Faculty-led study abroad
programs on the rise

Haenicke Institute support spurs flurry of new overseas programs

Dr. Stephen Malcolm with Biology in Belize group

Faculty-led study abroad programs to the Silk Road, Inner Mongolia and Bratislava are three of eight that recently received approval for development by Western Michigan University's Haenicke Institute for Global Education. Additionally, eight WMU faculty will travel to existing summer programs this year, courtesy of discovery grants, to learn the ins and outs of running an overseas, short-term program.

Last November, more than 50 WMU faculty attended a luncheon hosted by the Haenicke Institute and the International Education Council of the Faculty Senate to encourage development of faculty-led summer study abroad programs. Responding to the great interest that faculty showed at those luncheons in learning more about summer study abroad, the institute created a discovery grant in February to aid faculty in developing additional programs. The grants cover 75 percent of expenses to participate in one of 17 summer study abroad programs taught by WMU faculty.

"Introducing a group of students to another culture can be a challenging and rewarding experience-anything but boring," said Brett Berquist, executive director of international programs.  "Our faculty's dedication to globalizing the learning experience is rewarded with the satisfaction of seeing the immediate effect on their students' perspective of the world.  Long-term research contacts and projects often arise from the time spent with university partners on these programs, as well."

WMU's summer study abroad catalogue includes programs that offer classes in a broad range of disciplines and others are specific to a major. Programs run from 2 to 6 weeks, offer varying levels of academic credit and are conducted in some of the world's most interesting destinations, including Alexandria, Beijing, Sao Paulo, Prague, Tokyo, London, Quebec and more.

Dr. Stephen Malcolm, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, leads WMU's Biology in Belize program. The course  offers 3 hours of academic credit for the two-week trip conducted in Summer I. He said traveling with an existing program is a "great way for my colleagues" to learn the how-tos of running a faculty-led study abroad program.

"Traveling with an existing course allows faculty to become acquainted with experiential learning in a new place and to dispel anxieties that might exist about the logistics of leading and mentoring students abroad," Malcolm said. "It's also a great way to generate ideas about new courses and new possibilities for existing courses or programs."

Faculty study abroad discovery grant recipients:

Daniel Connolly, Frostic School of Art, will accompany the Modern and Contemporary Art in Paris program taught by Jeffrey Thompson.

Robb Gillespie, Geosciences, will participate in the Arabic Language and Culture program directed by Mustafa Mughazy in Alexandria, Egypt.

James Guzinski, Chemistry, will study tropical biology in Belize in the program taught by Steve Malcolm.

Joan Herrington and Mark Liermann, Theatre, will attend the Prague Summer Program directed by Richard Katrovas to build additional course offerings for theatre majors there.  

Jennifer Mills Langeland, Holistic Health, will assist Kathi Fuller in the Health Immersion program in Patzcuaro, Mexico.

Jorge Rodriguez, Industrial Engineering and Manufacturing, and Donna Kaminski, Computer Science, will participate in an Engineering program in China and South Korea taught by Dewei Qi and Kapseong Ro.

Programs that received initial approval for full development:

Bob Bensley, Health Physical Education and Recreation, Community Health in South Africa

Lee deLisle, Health Physical Education and Recreation, Sport & Leisure in Ancient Rome

Robb Gillespie, Geosciences, Geology and Culture of Egypt

Jon Holtzman and Al Zagarell, Anthropology, Culture and History of the Silk Road, Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan

Yuanlong Liu, Health Physical Education and Recreation, HPER research in Inner Mongolia

Judith Sadler, Nursing, Nursing in Bratislava

Santiago Valles, Africana Studies, and Yvette Hyter, Speech Pathology, Cultural connections, Mali, Cape Verde, Senegal

Stephen Cameron, Geography, Geography in Queretaro, Mexico

For more information, contact Brett Berquist, executive director of international programs, at (269) 387-5890, or, via e-mail at: brett.berquist@wmich.edu