Newsletter 2009.bak.pub - Office of International Affairs - Portland ...

Office of International Affairs
No. 19 2009 Summer Newsletter
www.oia.pdx.edu
Inside this issue:
In Memoriam-
John Damis
International Photo
Contest
International Cultural
Service Program
(ICSP)
International Student
Named PSU Student
Employee of the Year
PSU is a top 20 Gilman
Recipient Institu-
Fulbright and NSEP
Awardees 2009
New Faces at OIA 7
Middle East Studies
Center News
Institute for Asian
Studies News
Confucius Institute at
PSU Celebrates its 2nd
Anniversary
OIA Highlights Cross-
Campus International
Collaboration
Teaching Abroad in
Osijek, Croatia
Living and Learning:
Studying Abroad in
Japan
Cover photo compliments of
Christopher Connell
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3
4
5
5
6
8
9
10
12-
14
16
17
Message From Vice Provost Gil Latz:
PSU Wins Prestigious International Award
It was with a great deal of
pride that I was asked to
represent President Wiewel
and Portland State University
in Los Angles on May
29, 2009, to receive the
Senator Paul Simon Award
for Exemplary Campus Internationalization.
This annual award by
NAFSA: the Association of
International Educators,
acknowledges only five
campuses in the US each
year, and to be among the
winners is a sterling achievement
for the University’s
faculty, students and staff.
Many people have asked
why I think Portland State
won the 2009 competition.
The distinct history of international
education at Port-
land State is one reason; the
other is the persuasive essay
we wrote which sought to
identify new approaches to
international education at
non-traditional campuses
like ours, characterized by
an older student body with
a large number of part-time
students.
Portland State has an outstanding
history of developing
creative approaches to
international education.
Many of the University’s
international programs be-
(Continued on page 15)
International Special Programs Welcomes 500 Summer Visitors
The Office of International
Special Programs (ISP)
within the Office of International
Affairs will host
approximately 500 students,
teachers and professionals
this summer. Since 1992,
ISP has been designing and
coordinating short- and
long-term special programs
for groups with specific
Portland State Vice Provost Gil Latz and the International Affairs staff.
goals and learning objectives.
This summer, ISP
will host various student
groups from Korean partner
universities coming to
PSU to learn Art, Architecture,
English as a Second
Language, and Technology
Management. We will host
a Korean group of middle
and high school teachers of
English who have been
sponsored by the Korean
government with the objective
of “teaching English
through English”.
ISP will also host groups of
Chinese students and professionals,
a relatively new
development, including an
(Continued on page 2)

Office of International Affairs
Page 2
Gather for Shade - Nicosia,
Cyprus.
By Amanda Eyre
“Fly on a Lotus Field,”
South Korea.
By Jeffrey Mackay
OIA International Photo Contest
— Honorable Mention
" Chicks" - Sana'a, Yemen
By Nate Brakken
JOHN DAMIS
June 16, 1940-June 10, 2009
Dr. John Damis, a wellrespected
and much loved
member of the PSU community,
passed away on June
10, after a long battle with
cancer. He was Director of
the Middle East Studies
Center from 2004-2009,
then served as Director
Emeritus. While Director,
he traveled widely in the
Middle East and initiated the
organizing of PSU alumni
reunions in Kuwait, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia, and UAE. He
secured funds to reintroduce
a Persian language position
at PSU and dramatically increased
fund-raising for the
Center.
Dr. Damis was Professor
Emeritus of Political Science
in the Mark Hatfield School
of Government and in International
Studies, having
come to PSU in 1972. He
served as chair of the Politi-
International Special Programs Welcomes 500 Summer Visitors
(Continued from page 1)
exciting new program which
involves two PSU students
going to China as
“International Program Assistants”
to be involved in a preparatory
camp for a large
group of Chinese students
who will travel to Portland
and then participate in an
American culture and English
program. The PSU International
Program Assistants will
lead the Portland program,
along with four Chinese uni-
In Memoriam—John Damis
cal Science Department. In
1994, he received the Bradford
Price Millar Award for
Faculty Excellence.
A native of Portland, Dr.
Damis graduated with high
honors from Harvard College
in 1962, earned a master’s
degree in Middle Eastern
Studies from Harvard in
1964, and received his Ph.D.
in International Relations
from the Fletcher School of
Law and Diplomacy in 1970.
versity International Program
Assistants. In August,
a large number of Japanese
university programs will take
place at PSU, including several
programs with partner
universities that have been
in operation, for more than
ten years. Typically, these
programs include an academic
component in the
morning for three or four
hours, which are complemented
by afternoon activities
and excursions led by
international program assis-
From 1975 to 1977, he
served as a U.S. State Department
policy analyst for
the Middle East. Dr. Damis
studied and worked in the
Middle East or North Africa
for a total of five years. He
wrote four books and
monographs and numerous
articles and chapters on the
politics and international
relations of the Middle East
and North Africa. He spent
the academic year 1997-98
as a Senior Fulbright Research
Scholar in Morocco.
In 2000, Dr. Damis was
decorated by H.M. King
Mohammed VI of Morocco
and made a Commander of
the Alawite Order.
Donations to the John
Damis Middle East Studies
Scholarship should be made
out to PSU Foundation, and
sent to the Middle East
Studies Center (MESC),
Portland State University,
PO Box 751, Portland, OR
97207.
tants that are recreational,
cultural, or historical, and
are always fun! Please welcome
these international
groups if you see them on
campus, and we appreciate
your friendliness if you
happen to be stopped by a
student asking you to participate
in a 5-minute survey
on some aspect of
American life.
— Judy Van Dyck, Director,
International Student &
Scholar Services

Recent participants in PSU’s Education Abroad
and International Internship programs were invited
to submit photographs representing their
experience during their time abroad.
Photographs were judged on a range of the following
elements: creativity/composition, creative
use of color, photos that show a history, photos
that show interaction between cultures, photos
that tell a story, or have an emotional impact. The
first place award went to Jon Asay, for his photo
"Lanterns of Jogyesa Temple". Jon notes,
"Lanterns light up the Jogyesa temple in downtown Seoul
in commemoration of the birth of Buddha" The second
place award was given to Kirsten Longmeier, for
her photo "Elvia in the Kitchen". Kirsten notes,
"The domain of many women and young girls in Guatemala;
the kitchen. Having the warmth from the fire, handmade
tortillas, and a safe place to gossip makes it difficult
to leave this cozy place" taken in Clementoro, Guatemala.
Third place was awarded to Nate Brakken,
for his photo "The Shepard". Nate notes, "Young
girl in rural Ethiopia tending to her family's herd of sheep"
taken outside of the city of Lalibela, Ethiopia.
.
To view all submitted photos, please visit:
http://picasaweb.google.com/
aniabrozek13/2008InternationalPhotoContest#
Photos by other entrants are also presented
throughout this newsletter.
-Anna Brozek, International Student Life Program
Coordinator
Office of International Affairs
2008 International Photo Contest
First Place — "Lanterns of Jogyesa Temple"
By Jon Asay
Congratulations International Students & Scholars
Page 3
Second Place —
"Elvia in the
Kitchen"
By Kirsten Longmeier
Third Place — "The
Shepard"
- By Nate Brakken
On Friday, June 12, 2009, the International Student and Scholar Services Office, the Alumni Office, the Multicultural
Center, and Global Village partnered to sponsor this year's 4th Annual "Bon Voyage" Lunch on the Portland Spirit for
international students and scholars who were graduating or finishing their affiliation with PSU. The Office of International
Affairs would like to send a fond farewell to all of our colleagues and wish them the best of luck in their life pursuits.
Congratulations and "Bon Voyage"!

Office of International Affairs
Page 4
OIA International Photo Contest
— Honorable Mention
"Girl and Weavers". San Miguel
Tequixtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico
By Kylie Thompson
“ICSP is more than
just a student
group; it is a
family”
— Hikari Yamashita
OIA International Photo Contest
— Honorable Mention
"Amazon River in the Afternoon"
Peru
By Angie Cina
International Cultural Service Program (ICSP)
The International Cultural
Service Program (ICSP) is a
state-wide scholarship program
for international students
that is dedicated to
promoting the recognition
of commonalities and appreciation
of differences in cultures
through first hand
knowledge and experience.
At Portland State University,
ICSP offers a wide variety of
cultural services and presentations
in order to facilitate
cross cultural understanding.
The academic year of 2008-
2009 featured 27 students as
ICSP members from 19 different
countries. This year
ICSP received and fulfilled
more than 70 requests for
assistance that varied from
giving cultural presentations
to K-12 schools and community
organizations, participating
in international
programs and events, to
helping PSU students with
ethnographic class projects.
Highlights for this year’s
ICSP activities included facilitating
an annual global
knowledge competition
called World Quest hosted
by World Affairs Council of
Oregon; participating in the
International Student Orientation
and Mentoring Program;
and partnering with
Student Leaders for Service
Program by sharing nonprofit
organizations in Portland
metropolitan area with
the diverse and extensive
global knowledge that each
ICSP member brought to
share.
Teach the Middle East, a conference
for K-12 educators,
is another event in which
ICSP members participate
annually. This year, Mustafa
Mahmood from Iraq got the
privilege to represent the
culture of his country at the
conference. International
Night, the biggest celebration
of cultural diversity at PSU
is another major event for
ICSP members. From the
vibrant international fashion
show to the exclusive cultural
performances, ICSP
members planned, organized
and participated in International
Night with great cultural
pride.
End of term ICSP potlucks,
besides the regular bimonthly
meetings are those
fun-filled occasions where
ICSP members enjoy their
diversity by sampling international
dishes prepared by
their peers, and cherishing
their friendships. As Hikari
Yamashita, a member from
Brazil puts it: “ICSP is more
than just a student group; it
is a family.” For more information,
please go to
www.icsp.pdx.edu
-Hamza Sherwani, PSU International
Student (Pakistan)

International Student Named 2009 Student Employee of the Year
Judith Waswa with PSU President
Wim Wiewel..
Judith Waswa was chosen
2009 PSU Student Employee
of the Year at the
annual Hats Off reception
on April 15th, 2009.
Judith was born and raised
in a village in western
Kenya. Currently, she works
for the Office of Admissions,
Registration and Records
while maintaining an
outstanding GPA in the rigorous
pre-medical program.
She is a member of
the International Cultural
Service Program where she
likes to share the culture of
the Luuyha people of Kenya
and serves as a mentor for
incoming international students.
She also volunteers
at OHSU as a research assistant
working on copper metabolism
and Wilson disease.
Judith represents the finest
example of a PSU student’s
contribution to the University.
Judith's supervisors said:
"Judith is small but strong.
Judith is brilliant but humble.
Judith is serious but the first
to offer a smile. She is beloved
by all who know and
work with her in ARR. There
are many fine students contributing
to the work of this
fine university, but among
them, Judith stands tall. A few
years from now, we will find
ourselves beaming at her
photo on the cover of
Time Magazine….
Dr. Judith Waswa, President
of Kenya."
—Anna Brozek, International
Student Life Program Coordinator
PSU is a top 20 Gilman Recipient Institution
The Gilman Scholarship is a
prestigious, competitive study
abroad scholarship that is
sponsored by the U.S. Department
of State Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs
and is funded by Congress.
3,123 students from
420 institutions across the
country applied for Gilman
funding for the 2008-09 academic
year, and 1,226 scholarships
were awarded. Portland
State University is proud to
be listed among the top 20
recipient institutions for the
second year in a row, with 8
students selected to receive
a Gilman Scholarship during
this application cycle. PSU
is on track to keep this
honor next year; awards for
Fall of 2009, which begin
the cycle for the 2009-2010
academic year, include four
PSU students: August Benzow
(Germany), Ashley
Cunningham (Tanzania),
Stephen Priest (France), and
Richard Stern (Japan).
The Gilman International
Scholarship Program offers
grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate
students of limited
financial means to pursue
academic studies abroad.
Such international study is
intended to better prepare
U.S. students to assume significant
roles in an increas-
Office of International Affairs
ingly global economy and
interdependent world.
The program aims to encourage
students to choose nontraditional
study abroad destinations,
especially those outside
of Western Europe and
Australia. The Gilman Scholarship
Program also aims to
support students who have
been traditionally underrepresented
in study abroad,
including students with high
financial need, community
college students, students in
under-represented fields such
as the sciences and engineering,
students with diverse
ethnic backgrounds, and students
with disabilities.
—Blythe Knott, Education
Abroad Advisor
"Judith is small
but strong. Judith
is brilliant but
humble. Judith is
serious but the
first to offer a
smile.”
Page 5
OIA International Photo Contest
4th Place
"306 Independencia." Santa Maria
Atzompa, Oaxaca, Mexico
By Kylie Thompson
OIA International Photo Contest
— Honorable Mention
"Moonrise Over Seoul" Seoul,
South Korea.
By Jon Asay

Office of International Affairs
Page 6
"Traditional Korean Fan Dance"
Island of Jindo, South Korea.
By Jos Vaught
For further information
about Fulbright &
NSEP, please contact
Debra Clemans,
Fulbright & NSEP
Adviser, at
clemansd@pdx.edu or
503-725-5859
OIA International Photo Contest —
Honorable Mention
"Wedding in Sana'a" - Old Sana'a,
Yemen.
By Nate & Morgan Brakken
Fulbright and NSEP Awardees: 2008-09; 2009-10
Fulbright Scholars
Program
Awardees for 2009-10
Victoria Belco
Associate Professor, Department
of History. Research:
Crime and Criminal Justice
in Fascist Italy, University of
Bologna and National Library
in Florence September
2009 – March 2010.
Awardees for 2008-09
Michael Joseph Clark
Associate Professor, Department
of English. Coordinator,
Film Studies. Lecturing:
American Literature, Culture
and Film at the University
of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia,
February 2009 - July 2009.
Stephanie Ann Farquhar
Associate Professor, School
of Community Health.
Research: The Influence of
Community and Public
Agencies on Canada's Policies
to Reduce Health Inequity
at the University of Victoria,
Victoria, Canada,
January 2009 - June 2009.
John Luke Gallup
Adjunct Assistant Professor,
Department of Economics.
Lecturing: Economic Development
and Research Methods
at Vietnam University
of Commerce, Hanoi, Vietnam
September 2008 - July
2009.
Christina Louise Hulbe
Associate Professor, Department
of Geology. Lecturing
and Research: Numerical
Modeling of Variability in
Ice Sheet Flow at the University
of Otago, Dunedin,
New Zealand, February
2009 - July 2009.
Pui Tak Leung
Professor, Department of
Physics. Research: Computational
Studies of the
Quantum Effects in Plasmonics
with Metallic
Nanoparticles at the National
Taiwan University,
Taipei, Taiwan.
September 2008 - July 2009
James Eliot Morris
Professor, Department of
Electrical and Computer
Engineering. Lecturing and
Research: Nanotechnology
Applications in Electrically
Conductive Adhesives
(ECAs) for Electronics
Packaging at Helsinki University
of Technology, Helsinki,
Finland, April 2009 -
September 2009.
Visiting Fulbright Scholar
for 2008-09
Mohamed Al Muqadam
Assistant Professor, Department
of History, Sultan
Qaboos University, Muscat,
Oman. Research: Richard
Waters, the First American
Consul to Zanzibar, East
Africa, 1838-1845.
Portland State University,
Department of History,
Portland, OR, Host: Dr. Jon
Mandaville, October 2008 -
July 2009
Fulbright U.S.
Student Program
Awardees for 2009-10
Lindsay Skog, a graduate
student in Geography, will
spend next year in Nepal as
she studies and maps sacred
landscapes as identified by
Sherpa people in the mountainous
Khumbu region.
Alicia Viani, a graduate
student in the School of
Social Work, will gather information
for a project in
Finland on sexual attitudes
among adolescent females
and how those attitudes are
constructed.
Sarah Deede, a recent
graduate with a Masters in
History, will work as an
English Teaching Assistant
in Germany. She will participate
in cultural exchange,
improve her German speaking
ability and gain relevant
work experience for her
teaching career.
Boren Fellowship Award
2009-10
Matt Clark, a graduate student
in the Conflict Resolution
program, has been
awarded a Boren Fellowship
to Turkey for the 2009-10
academic year. His research
focuses on national security
issues and the importance of
the US-Turkish-Kurdish
relationship in promoting
stability in the Middle East.
He plans to look at all facets
of the relationship, from
terrorism to economic development
and energy management,
and he will incorporate
conflict resolution
theories and methodologies
into his work. - Debra Clemans,
Fulbright & NSEP Adviser

The Office of
International
Student and
Scholar Services
welcomes Anna
Brozek as the
new International
Student
Life Program
Coordinator. Anna immigrated from
Poland to the United States eight
years ago. She received a Bachelor's
Degree in International Studies with a
focus on European Studies and a
Master’s degree in International Conflict
Resolution and Mediation, both
from Portland State University.
Anna volunteers with the Polish
Community teaching the Polish language,
and is a part of the Portland
Immigrant and Refugee Leadership
Training through the Center for Intercultural
Organizing. Anna loves
working with international students.
She has traveled extensively
throughout Europe and has also visited
Canada, Brazil, and Thailand.
Lydia Beyoud
has recently
joined OIA as
the new Office
Coordinator for
the Middle East
Studies Center,
where she has
worked as a
student intern for several years.
Lydia graduated from Portland State
University with a bachelor's degree in
International Studies in 2007. She
studied abroad in France during her
senior year in high school and Vancouver,
British Columbia during her
freshman year of college. She also
spent several months in Morocco in
both 2005 and 2008. As a member of
a military family, she traveled as a
child around the Pacific Rim and
North America with her parents. She
Office of International Affairs
New Faces at OIA
enjoys working on the many academic
conferences and educational
and cultural events MESC hosts
throughout the year. She has also
interned with a local Portland publishing
house and is pursuing a Post-
Baccalaureate degree in Writing.
Eric Skaar joined IE3 Global Internships
in January 2009 as the Regional
Director for Asia, Ecuador and Child
Family Health International (CFHI)
Latin America. Eric reports to the
Oregon University System,
OUS. The IE3 Global Internships
program provides students with academicallycreditedopportunities
for shorttermprofessionalassignments
abroad in
preparation for
careers in the
global economy.
Before joining
IE3, Eric worked in the non-profit
sector in various capacities, from
teacher to program manager on projects
related to education, refugee
teacher training, civil society engagement,
local governance strengthening,
environmental protection and
post-tsunami assessment in Thailand,
Washington DC, Ecuador, Kenya
and Sri Lanka, respectively. Before
joining IE3, he worked for two years
in Thailand as a teacher of foreign
students as well as coordinator of
volunteer-led projects related to public
health and intercultural understanding.
He received his MS in International
Development Management
from American University
(Washington, DC) in 2006 and BA
degrees in English and Peace Studies,
St. John’s University (MN) in
1997. Originally from St. Paul, Minnesota,
Eric has been fortunate to
travel to Canada, Western Europe,
Page 7
India, Kashmir, Thailand, Laos, China,
Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Ecuador,
Kenya, Sri Lanka, and New Orleans.
OIA’s Confucius Institute welcomes
two new people this year:
Mr. QIAN Jingwei is now serving as
co-director and Professor of the Chinese
language and culture program of
the Confucius
Institute. Prior to
coming to PSU as
a Visiting Scholar,
he was the head of
the international
students’ office at
Suzhou University
in China and an
associate professor
of Chinese language and culture
for international students. He also has
had experience teaching at the National
University of Modern Languages
in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Ms. FAN Yinghao is now serving at
PSU as a visiting professor teaching
Chinese language and culture for the
Confucius Institute. Ms. Fan also
joins us from Suzhou University,
where she is a professor in the School
of Art. Her
Ph.D. in History
and Theory of
Chinese Art Design
was awarded
in December
2006 from
Suzhou University.
She regularly
teaches Modern
Chinese, Ancient Chinese, Writing in
Chinese and Aesthetics at Suzhou
University.
- Debra Clemans, Fulbright & NSEP
Adviser

Office of International Affairs
Page 8
Abeer Etefa, Ph.D., former OIA Research
Associate, and currently working at
the UN World Food Programme as their
Senior Spokesperson/Senior Regional
Public Information Officer for the Middle
East, Central Asia and East Europe,
talks with Debra Clemans during the
Middle East Studies Center’s 50th
Anniversary banquet on July 11, 2009.
Founded in 1959,
the Middle East
Studies Center was
the first federally-
funded undergraduate
center in the U.S. for
Middle East and
Arabic language
studies
Participants at the Teach the Middle
East Conference, April 18, 2009.
The year 2009 marks a major
milestone for the Middle East
Studies Center as it celebrates
its 50 th Anniversary.
Founded in 1959, MESC was
the first federally-funded undergraduate
center in the U.S.
for Middle East and Arabic
language studies. A series of
events to commemorate the
anniversary include:
March-May—An exhibit of
MESC’s exquisite Bogue Oil
Lamp Collection at the Hallie
Ford Museum at Willamette
University;
July 10-12—MESC 50 th Anniversary
Weekend with an
Al-Andalus Ensemble concert,
a banquet, awards, and
PSU campus tours. Among
the many special guests were:
Peter Bechtold, Retired Director
for Near East and
North Africa, Foreign Service
Institute of the U.S. Department
of State, and first graduate
of the program; Barbara
Cox and Susan McComas,
wife and daughter of MESC
founder Fred Cox; U.S. Rep-
Middle East Studies Center News
resentative Earl Blumenauer,
and PSU President Wim
Wiewel.
October-December—
“History of Middle East
Studies in the West”, a PSU
library exhibit of rare and
historic books that have
contributed to publications
by PSU Middle East faculty
and alumni, curated by Gary
Leiser, PSU ’69, and Jon
Mandaville, History Department.
A highlight of MESC’s outreach
year was the April 18
“Teach the Middle East”
conference, co-sponsored
with World Affairs Council
of Oregon, and attended by
170 K-12 educators and
community organization
representatives. The day
included a panel discussion
with Middle Eastern international
students, presentations
on a wide range of
countries and issues, exhibits,
Persian music performance,
and a dramatization of
a Turkish folktale.
Head table at MESC 50th Anniversary Banquet on July 11, 2009. Clockwise from top: Gov.
Victor Atiyeh, PSU President Wim Wiewel, Tom and Molly Bartlett, David and Jean Campbell
. PSU Middle East Studies alumnus Peter Bechtold, Alice Wiewel.
Advisory Board Chair Nofal
Kasrawi represented MESC
at the 2009 PSU-GCC
Alumni Reunion in Doha,
Qatar. Anousha Sedighi,
Foreign Languages and Literatures
Professor, received
a MESC Faculty Travel
Award to attend the Middle
East Studies Association
conference in November
2008. Jean Campbell, MESC
Interim Director, was an
invited speaker at a conference
in Doha, Qatar on
February 13-15, 2009. She
is President of the Middle
East Outreach Council. The
2009 Leiser Scholarship for
study of Middle East languages
was presented to
Emily Mannheimer, a student
of Arabic. PSU overseas
study returnees Albert
Barrow (Egypt), Josef Burton
and Mija Sanders
(Turkey), and long-time volunteer
Ann Huntwork have
contributed greatly to the
work of MESC.
This has been a year of
MESC transitions. Director
John Damis became Director
Emeritus and Associate
Director Jean Campbell was
named Interim Director.
Former Director and History
Professor Jon Mandaville
retired after 44 years
of service to PSU, but
promises to remain involved
in the Center. John Damis
passed away on June 10 after
a long battle with cancer.
A scholarship for International
Studies and Political
Science majors has been
established in his name.—
Jean Campbell, Interim Director,
MESC

The Institute for Asian
Studies (IAS) hosted several
exciting events on campus
this past academic year. All
IAS sponsored events were
well attended not only by
PSU faculty and students
but also by members of the
larger Portland community.
At the beginning of this
academic year, Patricia
Thornton, former Director
of IAS and a specialist on
Chinese Politics, took a
leave of absence for one
year to teach at Oxford
University in England. Gil
Latz, Vice Provost for International
Affairs, assumed
responsibility as Interim
Director for IAS.
On November 13 and 14,
2008, the Institute for Asian
Studies co-hosted a delegation
from Shibusawa Foundation
for a two-day workshop
called, “Trans-Pacific
Entrepreneurial Leadership
in the late 19 th and the early
20 th Century.” Moreover, in
November, IAS collaborated
with the Middle East
Studies Center to host a
lecture on, “Quality Education
for all in the Middle
East and Asia.” Key speakers
were Omnia Nour, Director
of the Qatar-based
Non-Governmental Organization,
ROTA, and
Sarah Warren, former
Institute for Asian Studies (IAS) News
Mercy Corps Country Director
for Lebanon.
IAS frequently collaborates
with the Confucius Institute
to host lectures and to
sponsor events on China.
On January 22, 2009, IAS
and the Confucius Institute
(CI-PSU) co-sponsored a
lecture by Wendy Larson,
Professor of East Asian
Languages and Literature
and Vice Provost of Portland
Programs at the University
of Oregon. Her talk:
“Freud and the Revolutionary
Mind in 20 th Century
China”, was attended by
more than 50 faculty and
students at PSU. On May
1, 2009, IAS and CI-PSU
co-hosted, Professor Bin
Wong, Director of UCLA’s
Asia Institute and Professor
of History for a lecture on
“The Politics of Social
Spending: Revising our
Textbook Understanding of
Chinese History.” A week
later, on May 8, IAS and the
CI-PSU co-hosted a lecture
by Joseph Esherick, Professor
of History at UC San
Diego: “China: The Revolution
is Dead; Long Lives
the Revolution.”
On February 6, 2009, IAS
collaborated with the International
Studies Department
and the Center for
Japanese Studies to sponsor
a talk by Junko Ochi, Deputy
Consul General of the
Consulate General of Japan
in Portland. This lecture
was titled “Japan & the US:
Women in Bilateral Rela-
Office of International Affairs
Page 9
tions and International
Movements.”
This spring, IAS held a colloquium
for PSU students
about “Community Development
in Asia” that involved
a series of presentations
by four PSU faculty
members and two outside
speakers. More than 60
students were enrolled for
the class and members of
the community attended the
lectures as well. On April 3,
2009, Kevin Grubb, Program
officer for Eurasia
from Mercy Corps talked
about “Inter-Ethnic Peace
Building in Post-Soviet
Central Asia.” On April 10,
Anita Weiss, from the University
of Oregon, lectured
on “Women's Rights in
Pakistan.” Building upon
interest in South Asia in the
PSU community, IAS organized
a slide presentation
by Seattle-based journalist
Ethan Casey on “India and
Pakistan Today: The Elephant
in the Sub-
Continent” on May 27,
2009. As part of its outreach
mission, IAS partnered
with the Portland Art
Museum’s Asian Art Council
to facilitate its efforts in
reaching out to the South
Asian community in Portland
and by helping to promote
their events on campus.
—Zafreen Jaffery, Graduate
Assistant
Gil Latz with Yasuhiro Kato and Masato
Kimura from the Shibusawa Ei’ichi
Memorial Foundation, during the workshop
on Trans-Pacific Entrepreneurial
Leadership in the late 19th and the early
20th Century”, November 15th, 2008.
Junko Ochi, former Deputy Consul General
of the Consulate General of Japan in Portland,
lectured on “Japan & the US:
Women in Bilateral Relations and International
Movements” on February 6th, 2009.
Professor Bin Wong, Director of UCLA’s
Asia Institute and Professor of History
lectured on“The Politics of Social Spending:
Revising our Textbook Understanding of
Chinese History”, May 1, 2009.

Office of International Affairs
Page 10
Xiang Li, former Confucius Institute
Chinese language instructor and administrator,
poses with her students from her
Beginning Chinese class.
In August, 2008, 13 high school
students from Portland joined the
“Chinese Bridge” Summer Camp and
spent three weeks studying Chinese and
traveling in China.
Confucius Institute at PSU has successfully
held two HSK (Hanyu Shuiping
Kaoshi-Chinese Proficiency Test)exams.
It is also the first CI offering the Business
Chinese Test (BCT) in the United
States.
Confucius Institute at PSU Celebrates its 2 nd Anniversary
The Confucius Institute at
PSU (CI-PSU) has been in
operation and offering various
programs since 2007. Through
activities such as Chinese language
programs, China and
Chinese culture-related lecture
series, Experiencing Chinese
Culture events, weekly Chinese
Corner activities, international
conferences, K-12 Chinese
language teachers training
program, Chinese-bridge summer
camp, CI-PSU plays an
important role in diffusing
Chinese culture in the region
and engaging the American
general public in study of Chinese
language, Chinese people,
Chinese history, philosophy,
politics, economics and cultural
traditions, thus broadening
the network between the
two countries and its people.
CI-PSU offers non-credit Chinese
language classes to both
adults and K-12 students.
These courses include computer-aided
Chinese Listening,
Speaking, Reading and Writing,
Chinese News and TV,
Chinese Stories & Speech,
Beginning, Intermediate and
Advanced Conversational Chinese,
Chinese for Travel and
Business, Chinese Painting
and Calligraphy, Introduction
and Practice Class for Tai Chi,
Prep course for HSK (Hanyu
Shuiping Kaoshi - Chinese
Proficiency Test) /YCT
(Young Learners Chinese
Test) , and Advanced Chinese
Literature: Reading and Writing.
As of the end of Summer
Quarter 2009, over 100 people
have taken CI-PSU’s noncredit
Chinese classes and
more are interested in signing
up for the Fall Quarter of
2009.
Over the past two years, CI-
PSU has sponsored and cosponsored
eighty-five China
and Chinese culture-related
lectures and events such as
the weekly “Chinese Corner”
activities, “Promoting
Chinese Traditional Culture”
and “Introducing Current
China”. Several thousand
people have attended
these events. CI-PSU is the
first among the 60 some
Confucius Institutes and
Confucius Classrooms in the
US to host HSK-YCT-BCT
(Chinese Proficiency Tests)
for all categories and all levels.
Since its inception,
CIPSU has hosted 5 HSK
Chinese Proficiency Tests,
with 465 people participating.
For two consecutive years,
CI-PSU has offered a Chinese
teacher training program
for local K-12 Chinese
language teachers.
About 60 teachers have
been trained in various aspects
of teaching Chinese as
a foreign language, such as
Chinese pedagogy, Chinese
teaching methodologies,
second language acquisition,
Chinese curriculum design
and development, application
of technology in Chinese
language teaching, development
of Chinese teaching
materials, and Chinese
class management.
The Confucius Institute at
Portland State University
has co-hosted two Chinese
Speech Contests and two
more all scheduled in 2009.
In August, 2008, 13 high
school students from Portland
joined the “Chinese
Bridge” Summer Camp and
spent three weeks studying
Chinese and culture and
traveling in China. This year,
19 students participated in
the two-week summer program
in Beijing and Henan
Province of China. On October
24-25, 2008, in collaboration
with China’s
Tsinghua University, CI-PSU
organized and hosted the
International Conference on
Translation Studies, Cross-
Cultural Communication and
Chinese Pedagogy. More
than 60 distinguished professors
and scholars from different
countries and regions
came to present and attend
the academic event. On September
18-20, 2009, CI-PSU
will host the Chinese Teaching
Conference for all CIs in
the US and Canada, and the
celebration of the 60 th anniversary
of the founding of
the PRC with a series of
China and Chinese cultural
related events. Looking
back, we are proud of what
the CI-PSU has achieved
thus far; looking forward, we
feel a heavy responsibility to
realize our goals. We look
forward to working with
PSU and the community to
embrace the opportunities
and challenges ahead of us.
—Meiru Liu, Director, Confucius
Institute

Bhangra dance
The Organization of International
Students celebrated
Fred Nunn, PSU Professor
Emeritus of History and
International Studies and
OIA is
proud to
acknowledge
two
recent PSU
graduates, both of whom
have worked in our International
Student and Scholar
Services’ reception area.
33rd Annual International Night
its 33rd annual International
Night on Friday, May 22,
2009. This year’s event,
Emma Bradley and Yoko
Honda participated in the
Spring 2009 commencement
exercises held June 13
at the Rose Garden Arena.
Emma earned magna cum
laude honors, a double major
in Political Science and
Office of International Affairs
theme, One World. One Flag.
One Night drew record numbers
to Smith Memorial Student
Union’s Ballroom and
Multicultural Center. International
Night is an annual
celebration of the international
diversity at Portland
State University. It offers a
great opportunity for PSU
students, families, faculty,
staff and the greater Portland
community to experience
the different traditions,
costumes, foods, and music
that PSU’s 1,700 international
students have to offer.
This year, students from
Women’s Studies. She will
be joining in the “Teach for
America” program.
Yoko majored in Social
Science with cum laude
honors. She is now in the
PSU Graduate School of
Education’s Post Secondary
Page 11
over 88 countries participated
in this event. Participants
were able to sample
dishes from the Mediterranean,
Latin America,
Europe, Middle East, Asia,
and Africa; visit cultural
booths; enjoy dancing, singing,
drumming from around
the world; and watch the
fabulous international student
fashion show with over
70 volunteers. It was organized
by the Organization of
International Students with
support from OIA’s International
Student and Scholar
Services.
OIA Graduate Assistant Akiko Ota heads to Michigan
Akiko Ota, OIA Graduate
Assistant, is heading to East
Lansing, Michigan, as a fulltime
ESL instructor at
Michigan State University.
Akiko has been at PSU
former Vice Provost for
International Affairs has a
new title to add to his already
impressive vitae. Dr.
Nunn has been named the
Dean of Academic Affairs
and Professor of National
Security Affairs at the Center
for Hemispheric De-
since 2000, graduating with
a MA in TESOL in 2005,
and just recently, finishing
her coursework in the
Ed.D. program at PSU.
Akiko will be writing her
Professor Nunn goes to Washington
fense Studies (CHDS).
The CHDS is part of the
National Defense University
in Washington, DC and
has over 50 faculty and
staff. The Center provides
coursework that leads to
better relations between
comprehensive papers and
dissertation from Michigan.
Congratulations Akiko! We
will miss you!
civilian and military leaders
and managers in defense
and security agencies.
During this one year appointment,
Dr. Nunn will
be commuting between his
homes in Portland and our
nation’s capital.
Congratulations to OIA Student Workers Emma Bradley and Yoko Honda
Adult and
Continuing
Education
program.
Congratulations Emma and
Yoko!

Office of International Affairs
Page 12 OIA HIGHLIGHTS CROSS-CAMPUS INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
Community-Based Service Learning Programs Cultivate Global Student
Leadership Skills
Think about creating an international,
enhanced learning
environment and consider
this: ten graduate students
from the Hatfield
School of Government, two
PSU undergraduate seniors,
and 25 Vietnamese students
from varying disciplines
coming together to learn
about and practice leadership
and civic skills within
the context of sustainability.
Add a focus on increasing
understanding about crosscultural
communication and
diverse learning backgrounds.
Now, imagine the
heat, sounds, and smells of
Ho Chi Minh City. Finally,
envision the learning that
could be shared during a
multi-day community-based
learning (CBL), global civic
leadership course. This exciting
experience occurred in
Vietnam last December.
One of the objectives of the
three-year partnership between
the University of Science
in Ho Chi Minh City
and Portland State University’s
Hatfield School of
Government and the Center
for Academic Excellence is
to cultivate student
leadership
skills through
the medium of
communityengaged
learning
environments.
CBL offers opportunities
for
team building,
public speaking,
problem solving,
critical and creative
thinking, conflict resolution,
community outreach,
and fun. Vietnamese educators
report that these skills
and activities are noticeably
lacking in the current Vietnamese
educational system.
The teaching team was as
excited and diverse as the
students participating.
Guided by Hatfield School
of Government’s Dr. Marcus
Ingle, bringing along his
40 plus years of experience
in Vietnam, were Dr. Kevin
Kecskes, Associate Vice
Provost for Engagement
and recent Public Administration
and Policy doctoral
program graduate, and Sarah
Simpson, a PSU senior.
Simpson was chosen to participate
in the facilitation
process with Dr. Kecskes
because of her Student
Leaders for Service (SLS)
background and the University
of Science’s interest in
replicating the SLS on their
campus program to foster
engaged learning. The facilitators’
objective was to create
an environment that
would allow students to feel
confident to take chances,
comfortable to work
within cross-cultural
groups, and open to cultivate
numerous civic and
leadership skills.
The results of this dynamic
experience that
took place in Vietnam
were noteworthy. After
many intentional team
building and leadership
exercises facilitated by
Kecskes and Simpson the
five teams had the opportunity
to generate what
they thought were the five
most important civic skills
needed today. Students of
varying persona, professional,
and academic backgrounds
developed and
delivered culturallyappropriate,
mini trainings
to teach each other about
problem solving, communication,
teamwork, creative
thinking, and dependability
in highly interactive
settings. Through the initial
experience of collaborative
learning and creating
relationships students
were prepared for their
next challenge
set by
Dr. Ingle:
assessing
specific sustainability
parameters
in local districts
of Ho
Chi Minh
City and creating
a presentation
of
their findings for their
peers and University administrators.
During the
assessment in the community
and while building
their presentations, students
had to utilize all of
the skills they learned during
their earlier multi-day
CBL training. Each
group’s presentation was
distinctive, informative,
engaging, and in some
cases, surprising! Because
of the dedication of all
students, facilitators, and
community partners to
create an engaging learning
experience, everyone
involved walked away
smiling, more reflective
and experienced about
their cross-cultural experience
between Portland
State University and The
University of Science of
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.—Kevin
Kecskes, Associate
Vice Provost for Engagement and
Director, Community-University
Partnerships; and Sarah Simpson,
Student Outreach Coordinator for
Student Leaders for Service Reprinted
with permission; Pathways
Spring 2009 Newletter.

OIA HIGHLIGHTS CROSS-CAMPUS INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
Office of International Affairs
Intel Selects Portland State University to Partner on $2 Million
Intel Vietnam Scholars Program
On Tuesday, June 23, representatives
from Portland State University (PSU)
and Intel Corporation welcomed 28
new international students from five
universities in Vietnam. The students
are the first recipients of the new Intel
Vietnam Scholars program and began
classes this summer.
The event in Portland followed the
official awarding of the Intel Scholars
awards by Craig Barrett, Chairman,
Intel Board, in Ho Chi Minh city on
April 10, 2009, an event attended by
Dr. Marcus Ingle, Professor, Hatfield
School of Government, and Vietnam
specialist.
Intel is sponsoring the $2 million program
because of its long-term commitment
to train a technical pipeline of
well-educated employees at Intel Vietnam.
Intel is building its largest global
Assembly/Test site in Ho Chi Minh
City. The new site is where silicon wafers
are sliced into individual chips and
then packaged and tested for their electrical
functions and reliability before
being shipped to customers. The
scholars program is timed to the student’s
return in 2011.
Rick Howarth, General Manager, Intel Vietnam, congratulates
students at the 2009 Intel Vietnam Scholars Welcome
Reception held at the Maseeh College of Engineering and
Computer Science, June 23, 2009.
Vietnamese scholars with Marcus Ingle and Craig Barrett,
Chairman, Intel Board, in Ho Chi Minh city on April 10,
2009.
The welcome event, held in the atrium
of the Masseh College of Engineering
and Computer Science Building included
presentations by: William Holt,
Senior Vice President and General
Manager, Technology and Manufacturing
Group at Intel; Rick Howarth,
General Manager of Intel Vietnam;
Wim Wiewel, President of Portland
State University; and Dick Knight, Interim
Dean of the Masseh College of
Engineering and Computer Science.
Portland State is not a newcomer to
Vietnam. PSU works closely with the
Ministry of Education and Training
(MOET) and the University of Science,
Ho Chi Minh City, on an advanced
training program in computer
science. With support from the U.S.,
Vietnamese, and Ho Chi Minh City
governments, PSU is involved in the
study of rapid urbanization and its impact
on water resources. PSU is also
deeply involved in studying the important
role of public leadership in Vietnam’s
national development priorities,
through collaboration with the Ho Chi
Minh Political Academy, Hanoi. And,
along with a select group of US Universities,
PSU sits on the advisory
working group for the US/Vietnam
Education Task Force, a project led by
the US Ambassador to Vietnam.
Page 13
One might wonder: Why was Portland
State University selected for this prestigious
award, the first of its type in
Intel’s, and PSU’s history? There are a
number of important answers to this
question:
--Portland State has a long and close
connection with Intel and we are the
third largest supplier of employees to
the company in the United States.
--Portland State works closely with the
Intel Hillsboro, Oregon facility, the
largest employer in Oregon and the
largest Intel facility in the US.
--Intel selected Portland State for the
US Scholarship Program because we
know each other, and because Intel has
the highest regard for the excellence of
our academic programs and the students
who graduate from them
--Portland State also knows Vietnam,
and the combination of the breadth of
our activity, and the many collaborations
we have here, gives both of us
confidence that this program will be
successful in meeting Vietnam’s national
educational and economic goals
--Portland State knows international
students, their potential for success,
and the types of programs that assist in
their transition to successful study in a
different academic and cultural setting.
The University has received a number
of awards for its approach to international
education, its Internationalization
Strategy (for the most recent example,
see p. 1, PSU Wins Simon Award), and
we bring deep professional insight into
how to ensure that Intel’s collaboration
with Portland State will be successful
for all who participate.
As the University’s chief international
(Continued on page 18)

Office of International Affairs
Page 14 OIA HIGHLIGHTS CROSS-CAMPUS INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
PSU International Studies introduced
a BA option in 2008-2009 that allows
students to focus on international development
issues. Its initial success
has encouraged faculty to seek approval
for a Masters degree in International
Development and Service in
collaboration with the International
Partnership in Service Learning and
Leadership. Like the undergraduate
major, it will be an inter-disciplinary
program, with participants acquiring a
primary area of expertise in social, cultural,
economics and/or political issues
pertaining to global and region -
specific sustainable environmental and
human development.
International Studies is welcoming a
new faculty member beginning in the
fall. Turgrul Keskin (Virginia Tech)
specializes in the Middle East. He was
recently awarded the Sociologists with
Borders’ distinguished R.H. Tawney
Award. The award is named for the
In late April, a small delegation
from PSU made a
special visit to the city of
Changchun, located in the
northeastern Chinese
province of Jilin. The
group from PSU consisted
of Agnes Hoffman, Associate
Vice Provost for Enrollment
Management and
Student Affairs, Judy
Reed, Director of the Intensive
English Language
Institute, and Judy Van
Dyck, Director of the Office
of International Student
and Scholar Services.
Changchun is the capital
of Jilin, and with 8 million
inhabitants, the largest city
International Studies News
scholar-activist who taught at the London
School of Economics and has
been described as a humanist, an advocate
of a decent and inclusive society,
a champion of labor and universal
education, and a fierce critic of inequality.
Tugrul edits the newsletter “The Sociology
of Islam and Muslim Societies”
(http://sociologyofislam.org/)
and is bringing the editorial home to
PSU and his edition, Sociology of Islam,
is forthcoming.
PSU Visits Changchun City
in the province. In 2001,
the Jilin Provincial Higher
Education Department
established a training program
for university leaders,
since then more than
200 Chinese university
presidents, vice presidents,
deans and directors have
spent one to two weeks on
the PSU campus learning
about higher education in
general and PSU in particular.
As a result of this longlasting
relationship, ties
with the City of Changchun
Education Bureau
(CEB) were then devel-
oped. The CEB oversees 1
million school age students,
some of who are interested
in continuing their education
in the U.S. after graduation.
PSU and the CEB
developed a Memorandum
of Understanding and a project
for 160 students from
the four top-ranked high
schools in Changchun to
have an accelerated admissions
process to PSU, including
being able to take
the Test of English as Foreign
Language (TOEFL)
onsite, administered by PSU
personnel. There is strong
interest in this model on the
part of Jilin Province as well,
This year's Oregon Consular Corps
Scholarship winners are: Jazmin Ogle
(International Development Studies:
Latin America) and Katy Walstra
(International Studies: Latin America).
Jazmin will be finishing her last term
at PSU this fall and has plans to apply
for the Peace Corps. Katy graduated
winter term, summa cum laude, with a
4.0 GPA.
Dr. Patricia Thornton, our political
scientist focusing on East Asia, is currently
on leave. She accepted a twoyear
research fellowship at Merton
College, University of Oxford. Dr.
Leopoldo Rodriguez, our economist
focusing on Latin America, will be
returning in the Fall after a trip to Argentina
to make initial arrangements
for a new international Studies Capstone
that will debut in 2010-2011.
— Martha Hickey, Director, International
Studies
and PSU will follow up meeting
with provincial high
schools next Fall. On April 27,
more than 150 Changchun
high school seniors sat for the
4 hour TOEFL test proctored
by PSU. As a result, 8 students
have been admitted and will
attend PSU in the Fall. Unfortunately,
due to HINI (swine
flu) scare in May and June, the
number of applicants was not
as many as expected, but we
remain hopeful for upcoming
years. It is an exciting pilot
project and partnership which
could have big results in upcoming
years. — Judy Van
Dyck, Director, International Student
& Scholar Services

Office of International Affairs
Continued from page 1 — Message From Vice Provost Gil Latz
NAFSA Award Winners: Top row, left to right:: William B. Lacy, University of California-Davis;
John K. Hudzik, NAFSA: Association of International Educators; Jason A.
Scorza, Fairleigh Dickinson University Bottom row, left to right:: Loren James Anderson,
Pacific Lutheran University; Urbain (Ben) J. DeWinter, Boston University; Mary S. Devins,
Connecticut College; Robert James Jones, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; Gil Latz,
Portland State University. (Photo compliments of NAFSA).
gan shortly after its creation
immediately following
WWII. The Middle East
Studies Center is celebrating
its 50 th anniversary in 2009.
For 40 years, our students
have participated in study
abroad programs organized
by PSU and the Oregon
University System. We have
steadily increased the range
of courses with international
content, research on international
subjects, and study
abroad courses and internships.
These include teaching
exchanges through the
Northwest Council on Study
Abroad and the Fulbright
program. Over the last two
years, eleven faculty and
five students were awarded
Fulbrights to: Argentina,
China, Israel, Ghana, The
Netherlands, Sarajevo, Sri
Lanka, Sweden, and Trinidad/Tobago,
Croatia, Canada,
Vietnam, New Zealand,
Taiwan, Finland and Spain.
Our International Visiting
Professors program, which
brings 12 to 15 international
experts to campus every
Summer to teach about their
respective countries through
the Tour the World at Home
Program, is 30 years old. The
University’s International
Studies Program, an interdisciplinary
approach that
includes area and thematic
foci, celebrated its 25 th anniversary
this past academic
year.
In addition to an historical
commitment to international
education, the question of
what works for our students—older,
part time and
predominately place
bound—is not only what
makes our story distinctive,
it illustrates how universities
like PSU now develop new
models of international
learning for non-traditional
students.
The elements of our story
are the focus of Karin
Fisher’s article, “’Flat World’
Lessons for Real-World Students,”
in The Chronicle of
Higher Education (Nov. 2,
2007). She notes:
“Portland State University
has certain hopes for its
students. They will learn
to function well in a multilingual
and multicultural
environment….understand
the
world beyond America's
borders….gain the confidence
to work with people
and institutions in other
countries. …
And….develop those skills
without having to leave
Portland's city limits.”
Fischer exaggerates somewhat—PSU
does send an
increasing number of students
abroad—but she had
good reason to start this
way: many US institutions
struggle with the difficulty
of assuring that their students
develop the knowledge,
attitudes and skills
associated with international
experience, despite the fact
that those students are part
of a “new majority” (older,
part-time, and/or minority
students) and thus likely to
be much more place bound
than the 18-21 year-olds at a
typical liberal arts college.
PSU takes pride in its efforts
to bring internationalization
to a campus comprised
of this new majority.
These efforts include:
● a decade of work by faculty
and staff to formulate
an International Action
Plan, now the focus of the
University-wide Internationalization
Council;
● participation with other
select institutions in two
Page 15
American Council on Education’s
(ACE) internationalization
initiatives, the
Global Learning for All
(GLA), and the ACE/
FIPSE, Assessing International
Learning projects;
● rapid development of our
international faculty-led
(IFL) programs, typically of
two to three week duration,
creating opportunities that
consider the busy schedules
of Portland State students
(in the past year, we offered
over two dozen such opportunities);
● a more than doubling of
the number of international
students in the past decade,
to over 6 percent of the
student body, accompanied
by the creation of new mentoring
programs that assist
their successful adjustment
to the U.S. learning environment;
● and close collaboration
with the Office of Academic
Affairs in support of
the past academic year’s
successful adoption by the
faculty senate of a new international
learning goal for
undergraduate study at
Portland State.
Looking ahead, there is
much more work to be
done: elaboration and assessment
of how the curriculum
serves to create
student understanding of
multicultural and global
issues; clarification of the
global dimensions of the
University’s commitment to
(Continued on page 18)

Office of International Affairs
Page 16
OIA International Photo Contest
— Honorable Mention
"Ehrenberg Ruins"
Reutte, Austria
By Micah Eastman
“My colleagues and
my students are
remarkable; they are
filled with humor,
joy, and pleasant
bemusement with
American culture.”
OIA International Photo Contest
— Honorable Mention
"New and Old National Theaters"-
Prague, Czech Republic
By Kyla Skye Ogle
When I talk with friends
about the teaching life, I
often respond (in jest) that I
get paid to read books,
watch films, and talk about
them before a captive audience.
All joking aside, an
academic life offers the
chance to reflect on the simple
mysteries of the world in
ways that are almost impossible
in the oft-frantic terrain
of everyday existence. It
is an incredible privilege.
But another great virtue of
the academic life is the opportunity
to work and conduct
research in foreign
lands. I have had the good
fortune, in my twenty-odd
years of university teaching
in the Oregon University
System, to teach at universities
in France, Jordan, and
recently, under the U.S. Fulbright
program, in Osijek,
Croatia.
The Fulbright program itself
was the brainchild of Senator
William Fulbright of
Arkansas. In 1946, following
the devastation that World
War II had wrought upon
Europe and the rest of the
world, Senator Fulbright
imagined an international
educational program that
would increase understanding,
empathy, and problemsolving
by promoting the
worldwide exchange of
scholars. The program,
which originally focused on
U.S. – European relations,
has now grown to include
over 100 countries, and has
provided tens of thousands
Teaching Abroad in Osijek, Croatia
Michael Clark, Associate Professor, English
of scholars the opportunity
to live, work, and teach in
varied global settings. The
program celebrated its 50 th
anniversary – fifty years! – in
2006.
From February to July 2009,
as a Fulbright Scholar, I had
been teaching in the Croatian
city of Osijek, a city of
100,000 souls, in the eastern
part of that country, close to
the borders with Serbia,
Hungary, and Bosnia-
Herzegovina. The city has
ancient roots and modern
resonance: it was made a
Roman protectorate by Emperor
Hadrian in 331 A.D.,
and was at the center of the
1992-95 war associated with
the breakup of the former
Yugoslavia.
The first and most striking
image I had of Osijek was
the incredibly sobering sight
of artillery-damaged buildings,
some of which had
burned to the ground.
Countless buildings, streets,
and sidewalks are pocked
with artillery and machinegun
damage. The very house
that I lived in has around
twenty artillery scars on its
back wall, the result of a
shrapnel shell that exploded
in the backyard. The recovery
has been slow.
But such haunting visible
trauma is something that the
Croatian people simply work
around. It is as if they want
to retain the reminders of
the conflict without allowing
it to dominate their everyday
lives. At the University of
Osijek, where I am teaching
two classes on American
film and American literature,
the floor of the Department
of English is gouged from
artillery strikes. And yet my
students tend to talk about
the war damage with the
same tone that we might
speak about the appearance
of graffiti on a city wall – it
is an annoyance, but nothing
to lose sleep over.
Still, the physical evidence
of Croatia’s past ten years is
not what I will remember
most from my time there.
The thing that stays in the
mind – and the thing that all
travel brings to us – is not
the physical being of place,
but of the people one meets.
My colleagues and my students
are remarkable; they
are filled with humor, joy,
and pleasant bemusement
with American culture.
Their English is impeccable.
They would all seem to
know American culture
through our television
shows (many know more
about contemporary popular
culture than I do). Indeed,
the one thing that stands out
for the international traveler
is the omnipresence of
American cultural products,
from Nike sneakers, to
nighttime soap operas, to
sometimes dreary repetition
of pop music. For good or
for ill, American pop culture
reigns supreme in the western
world. One example: the
(Continued on page 17)

Continued from page 16 — Teaching Abroad in Osijek, Croatia
release of the most recent
Star Trek film was the source
of enormous excitement and
anticipation, and a number
of students wanted to discuss
the relation of the film
to Homer’s Odyssey and the
American Western. My students
are a smart lot. And
there about 100 of them.
Osijek is not Paris, it’s not
Berlin, and it’s not Zagreb.
But it is a remarkable place,
filled with people who have
taught me more about my
own country -- and the
things that matter in life --
than I can begin to recount
here. This small city on the
Drava River, on whose
banks I take a long walk
almost every night, has been
for me one of the great
privileges and sources of
revelation in my academic
life. Chances like this are
rare, and I’ve been pretty
well blessed by this one.
Living and Learning: Studying Abroad in Japan
A professor of mine once
said it takes a certain type of
person to study abroad. A
person who is strong and
willing to leave their comfort
zone for the unknown
in order to expand their
mind, broaden their horizons
and further their education.
It’s not an easy move
to make but if and when you
do, it is a life changing experience.
There’s only so
much you can learn from a
book or in a classroom. Although
it may be scary,
studying abroad is an excellent
way to gain first hand
knowledge and life experience.
Being a history major, I felt
that it was important to
study in the country or region
of my chosen area of
focus. One fateful semester,
in order to fulfill a non-
Western history requirement,
I enrolled in a Japanese
history class taught by
Dr. Ruoff. From that day
on, I fell in love with our
neighbors to the east and set
my heart and eyes on Japan.
I felt that my history classes
at PSU were effective and
engaging because the professors
had either studied or
traveled in the countries
they taught about. Their
personal experiences made
for a more effective and
enjoyable learning environment.
Although I was feeling
a bit scared about leaving
Portland for four
months, I knew that studying
in Japan would help me
gain a better understanding
of their history and culture
and would be essential in
achieving my goal as an educator.
What I didn’t know is
that it would help me gain a
better understanding of the
international community but
most importantly a better
understanding of myself.
There’s only so much you
Office of International Affairs
can do to prepare for a trip
like this. Japan is such as
unique country that I find it
hard to describe to people
who have never been here.
It’s something you have to
experience for yourself. For
the first time in all my travels,
with Japan being so different
culturally and socially,
I experienced culture shock.
I have so many stories about
Japan, positive and negative,
that I could probably write a
book, maybe one day I will.
For now, I will leave you
with one experience that has
made my trip to Japan so
memorable. I was able to
travel to Hiroshima to hear
a speech given by an atomic
bomb survivor. Listening to
her amazing story of survival
and her ability to forgive
and find peace within
was truly inspiring. Her passionate
plea for the disarmament
of nuclear weapons
and her call for world peace
captivated me. Even if it was
for only an hour, she made
me believe that peace was
possible and as the saying
goes, anything is possible.
—Nateesh Podolske
“After the Harvest”
Comalapa, Guatemala
By Kirsten Longmeier
“Although I was feeling a
bit scared about leaving
Portland for four months,
I knew that studying in
Japan would help me gain
a better understanding of
their history and culture
and would be essential in
achieving my goal as an
educator.”
Page 17
OIA International Photo Contest
— Honorable Mention
OIA International Photo Contest
6th Place
"Mr. Li the Tour Guide" -
Li Jiang, China
By Beth Gherlein

Page 18
2009 SUMMER
NEWSLETTER
CONTACT US
Location:
Office of International Affairs
101 East Hall
632 SW Hall
Portland, OR 97201
Mailing Address:
Portland State University
Office of International Affairs
P.O. Box 751
Phone: 503-725-4094
Fax: 503-725-5065
E-mail: OIA@pdx.edu
See our newly redesigned website at
www.oia.pdx.edu
Meet the Newsletter Editor:
Kristin Engelbretson
Pictured here is the Governor
of Jeollanam-do, Park Junyoung.
I spent 5 weeks working
in Jeollanam-do province,
South Korea, at the TESOL
English Camp last summer
with 21 teachers from PSU
and 35 teachers from the
University of Missouri-
Columbia. This PSU program
is sponsored by the
Korea government.
One of my favorite
places to volunteer is at
the Portland Japanese
Garden. This picture
with Miss Sapporo
2009, Chisato Akasaka,
was taken at the garden
during the celebration
of the 50 th anniversary
of the Portland-
Sapporo Sister City
Association on June
7th.
Office of International Affairs
The Office of International Affairs, headed by Dr. Gil Latz, Vice Provost,
coordinates the major international activities in each of the seven colleges
and schools at Portland State University. OIA’s principle responsibilities
include support for: the needs of international students, PSU students
seeking to study or pursue internships abroad, faculty engaged in international
scholarship, and implementation of the University’s Internationalization
Action Plan. As part of its international mission, OIA houses the
Middle East Studies Center, established in 1959, and the more recently
inaugurated Institute for Asian Studies, as well as conducting a variety of
programs that bring foreign students to the US for short-term study focusing
on such topics as: art, medicine, English language, culture, and sustainability.
OIA works closely with the University’s undergraduate International
Studies Program as well as the Internationalization Council.
(Continued from page 13)
officer, welcoming the Intel Vietnam
Scholars is one that I am especially
pleased to be part of. Portland
State University knows that
Intel could have chosen any school,
anywhere in the world to work on
this critically important engineering
education program for Vietnamese
students. The June 23 event marking
our collaboration with Intel in
the creation of a business/ academic
partnership between Viet-
(Continued from page 15)
the study of sustainability; and collaboration
with campus experts on
the international dimensions of
engaged, community-based student
learning, for which Portland State is
nationally known.
For the moment, however, please
join with members of the Office of
International Affairs in savoring the
significant recognition the Simon
Welcome Reception held at
the Maseeh College of Engineering
and Computer Science,
June 23, 2009.
nam and the United States confirms
that Portland State has earned its
place as an Intel partner, and we
look forward to a long future of
expanding collaboration.
Scott Gallagher and Marcia Fischer contributed
to this article. For more information
on the IVS Program, contact Marcia
Fischer, Assistant Dean, Maseeh College
of Engineering and Computer Science..
— Gil Latz, Vice Provost for International
Affairs
Award represents. Our collective
pride of achievement sets the stage,
in conjunction with President
Wiewel’s vision for Global Excellence
at Portland State, for renewed
efforts to address the pressing international
education challenges
and opportunities of the day. To
read the winning Portland State Simon
Award competition essay in its entirety see
http://oia.pdx.edu/news/details
psu_receives_national_international
ization_award/