Terra Nostra* SPRING 2013
*Latin for “Our World”
Published each semester by the International Education Center of Georgia College. Available online at gcsu.edu/international
New Connections with Taiwan and China Recognizing the need to expand Georgia College’s reach into East Asia, Dr. Dwight Call, assistant vice president for international education, invited the dozen Chinese faculty teaching at Georgia College to a meeting in the International Education Center last August to discuss ways to increase Chinese student recruitment from both the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, as well as to develop partnerships for exchange of faculty and students. Many of GC’s best overseas partnerships have been built on relationships already established by faculty. Following the meeting, Dr. Jiaqin Yang, professor of management, invited a group of administrators from Xihua University (XHU) in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in Southwest China, to visit Georgia College and discuss possibilities. In early December Dr. Tsu-Ming Chiang, professor of psychology, corresponded with psychology colleagues and visited the Taipei Municipal University of
INDEX New Connections with Taiwan and China............................1 Dr. Dwight Call Retires after 16 years Leading International Education ...................1 Study on Exchange in Taiwan .........3 Returning to Japan..........................5 28th Annual International Dinner ....6 Global Citizenship Symposium........8 Guest Lecturer funded by the Halle Foundation.......................9 A Weekend as a Yemen Delegate..............................9 Alumni News .................................10 From Macon to Azbairjan..............11
Education (TMUE), where a memorandum of understanding was signed establishing an exchange relationship between GC and TMUE. Both XHU and TMUE offer many of the same programs as GC in the arts, humanities, sciences, business and education. TMUE has a history similar to Georgia College’s and in August will change its name to the University of Taipei. While in Taipei, Dr. Chiang also made contact with Shih Hsin University, which expressed an interest in expanding its international relationships. In April Interim Provost Dr. Matthew Liao-Troth and Dr. Call visited the three universities, Xihua University in Chengdu, China, and Taipei Municipal University of Education and Shih Hsin University in Taipei, Taiwan. In preparation, they solicited the assistance of faculty in translating a recruitment brochure into both traditional and simplified Chinese, the former for Taiwan and the latter for mainland China. The morning after Drs. Liao-Troth and Call made the long flight from Atlanta to Tokyo and onward to Taipei, they were
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President Weiguo Sun of Xihua University (left) in Chengdu, China, and Interim Provost Matthew Liao-Troth of Georgia College sign memorandum of understanding. welcomed at SHU and given a tour of thebeautiful campus by Jennifer Lin from the Office of Public Affairs. Vice President James Hsiung welcomed the Georgia College administrators, and Dr. Liao-Troth responded with appreciation. The administrators discussed additional possibilities beyond the exchange of faculty and students, and Drs. Liao-Troth
and Hsiung signed a memorandum of understanding that may be followed up by additional agreements. In the afternoon of that first morning, Drs. Liao-Troth and Call visited the EducationUSA center in Taipei, part of a global network of more than 400 advising centers worldwide that is supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural
See CONNECTIONS, p.2
Dr. Dwight Call retires after 16 years leading International Education - Libby Davis, Associate Director, International Education Center After 16 and a half years at the helm of International Education at Georgia College, Dr. Dwight Call, assistant vice president for International Education, is retiring this June. When he came to Georgia College in January 1997, the foundation of international education had been laid, but Dr. Call was the one who elevated it to a new level and oversaw tremendous growth in international programs and initiatives at Georgia College. When he first arrived, you could
count on one or two hands the number of students who studied abroad. Now, the numbers consistently top 200 each year, with 25 percent of all graduates having completed a study abroad experience. The number of partner universities worldwide has grown and flourished, and international services developed into an expanded and centralized International Education Center. Dwight brought to Georgia College long years of experience in community development, an expertise in working with inbound and outbound students and knowledge of the nuts and bolts of developing semester study abroad pro-
grams in Oceania and Africa. At Georgia College he worked tirelessly on internationalizing the curriculum, working with faculty on developing new faculty-led study programs abroad, and to ensure that Georgia’s Public Liberal Arts University has an international and intercultural emphasis that is recognized across the State of Georgia. Dwight’s collaborative approach with faculty and staff built widespread support for international education across campus. He spearheaded many joint initiatives, including securing grant money that led to internationalization of the curriculum in several departments and
See CALL, p.4
gcsu.edu/international