Five faculty members address importance of diverse curriculum

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Former recipients of International Development Grants shared how the money has been used with other faculty members at a luncheon panel presentation on Friday.

Five faculty members talked about programs they had implemented and hosted open discussions with 23 faculty members.

“We wanted to use this event as a spark to generate more ideas about international education,” said Guilan Wang, director of International Education.

The event was part of International Education Week, lasting from Nov. 18 to Saturday.

Interim director of Health Administration Gerald Ledlow and Associate Professor Mark Cwiek from the School of Health Sciences presented a health education program.

The Doctor of Health Administration International Program is designed to move the health administration program at CMU into a more international scope.

“We are looking to expand the health doctorate program in Geneva (Switzerland),” Ledlow said.

The program presented by Ledlow and Cwiek involved a doctorate program that is Internet-based, with six face-to-face seminars which take place in Geneva. Geneva is a strategic location because it is home to the World Health Organization and the International Red Cross. Ledlow and Cwiek emphasized the availability of English-speaking professionals and the opportunity to make many contacts.

“CMU could get into a lot of different countries by being in one place,” Ledlow said.

Benefits of the program include expanding CMU into the international arena, opening the doors of CMU to students of other countries and the exchange of knowledge and culture between students and faculty, Cwiek said.

“We encourage faculty members to get together with ideas and apply for grants with programs such as this,” Ledlow said.

Ivy Goduka, human environmental studies professor, discussed an international conference scheduled at CMU next fall. Goduka focuses her teaching on indigenous peoples from a global perspective.

“It is not what we can teach indigenous people, but what we can get from them to add to our curriculum,” she said.

Goduka attended meetings in Geneva last April and worked with the International Indigenous Working Group.

She said faculty and staff members are working together with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe to establish a CMU Indigenous Working Group. This group will organize the conference scheduled for October 2003.

“We would invite about 10 indigenous peoples to share knowledge. We want to integrate indigenous knowledge into curriculum,” Goduka said.

Grants and pledged money from the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe will be used for the conference.

Vidyottama Soni, political science associate professor, discussed the infusion of an international dimension into courses.

Her concern is of youth in the United States lacking international knowledge. She stressed a need for internationalization within the classroom.

“We have an obligation as teacher and mentors to prepare students for the world,” she said.

Soni has received two grants from the Office of International Education. The first funded a trip to China in 1999 and the second a trip to India in 2000. These trips helped Soni get information about possible exchange activities.

Soni teaches public administration human resource management and leadership. She discussed ways to get students interested and motivated in international education.

Benefits of a more integrated curriculum for Central students include added exposure, more interesting class and preparation to work in a multicultural world. She said benefits for faculty include professional development and building of professional network.

“It also benefits the university by allowing faculty to bring new knowledge to the classroom,” she said.

Mark Poindexter, broadcasting and cinematic arts professor, presented information on grants he received to fund classes at CMU. Students traveled to France during spring break in past years, and a new study abroad approach is in the works.

“It is a sandwich-model,” he said.

With the new program, students would use the summer semesters to participate in a study abroad program that would begin with about 20 meeting sessions at CMU, then travel to Paris. Students would then complete the course with papers and projects on their own during the remainder of the summer.

“This allows students to be prepared before they go to the country and be able to enjoy their time there and not worry about typing their papers during the trip,” Poindexter said.

Poindexter said students who participated in trip in the past learned a lot from their experiences, and he’s pleased with connections they were able to make with the trip and their classes.

Attendants of the luncheon were pleased with the information they received.

“It is amazing how many programs there are going on,” said Jiafei Yin, journalism associate professor.

Yin said getting faculty together to share information about programs is important in education.