Connecting you to the MU international community!
Global Education hosted a cohort of 13 students from Beaconhouse National University in Pakistan this August. The students participated in the Summer Exploration Program through MU’s English Language Institute (ELI).
During this program, the students learned academic writing skills, learned how to write college admission essays, and were introduced to the U.S. Higher Education System. During the program they visited Penn Sate University, New York University and other local attractions.
Millersville University received a generous donation from Mr. Michael G. Warfel’84, Chairman of the Council of Trustees for a campus flag display project. As part of this project, approximately 200 world flags which represent countries and territories from around the world are showcased in the Galley in the Student Memorial Center. World flags of the current population of Millersville’s international students, are also on display in the new Lombardo Welcome Center. Every summer the flags in this location will be updated to reflect the changing international population of current MU students.
It’s great to see MU’s support for international students and international education!
Millersville University hosted the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE): International Educators Network (IEN) summer meeting this July. The two day meeting hosted various international education staff from the 14 PA State System universities. Several guests, including Dr. Victoria Sanders the Assistant Vice Chancellor, also participated in this year’s meeting.
The PASSHE: IEM membership consists of International Educators from all 14 PASSHE Universities. IEN was established to identify, develop, and expand beneficial international relationships that contribute to the enhancement of the State System’s global profile and the international expertise and activities of the Commonwealth’s publicly owned universities.
The IEN serves to maximize existing resources and to minimize duplication through cooperation in the areas of education abroad, international education leadership, international enrollment management, international student and scholar services, learning and scholarship.
Some topics discussed during this meeting include:
There was also guest speakers from Insurance Services Office (ISO) who gave a presentation on their insurance plans and services for international students.
The next meeting will take place in Harrisburg, PA in the fall.
This summer Millersville University had two participants in new international teaching opportunities in China!
Dr. Barry David taught at Huaqiao University through the @China Program which is managed by the China Center for International Educational Exchange (CCIEE). Huaqiao University is located in Fujian Province in the southeastern part of China. This one month class was a course on Production & Operation Management.
Daniel McClary, M.A. taught at Zhejiang Normal University (ZJNU) which is one of Millersville’s international partners. Daniel taught ESL to a group of 5 students who will be attending Millersville in the fall. The students are in a dual degree program where they will earn a B.A. in Art. Some of the students are concentrating in fine arts, and the others in interactive and graphic design. The 6 week class was an intensive ESL course designed to ready the students for academic classes or for studying in the English Language Institute at Millersville. 
Global Education hosted a cohort of 16 undergraduate and graduate students from Central China Normal University this summer 2018. The students participated in the Culture and Language Summer Institute through MU’s English Language Institute (ELI).
During this summer program, the students learned about the local Amish culture, American history and other topics all while practicing their writing and presentation skills. In addition, the students were introduced to the U.S. Higher Education System and had a Q&A session with current MU students.
During their program, the group was able to visit New York City, Philadelphia’s historic area, and Hershey Park. They had dinner with a local Amish family and visited several Lancaster County highlights!
The results are in! After careful deliberation, the winners of the photo contest have been chosen. Thank you to everyone who submitted their amazing photos this semester and congratulations to those who won!
Winners
Submitted by: Francisco Garday
Location: Japan
Submitted by: Natalie Harley
Location: England
Submitted by: Kiara Garcia
Location: Chile
Honorable Mention
Submitted by: Francisco Garday
Location: Japan
MU Guided programs are short-term experiences coordinated and led by Millersville faculty, staff, and administration. These experiences include courses abroad, international research, cultural exploration, service learning, academic conferences, and more!
Since the 2015-2016 academic year, MU Guided programs have seen an annual increase of approximately 7%. Based on current enrollment for Summer 2018 programs, the 2018-2019 academic year could show as much as 21% growth, 3 times as many participants than originally predicted.
Want to be a part of one of the fastest growing travel opportunities at Millersville? Check out the Faculty Resource Page and MU Guided information page to learn more information about past, current, and future programs!
2018 Celebration Event
Global Education held its 9th annual Celebration of International Education on Thursday, April 19th. This event highlights the achievements of students, faculty, and staff of the Millersville community in creating and internationalized campus. The event hosts two guest speakers, as well as a global buffet, featuring a selection of dishes from across the globe.
Provost Dr. Vilas Prabhu started off the event with some opening remarks, followed by a few words by Global Education Director Patriece Campbell. University President Dr. John Anderson made a few remarks following the global buffet. We hope Dr. Prabhu will continue to support Global Education and wish Dr. Anderson well as he enters retirement.
The featured speaker for the event was Cayla Vega. Cayla is both a Millersville alumnus as well as a study abroad alumnus. She graduated in 2012 with a Bachelors of Arts in Spanish and International Studies with a minor in Government and Political Affairs. She studied abroad in Burgos Spain at Millersville’s partner institution, la Universidad de Burgos. Cayla shared how studying abroad had pushed her outside her comfort zone and how the confidence she had gained from her experience had led her to who she is today. With her study abroad confidence, she made the big decision to move to Washington DC, joining George Washington University’s Office for Study Abroad. Cayla completed her Master of Arts in International Affairs from the George Washington University and continued her study abroad experience with multiple trips to South and Central America, including a research trip to Costa Rica. Cayla is now Grants Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC.
Following Cayla, Navedita Bagchi, Director of the International Studies Program and professor of the Department of Government and Political Affairs, started off with an introduction of Sigma Iota Rho, the International Honors Society of Millersville University. Kristin Thomson followed with the Global Ambassador recognition. The Global Ambassador Program gives an opportunity for students to gain leadership and promotional skills by taking part in initiatives to create an internationalized community on campus. Global Ambassadors also provide a way for students returning from abroad to continue their study abroad experience back home. This year, six ambassadors were recognized for completing the program. Olivia Cordero followed with the recognition of graduating study abroad alumni and graduating International Students. Former study abroad participants graduating in May were gifted blue and green cords to wear during commencement. Graduating International Students were presented with gifts. Global Education would like to congratulate the ambassadors and all our graduating students and wish them luck in their future endeavors!
For the first year ever, the International Stewardship Award and the Student’s Choice Award were presented. The International Stewardship Award is presented to an individual or department that has contributed to the internationalization of the Millersville community. This year’s awardees were the Registrar’s Office and Dr. Karen Rice, Chair of the School of Social Work. The Student’s Choice is an award given to a faculty or staff member that students believe has displayed a commitment to supporting students in a global context both on and off campus. This year’s Student Choice awardees were Dr. Barry Atticks of the Music Department and Dr. Robyn Davis of the History Department. Congratulations to this year’s winners!
The night finished off with a speech fom Yaqun Deng, or Ivy, the International Student Speaker. Ivy is an International Business major originally from Taiwan, China. Ivy came to Millersville University two years ago feeling lost and alone. After an encounter with a lost, older lady, looking to return to school, Ivy was inspired and took on a newfound confidence. Since then she has participated in many activities, including community service. As a graduating International Student, Ivy hopes that the skills she has gained from her experiences here will help her land a job in the United States. We wish Ivy well in her future endeavors!
Finally, Global Education would like to thank those who participated in this event as well as those who helped bring together this event. We would like to congratulate again all those recognized and we look forward to 2019’s celebration!
Millersville University encourages individual faculty, staff, and departments to initiate new international programs to foster Millersville University’s mission for providing a diverse, dynamic, meaningful experience to inspire learners. Global Education is committed to providing the best possible global experience for students and faculty at MU and assists everyone through new partnership development.
To see a list of current international partners, view the Global Education website.
This past academic year has seen a lot of growth in partnership development. International agreements have been signed with two new universities: Nantong University (NTU) and with Northeast Agricultural University (NEAU). NTU is seeking to send international students to Millersville University to study English, and NEAU is seeking to send international students to study Biology.
Millersville University has hosted 3 international delegations this past year: The Sino-American Cooperation on Higher Education and Professional Development (CHEPD) Program delegation of administrators and faculty came to learn about Millersville’s academic programs. Millersville also hosted a group of high school Indian students from the Ryan Group. These students came to learn about higher education in the U.S. This past semester, the university hosted a delegation from Xinyang Normal University (XYNU) in order to solidify the academic articulation for a 2+2 dual degree program in Economics. This summer, Global Education will be hosting our first two short-term programs for current international partners.
There are various types of collaboration available to international partners, including collaborative virtual teaching! If you are interested in learning more about how you can engage with our current international partners, contact Global Education!
Global Education
Millersville University
2 South George St.
Millersville, PA 17551
Phone: (717) 871-7506
GlobalEducation@millersville.edu
On March 19th and 20th, Millersville students traveled to the capitol to participate in NAFSA’s Advocacy Day. This was the first year that Millersville participated in the event, sending one of our study abroad students, one of our international students, and a staff member from Global Education.
NAFSA: Association for International Educators is an organization for those involved with international education that has over 10,000 members worldwide. As an organization, they “believe that international education advances learning and scholarship, fosters understanding and respect among people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives, is essential for developing globally competent individuals, and builds leadership for the global community.”
NAFSA’s Advocacy Day gives students and faculty involved in international education a chance to speak out for polices that matter within international education. Different schools around the country send representatives that then meet with their state’s elected officials in the House of Representatives and the Senate. These meetings give them an opportunity to talk about the important issues within international education and change they want to see.
Millersville University was one of few schools that brought students along to this event, providing great exposure to both our peer institutions and other institutions nationwide. Assistant Director of Global Education Olivia Cordero, who attended this event with the students, believes that this was a vital part of going to Advocacy Day. “The power is in the voice of the students” said Cordero. She thought that students should be the focal point in these meetings.
The Millersville students that attended this event were study abroad student Kiara Garcia and international student Gentil Kalisa. Kiara had previously studied abroad for a semester in Chile and Gentil is from Rwanda. Both students thought that this opportunity was an important one for them as students to experience.
“Having studied abroad last semester in Chile, this opportunity allowed me as one of the few student representatives to spread the value of study abroad and positively influence staffers of Pennsylvanian Congressmen and Representative” said Garcia. “I would highly recommend extending this opportunity to more Millersville students as these public matters can directly impact study abroad policies in the future.”
“As an international student, going to Capitol Hill and talking to lawmakers about how the policies they put in place affects me was an amazing experience. I was happy to learn that most of them had experienced what if feels like to be an International student or a scholar in a foreign country” said Kalisa. “We were able to talk about how International students and scholars not only contributes to the U.S economy or diversity, but also secure the U.S position as a world leader in science and technology. We also advocated for a more welcoming United States to both PA senators and to our district representative Lloyd Smucker. ”
After this experience, Global Education hopes to continue participating in this event with other students in the future. It is important to advocate for international education and its policies that make sure this opportunity is available to all students.