Appointees to overcrowded, understaffed program look for possibilities for expansion
CU’s study abroad program is getting a bit of a shake-and-bake.
To accommodate the increasing number of students and faculty participating in abroad programs, which reached a high of 1,114 students last year, study abroad director Mary Dando and associate director of the Office of International Education Kim Kreutzer have been appointed as of Jan. 1 and Feb. 14, respectively. The pair has plans to expand the program for both faculty and students in the coming year.
“This is an exciting time. Students are realizing study abroad and international experience is an important part of education. With over 185 programs in over 70 countries, we’re here to help make that realization, possible,” said Mary Dando, director of study abroad programs.
As much as 25 percent of graduates experience abroad programs. A major goal of Dando is to increase the number of students traveling abroad through publicity and increasing the number of staff available to students.
“Numbers (of students) have been increasing, but our space has not been increasing,” Kreutzer said. “We need to hire more staff in order to adequately be able to work with the number of students wanting to go abroad. Without space, we are somewhat limited.”
Each office has become smaller and smaller over time. The Office of International Education shares a building with Environmental Design and has reached its limit. Staffers are sharing cubicles, while others have their offices in hallways.
With a hopeful increase in staff, Kreutzer plans to work with faculty in certain departments to develop a “curriculum integration” to promote a more seamless fit between courses offered abroad and courses offered at CU.
To ensure this smooth integration, Kreutzer will work with outside resources to apply for grants and ultimately develop a small fund for faculty to attend international seminars to learn about other areas of the world to better internationalize their courses.
Kreutzer’s position at the Office of International Education was created to promote and publicize internationalization on campus. For instance, a new online database is growing for researchers on campus who have an international component to their studies; researchers can find other researchers to create joint projects and maintain contact with those in a similar field of study.
This database will raise more international recognition so people will realize the multitude of international activities happening on campus.
Both Dando and Kreutzer plan to have lots of outreach from the office to many other people on campus.
For instance, possible plans for an international speaker series scheduled to come to CU or inviting visiting faculty from overseas to share their experience is presently in the works. Dando also anticipates more outreach to high school students. She now awaits coming news on the Lincoln Commission, backed by Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar, a Democrat. If passed, it will provide scholarship money for students to study in non-traditional/non-Western locations.
“Our organization (at CU) is extremely strong. It’s been running for 40 years and is one of the oldest study abroad programs nationally,” Dando said. “We have an exceptionally strong staff as well.”
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Victoria Barbatelli at victoria.barbatelli@thecampuspress.com.
