 Mrs. Linda Dunn, WMU President John M. Dunn
and Dr. Alfonso Murillo, Burgos rector, with
students from both schools
Over the last decade in what was once the heart of the Kingdom of Castille, and situated along the Pilgrim's Road to Santiago de Compostela, more than 200 Western Michigan University students have completed a semester abroad at the Universidad de Burgos in Spain. The 21 students who arrived in Burgos with WMU Spanish Professor Michael Braun last August were surprised to be greeted at the airport by reporters from Diario de Burgos, who were present to document the incoming class marking the 10th anniversary of the unique partnership WMU and Universidad de Burgos established in 1998. The program is one of the most popular destinations for WMU undergraduates, and WMU reciprocates by accepting one or two graduate students from Universidad de Burgos each year to study and teach in WMU’s Department of Spanish. An anniversary celebration was hosted at Universidad de Burgos in late November attended by WMU President John M. Dunn, his wife, Linda Dunn, Dr. Mercedes Tasende, chair of the Department of Spanish, the WMU students currently studying in Burgos and their host families. The celebration included meetings with Universidad de Burgos leaders and the mayor of the city and an evening dinner and concert to mark the 10 years of partnership between the two universities. The WMU delegation also had a chance to tour the campus and city and visit local historical and cultural sites.  Inés Praga, Burgos vice-rector for international relations,
Dr. Alfonso Murillo, Burghos rector, WMU President John M. Dunn
Professor Mercedes Tasende, chair, WMU Department of SpanishIn remarks delivered during the anniversary celebration dinner, Dunn praised his Spanish colleagues for the care and hospitality WMU students have experienced in Burgos over the years. "I've met some of the students studying here now," Dunn said. "I have become confident that there are 21 new advocates for international education whose lives are forever changed by their experiences abroad." 
 WMU students having breakfast with Dr. Dunn, Dr. Murillo,
Dr. Praga, Ms. Linda Dunn and Dr. Mercedes Tasende
Professor Braun, faculty director of the program since 2008, visited Burgos twice for personal adventure before traveling with the 2007 incoming class and the program’s former faculty director, Dr. Carolyn Harris, to observe facilitation of the program. Braun studied abroad in Seville, Spain, which attracts a fairly large American crowd. Burgos, a medium-sized city located halfway between Madrid and the French border in northern Spain, is smaller and less cosmopolitan, which Braun said lands WMU students in a “sink or swim” environment of Spanish-language immersion. Because the city is the birthplace of the Spanish 11th century hero, El Cid, near the site where Christopher Columbus returned from his second voyage to America, and the area is rich with beautiful medieval and Renaissance churches and palaces, including the world renowned Catedral de Burgos, Braun said studying in Burgos provides WMU students with a “buffet” of Spanish and World history to experience. 
“Many students in our department want to study abroad in Spain because it’s the motherland of the language,” Braun said. “There is much romanticism surrounding Spain and a fair amount of students want to go there because it’s unfamiliar and a bit daunting. All classes are taught in Spanish and students have the first few weeks to get up to speed with the language and the culture before launching into their courses. Students also like to travel to other areas of Spain during the program to learn more about the country’s history by visiting centuries-old palaces, cathedrals and sites of national importance. Literally, you can touch 2,000 years.”
Dr. Tasende was on the “discovery” trip to Spain in 1998 with the former chair of the Spanish department, Dr. Jorge Febles, and Margaret Riley, WMU’s study abroad director at the time, in which they visited several Spanish universities in search of study abroad destinations favorable for program development. She said they chose Universidad de Burgos because of its location off the beaten path, the region’s historical significance and because as a newly established university it offered the opportunity to develop a program specific to the needs of WMU students. 
As faculty director of the program, Braun is in charge of recruiting students, organizing orientation sessions for the students selected, and traveling with the group to Spain to provide faculty mentorship for the first couple of weeks of the program The competitive selection process for the program is completed each fall for the following academic year by a committee that includes two Spanish faculty members and the faculty director. Braun said strong support for the Burgos program within the department greatly aids him with this work.”Our entire faculty have a high degree of familiarity with the program, its curriculum, and what our students are exposed to and have access to while in Burgos and Spain,” he said. “This helps them incorporate information students learn overseas in their classes at WMU. Currently in Burgos we offer a customized schedule of courses just for our students that aligns with the fall semester at WMU. We’re looking to grow the program a bit with more of our students taking classes integrated with the entire student body, which would still allow our students to be done in December and give them greater flexibility in class selection.” Tasende, a native of Galicia, Spain and a professor at WMU since 1991, said the department strongly encourages all of their students to study abroad because it is the most effective way to learn a foreign language and to understand the intricacies of another culture. “No university course can ever provide the level of understanding a student can attain by studying abroad,” she said. “In addition to its countless academic benefits, studying abroad is also a journey of self-discovery. Students learn about their strengths and about their ability to survive in a new environment. We live in a world that is becoming more and more globalized and we can no longer afford to remain isolated. All of us need to become citizens of the world, to be able to open dialogues with other cultures and to understand how those cultures think and how they see the world. That is why we encourage all our students to take the first step forward on the path to academic, professional and personal success by studying abroad.”
The Spanish department also hosts programs for undergraduates in Santander, Spain and offers programs for undergraduates and graduate students in Lleida, Spain and Querétaro, Mexico. (Click on the city name to view program profile). Visit the department’s Web site at: www.wmich.edu/spanish/
Comprehensive information about WMU’s study abroad programs is accessible online at: www.wmich.edu/studyabroad.
WMU Department of Spanish study abroad programs:
Burgos
Lleida
Santander
Querétaro undergraduate program
Querétaro graduate program |
