With support from the Global Innovation Fund, The South Asia Center and the Global Business Center are partnering to host a symposium, “US-India Economic Relations and the Contemporary Indian Economy” on campus. Ambassador Venkatesan Ashok, Consul General of India of San Francisco, as well as prominent members of the local community and UW faculty experts will address the group and engage in the symposium.
Event details
Friday, February 26, 2016
2:00-5:00 PM
Bank of America Executive Education Center, Douglas Forum Symposium Agenda
Prime Minister Miro Cerar of the Republic of Slovenia met with University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce at the University of Washington on December 4, 2015 to express interest in sustained collaboration between the UW and academic institutions in Slovenia.
Vice Provost for Global Affairs Jeffrey Riedinger and UW President Ana Mari Cauce in discussion with Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Miro Cerar Photo: Piotr Horoszowski
The Slovene Prime Minister was accompanied by His Excellency Ambassador Božo Cerar, Slovene Ambassador to the U.S., Slovene Deputy Prime Minister Boris Koprivnikar, and other Slovene government officials. UW Vice Provost for Global Affairs Jeffrey Riedinger, Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives and Dean of Libraries Betsy Wilson, Divisional Dean for Humanities Michael Shapiro, Professor and Chair of Slavic Languages Katarzyna Dziwirek, Professor of Law Louis Wolcher, and Professor of Slavic Languages Michael Biggins also participated in the discussion.
Prime Minister Cerar praised the long-term impacts of the UW-University of Ljubljana Faculty Exchange, which has been in existence since 1979. He and President Cauce also discussed an initiative already underway at the UW to create an academic program in interdisciplinary Slovene studies, which would serve students at the UW and around the U.S. via distance learning.
UW graduate students working in Slovene studies, UW post-doctoral researchers from Slovenia, and two UW undergraduates recruited from Slovenia to compete as part of the UW men’s rowing team greeted the Slovene delegation at Gerberding Hall.
This was the first visit by a Slovene prime minister to the UW and took place as part of a larger Slovene trade delegation tour of five major U.S. IT hubs. Former Slovene Ambassador to the U.S. Samo Žbogar visited UW twice during his tenure, delivering a talk during a 2007 visit to a hundred students at the Jackson School of International Studies.
Through the unique medium of students’ letters to Things, Ideas and People (TIPS), the book “offers a simple method to help travelers- students and tourists alike- reflect on how moving from one culture to another sparks questions about identity, society and the meaning of travel itself.”
Professor Taranath’s unique approach to teaching abroad integrates on-campus classroom learning with international immersion. Students participate in quarter-long seminars on campus before and after the study abroad to allow time for in-depth preparation for and reflection on the experience. TIPS to Study Abroad is the culmination of the group’s experience and learning.
Community members are welcome at the book launch party at 7pm on Monday, May 12. The event will be held at University Temple.
Faculty, staff, students and community members are invited to view a live broadcast from the UW Rome Center on February 13.
The broadcast will feature a lecture by Dr. Franco Frattini, President of the Italian Society for International Organizations; Former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security. Dr. Frattini will explore the current trend towards European integration through his lecture: “European Union Integration: Toward the Unites States of Europe?”.
The broadcast will take place at 9am PST in 115 William H. Gates Hall on Thursday, February 13. Professor Jeffrey Riedinger, UW Vice Provost for Global Affairs, will welcome Dr. Frattini and attendees on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
The event is hosted by UW Office of Global Affairs, UW School of Law, the Jackson School of International Studies, the European Union Center of Excellence of Seattle, the Center for Western European Studies and UW French & Italian Studies.
A light breakfast will be served at the event. Please RSVP to draigrod@uw.edu.
The Vice Provost for Global Affairs will meet with faculty and staff at the UW Rome Center during his visit to the city from November 16 – 22. The meetings will familiarize the Vice Provost with the facility and its operations. Together with Rome Center faculty and staff, Vice Provost Riedinger seeks to put the center on a more sustainable and dynamic footing.
The Office of Global Affairs is exploring opportunities to expand programming for UW students at the Rome Center, including study, research, and service learning, and also to position it as a host for scholarly conferences and a base of operations for faculty conducting research in Italy. “We’re looking at what more we can do to make the Rome Center a true platform for teaching, research, and student engagement,” says Vice Provost Riedinger.
Vice Provost Riedinger attended the annual meeting of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) from November 10 – 12. A member of APLU’s Commission on International Initiatives Executive Committee, he served as a discussion panelist and engaged with university leaders from across the country around issues related to international education.
The panel discussion, titled The Future of International and Foreign Language Education: What More Can Government and Universities Do Together?, explored opportunities for partnership between the US Department of Education and public universities to support world language and international education. The panelists also discussed the need for universities to equip graduates for success in the global economy. Maureen McLaughlin, the US Department of Education’s Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Education and Director of International Affairs, as well as leaders from the University of Arizona and The Ohio State University also participated as panelists.
Vice Provost Riedinger also attended a working dinner convened by APLU President Peter McPherson to brainstorm strategies for increasing US student participation in study abroad in the absence of increased federal funding for scholarships.
Learn more about funding for faculty and programs! Grant applications are due April 11.
A Provost’s Grant from the Office of Global Affairs will further enrich an exciting UW study abroad program to Zambia in summer 2013.
Developed and led by Dr. Leslie Ashbaugh, Director of UW Bothell’s Center for University Studies and Programs, the month-long interdisciplinary program began in 2010 and introduces students to the socio-economic, political and health challenges faced by Zambians 45 years after the end of British colonial rule. While in Zambia, undergraduates from all three UW campuses retrace the steps of Dr. Ashbaugh’s own previous research on urban-to-rural migration pathways and outcomes. Along the way, they gain exposure to the complex problems facing individuals and institutions in a country where the government and the international donor community struggle to meet citizens’ basic needs.
Traveling by foot Photo: Rabeka Anne Randall
Program activities include collaborating with University of Zambia students promoting healthy practices on their campus, observing at health clinics and children’s centers, conducting a health education workshop, and spending 10 days in Luangwa National Park, working in local clinics by day and viewing game by dusk. “We’re on the go from 7am to 7pm every day”, says Dr. Ashbaugh. The program’s packed schedule is designed to provide many opportunities for cultural exchange with Zambian students, professionals and local residents.
The Provost’s Grant has allowed Dr. Ashbaugh to add a completely new field experience to this summer’s program. With grant support, the group will embark on a five-hour journey, by bus and then on foot, to visit a rural village and volunteer-based goat farm where HIV positive individuals raise goats for milk and pasteurize goat milk for consumption by babies. Goat’s milk is a better substitute for breast milk than cow’s milk, so the enterprise provides community members with a livelihood, a safe and healthy infant feeding solution for HIV positive mothers, and a chance to overcome the stigma of HIV infection. Dr. Ashbaugh sees the visit to this village as a chance to witness best practices in development work, but also as an opportunity for students to experience and learn from the strength of Zambian communities and the generosity, kindness, and family-orientation of the local people.
Hearing local stories Photo: Misty Provenzano
With the support of the Office of Global Affairs, Dr. Ashbaugh’s study abroad program allows students to engage in meaningful international field work, learn first-hand about the challenges faced by members of another culture in an increasingly globalized world, and test career interests in global health and development. Just as importantly, she says, students gain humility and “recognition that [Americans] have much to learn from Zambians. I’ve done my job if students leave for Zambia thinking they have some answers, and then return home humbled and able to recognize the complexity of issues related to development.”
