on their experiences and participate in workshops on nonviolence.
Academic Forms on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The Center for Peacemaking will offer expanded programming to increase the understanding of the historical, political, socio-economic and religious dimensions of this conflict.
Nonviolence Workshop Series
The Center for Peacemaking will host a sixteen-week workshop teaching principles of nonviolence, successful and failed national and international nonviolent movements and strategies for organizing and implementing a nonviolent campaign
For more information on these programs contact the Center for Peacemaking at 8-8444.
New Courses Focusing on International Topics
Cross-Cultural Issues in Study Abroad
Beginning in Spring 2009, a new study abroad pre-departure course will be offered. The course, ARSC 002: Cross-Cultural Issues in Study Abroad, is a one credit course designed specifically for students who are planning to study and intern abroad as a component of their college career. The course prepares students for the challenges involved with cross-cultural interactions and the acculturation process. It will be taught by Terence Miller, Director of the Office of International Education.
Students must have a permission number to register for this course. To get that number, visit the Office of International Education in AMU, 425 or email studyabroad@marquette.edu.
Health, Environment and Infrastructure in Latin America (CEEN193)
This course will be taught Spring 2009 (5:45-7 PM, Mon, Wed). In the class, the importance of clean water, sanitation, transportation and safe housing in international development is explored. In addition, people who have performed international service in Guatemala, Kenya, Honduras, Chile and other countries describe their experiences, challenges and methods. Students also complete an international or domestic service learning assignment. This class is especially valuable for students considering the Peace Corps, Jesuit Volunteer International (JVI) or other international service work. There are no prerequisites and no engineering knowledge is required.
International Journalists Attend Edward R. Murrow Forum on Marquette’s Campus
From Oct. 9th through Oct. 14th, Marquette University’s J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication hosted international journalists as part of the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists. The college was one of 10 leading schools of journalism nationwide to be selected by the U.S. Department of State for the program.
During the week, fifteen journalists from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were on campus. They participated in interactive, integrated seminars with faculty, professional journalists and students. They were also given backpacks equipped with video cameras, still cameras, laptop computers, iPods and other equipment during their visit so they could easily document the interviews they had with local and state officials, academic experts and community leaders.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden Win Big in OIE Mock Online Election
In a mock online election conducted by OIE, the results were clear. Barack Obama and Joe Biden came away the big winners with 88.2% of the 68 votes cast. Complete results can be seen below:
Obama/Biden - 60 votes - 88.2%
McCain/Palin - 5 votes - 7.4%
Other - 2 votes - 2.9%
Barr/Allyn Root - 1 vote - 1.5%
Voting was done primarily by Marquette international students and scholars. Undergraudate students made up 33% of the vote, graduates 56% and faculty/staff members 11%.
OIE and the Alumni Association Launch an International Alumni Initiative
In October, the Office of International Education and the Alumni Association launched an international alumni initiative to tap into the growing global network of Marquette Alumni. These “global alumni” are broadly defined, including, among others, international citizens living abroad, international citizens in the US, US citizens living abroad and frequent travels.
The initiative’s goals include increasing global awareness about Marquette and developing more effective methods for connecting with international alumni. In its early stages, alumni are being asked to take a survey to help OIE and the Alumni Relations office better determine a comprehensive plan for how the university and international alumni can help each other.
If you would like to see the new international alumni web page, register for the alumni association, or take the survey, please visit this site: MU International Alumni Page.
Recent Surveys Show Impact of Study Abroad Extremely High, Interest Growing
Promoting quality study abroad experiences has long been a priority at Marquette, and recent data provided by graduating seniors shows that priority to be paying off. In a strong testament to the power of study abroad, 89% of study abroad participants surveyed in the 2008 Senior Survey indicated their time overseas had a significant impact on their educational experience, the highest percentage of any student learning opportunity included in the survey. Unfortunately, that same survey showed that only 26% of survey respondents had participated in study abroad, one of the lowest percentages. While that low participation rate has not been linked to any one factor, the need to engage more students in one of the highest impact learning experiences couldn’t be more evident. Fortunately, interest in study abroad is quickly growing, with the most recent freshman survey showing 57% of students are interested in studying abroad during their time at Marquette, a 7% increase from last year and the only increase in the top 5 (of 115) involvement activities listed.
Marquette Ranks Among Top Producers of Peace Corps Volunteers
In a recent list compiled by the Peace Corps and published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Marquette ranked as one of the top producers of Peace Corps volunteers among medium-sized college and universities. At 16 on the list, Marquette sent 24 students to the Peace Corps in 2007. Among Jesuit institutions, only Georgetown, Boston College and Gonzaga came in higher.
To see the full list, click this link: http://www.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/pdf/stats/schools2008.pdf
