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WKU Regents Approve Purchase Of Colonial Courts

October 30, 2009

Bowling Green, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University Board of Regents today approved the purchase of Colonial Courts apartment complex to become an international student and visiting scholars village.

Three, two-story brick buildings will be purchased for $573,750 to join six cottages already owned by WKU. The property is located on Normal Drive across from WKU’s Southwest Hall.

Renovations to some of the buildings will begin in December. Demolition of two of the buildings will begin in June 2010 followed by the construction of a new building for the Office of International Programs.

Provost Barbara Burch said the village would be replacement and added housing for visiting scholars and unify all international program services and support systems. She said the number of visiting scholars needing university housing has increased from less than 10 to more than 50 per year and the number of international students at WKU has increased more than 250 percent.

The board also heard a final report for fall enrollment. Dean Kahler, associate vice president for enrollment management, said WKU’s official enrollment is 20,712, an increase of 951, or 4.8 percent, over fall 2008. Enrollment highlights include 3,067 graduate students (up 9.7 percent); 2,150 African-American students (up 13.9 percent); and increases of 4 percent or more in each of the undergraduate classes.

“Retention is priority and a measure of success,” WKU President Gary Ransdell said. “That is the most encouraging statistic on this report.” He added that this is the 12th consecutive year that WKU has led the state institutions in enrollment growth.

> See News Blog

melindaWKU adds Study Abroad Advisor

September 30. 2009

WKU’s Study Abroad & Global Learning announces the addition of the new Study Abroad Advisor.

Melinda Farmer joins the SAGL staff as the main contact point for WKU students.  Ms. Farmer returns to WKU after several years working in the study abroad field.  She’s a 1999 graduate of WKU with a double major in Religious Studies and French.  She earned her MA in Intercultural Relations in 2003 from Lesley University. Most recently, she worked in the Education Abroad office at the University of Kentucky, and she has traveled widely.

Ms. Farmer will be responsible for…

  • Providing academic opportunities and guidance for students and faculty who wish to pursue opportunities overseas.
  • Creating and maintaining recruiting materials for WKU-led programs and exchanges
  • Conducting outgoing orientation, special events, post-program evaluations and returnee assessment
  • Representing the Study Abroad & Global Learning on campus and in wider community
  • Assisting with new projects and program development.

 

 

tarek

New ISSS Director

Meet the new Director of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). 

Tarek Elshayeb comes to us from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne where he was Director of their ISSS office.  Prior to this, he was Associate Director of ISSS State University of New York at Plattsburgh, an International Student and Scholar Advisor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and a Graduate Assistant in the International Services and Diversity Program Office at Clemson University.  Tarek’s office is in the Zuheir Sofia International Building on State Street.

ISSS is one of the offices housed in the Office of International Programs. and is responsible for all international incoming students and scholars.

We are fortunate and happy to have an experienced professional like Tarek join our team and help us take WKU to the next stages of internationalization.

-- Cornell H. Menking, Ph.D., Chief International Officer, Western Kentucky University

kasaWKU Students Share International Teaching Experiences at KASA Conference

Western Kentucky University’s Dr. Fred Carter, Nickie Barker Gentry, Heather Bewley, Julia King, and Alexis Williams served as presenters at the 40th Annual Summer Institute of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators July 15-17. The KASA Institute included about 3,000 Kentucky school administrators and the theme was “Focus on the Future: Preparing Leaders for an Interconnected World.” Dr. Carter, WKU Director of Teacher Services and School Relations, and his co-presenters led a session entitled “Teacher Preparation with an International Flavor: Prepared for Diversity” at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville.

Pictured, from left, are Ms. Alexis Williams, Ms. Julia King, Dr. Fred Carter, College of Ed. Dean Dr. Sam Evans, Ms. Nickie Gentry, and Ms. Heather Bewley.

Gentry, Bewley, King, and Williams are recent WKU Teacher Education graduates who completed their required student teaching experience in Barcelona, Spain during the Spring semester of this year. WKU student teachers are encouraged to spend at least one month of their four month requirement completing their student teaching in another country. Countries previously visited by WKU student teachers include Germany, Spain, France, Belize, and others. Spring semester 2009 student teachers described their experiences, shared pictures, and discussed cultural differences to KASA Conference attendees.

WKU exemplifies its description as “A Leading American University with International Reach” by constantly providing and encouraging study abroad opportunities for all of its students. WKU places about 500 student teachers in appropriate settings each year and a growing number of these student teachers are experiencing other countries and other cultures. Six students will be completing student teaching requirements in Barcelona, Spain, during the upcoming Fall semester and two students will complete these same requirements in Belize during this time period. A contract is being developed to place student teachers in Ecuador beginning with the Spring 2010 semester and other international locations are receiving careful consideration.

One might reasonably ask why WKU is attempting to facilitate such international student teaching experiences. The answer lies in the growing diversity in our local public schools which is predicted to continue. Teachers can “connect with” their students in a much more effective manner if they have experience in dealing with diversity and if they can better understand each student’s cultural background and heritage.

All four conference presenters who completed student teaching in Spain have been employed as teachers for the upcoming school year. Gentry is a Warren East High School graduate and she will be teaching in the Warren County Schools. Bewley is an Elizabethtown native and she has been employed in the Hardin County Schools for the upcoming school year. King is a Bowling Green resident and has also been employed in the Warren County Schools for the ’09-’10 school year. Williams is a Miami, Florida, native and has been employed to teach English in Indonesia during the upcoming school year.

For any additional information about student teaching, teacher education, or international student teaching opportunities, contact Dr. Carter at WKU Teacher Services, 270-745-4897.

 

 

> WKU Environmental Geographer Named Fulbright Scholar (May 2009)

 

Announcements

> Updated Grant Award program from OIP

 

Direct links to OIP units:

> WKU Study Abroad & Global Learning

> International Student & Scholar Services

 

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