OIE brings culture to classrooms through grants

Office of International Education grants are diversifying courses in CMU’s
six colleges.

In November 1999, OIE began allocating funds from the university for grants awarded
to professors who want to develop an internationally focused curriculum.

OIE Director Guilan Wang said 40 grants totaling $73,000 were awarded to professors
in all of the six colleges since 1999.

The College of Humanities and Social & Behavioral Sciences received the most
grants with 14, but Wang stressed any college can receive the grants.

“There were eight grants given to the College of Science and Technology,”
Wang said. “Many people might not think they could get these grants, but
all the colleges can apply for them.”

The grants are awarded three times per year, and deadlines for the applications
are Jan. 15, April 1 and Oct. 1.

The Web site also said the Grants Review Committee will meet one week after each
deadline, and award announcements will be made shortly after.

“We really take applications all year long and review them as they come in,”
Wang said. “We’re really flexible about that.”

The grants are useful to faculty traveling abroad.

Gerald Ledlow and Mark Cwiek used grant money when they presented at a conference
in Turkey.

Ledlow, assistant professor and interim director in Health Administration, and
Cwiek, health promotion and rehabilitation associate professor, won an award at
the conference for their paper.

“It was really a joint effort with our college to send us there,” Ledlow
said. “But OIE paid mostly for the plane tickets and travel.”

Grant money is typically used for professors traveling abroad, bringing a visitor
from abroad to CMU, adding international material to courses and for international
research and studies.

Faculty applying for a grant must write a proposal and include a proposal information
sheet, an executive summary including the objectives and value of the activity
to the internationalization of the curriculum, a budget sheet and the beginning
and ending dates of the activity.

Grant recipients are required to write a report stating what they accomplished
when the activity is completed.

The grants bring about positive reactions, Wang said.

“Several professors have been able to lead student groups abroad to study,
and they have also been able to bring many visitors here to CMU,” Wang said.
“These grants have led many professors to other potential grant opportunities.”

For more information on the grants visit www.oie.cmich.edu.