Tuesday, November 14, 2023
|
|
|
Teaming Up for Global Education
|
Feature by: Susan Holme, Senior Director of Off-Campus Studies & International Student and Scholar Services
|
In celebration of International Education Week (Nov. 13–17), we are excited to share the news that International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) and Off-Campus Studies (OCS) recently joined together into one “global suite” located in Memorial Hall Room 205.
With the return of study abroad/off-campus studies participation rates to pre-pandemic levels and a record number of international students on campus, we combined staff expertise and resources in these two internationally facing areas to enhance support to our students. This year, 130 students have applied to study in 29 countries in Spring of 2024—a Whitman College record. The Class of 2027 also has the largest ever number of international first-year students, including 35 Davis United World Scholars. With 216 students from 80 countries enrolled at Whitman, international students currently make up 13% of the student body!
We hope the cross-pollination of ideas in the OCS-ISSS joint office will produce innovations and allow for staff cross-training to better support students and staff and faculty colleagues, with the ultimate goal to improve global understanding on our campus community and beyond.
Key responsibilities for the five-person team (pictured above) includes:
|
- Support students who wish to study abroad during the academic year or in the summer.
- Support students who wish to participate in our four US-based off-campus partner programs.
- Support administration of and participation in Whitman faculty-led off-campus academic programs (Semester in the West, Whitman Summer Studies in China/Taiwan, etc.).
- Support international students in terms of orientation to campus, immigration and visas, tax requirements and directing them to various resources on and off campus.
- Support the rapidly growing number of international students engaged in off-campus internships before and after graduation.
- Expand the Friendship Family program for international students to connect with families in the Walla Walla Valley.
- Provide cultural programming for international students through “Discover the U.S.A.” activities in the Pacific Northwest.
|
The OCS-ISSS staff are also supported by seven OCS student interns and nine international student mentors who support first-year international students.
Read more.
|
|
|
Shampa Biswas Awarded Ploughshares Grant to Continue Nuclear Studies Project
|
Shampa Biswas, the Judge & Mrs. Timothy A. Paul Chair of Political Science and Professor of Politics, was awarded a grant from the Ploughshares Fund for the continuation of her previously funded project to decolonize the nuclear studies curriculum. The first Ploughshares Fund grant enabled the development of three teaching modules that draw connections between nuclear weapons and 1) colonialism and racism, 2) feminism and 3) environmentalism. The new grant will enable the wider dissemination of these modules through presentations at conferences, development of interactive webinars and workshops, and social media/web-based outreach.
|
|
|
Staff Coffee break Tomorrow
|
The Office of the President will host a Staff Coffee Break on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. in the Olin Hall foyer. Enjoy a midafternoon break to socialize with your colleagues and take the opportunity to explore Sheehan Gallery, the Center for Writing and Speaking (also known as COWS) and the Computer Science Department.
|
Learn About Sustainable Living Center Tomorrow
|
The Sustainable Living Center (SLC) will be in Reid Campus Center foyer to discuss opportunities for Whitman students. Stop by their table on Wednesday, Nov. 15 between 3:30–5:30 p.m. to learn more about how you can get involved with this local nonprofit organization.
|
United Way Campaign Ends Tomorrow
|
Scheduled myWhitman and Colleague Downtime This Weekend
|
In order to move to new servers, Technology Services will need to take Colleague, Self-Service and myWhitman offline for several hours. To minimize disruptions to campus, this downtime is scheduled to happen on Saturday, Nov. 18. Normal operation should resume by Sunday, Nov. 19, but there may be some intermittent disruptions.
|
|
|
|
|
Open Forum: Provost Candidate
|
|
|
|
|
Sherwood Athletic Center, Room 114
|
|
|
|
|
Reid Campus Center, Room G02
|
|
|
Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.
|
|
|
“Whitman Today” is produced by the Office of Communications and is emailed Monday through Friday to Whitman College staff, faculty and students.
All submissions are welcome! If you have accomplishments to celebrate, an event to publicize or other content to share with the Whitman community, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions of 125 words or less are due by noon for the following day’s newsletter. Submissions may be edited and/or held for a later date according to space and editorial needs. Your submission also authorizes use on Whitman's social media unless otherwise specified.
Previous issues of Whitman Today are archived on our website.
|
|
|
Find us on social media: @whitmancollege
|
|
|
|
