International Education Newsletter and Updates

June 3rd, 2018 Lighthouse Summer Symposium Announcement

The Sixth Annual Lighthouse Summer Symposium for TESOL professionals—is slated for July 20^th and 21^st. Lighthouse Symposium series developed in 2013 by the Office of International Education seeks to build partnerships with other institutions by bringing local and global colleagues to collaborate and strengthen teaching and learning. ;This year, the Lighthouse Symposium is delighted to host two world-renowned luminaries in the field of teaching English as a Second Language: Dr. Diane Larsen-Freeman and Dr. Keith Folse. They are both prolific writers of text and professional books and much sought-after presenters at conferences. This year’s theme Getting a Grip on Grammar will focus various pedagogical aspects of teaching grammar to non-native English learners. Dr. Larsen-Freeman and Dr. Folse will conduct workshops on teaching grammar. More than 40 instructors from Midwestern institutions will participate. Louis Arokiasamy, Academic Coordinator for Intensive English Program, developed this Lighthouse Symposium model and is the host of this event.

For more, please click on this link: https://ferris.edu/international/lighthouse/2018Symposium.htm

June 26, 2018 International Potluck

The Office of International Education hosted its monthly International Potluck on Tuesday, June 26 in the IRC. We celebrated the retirement of Dr. Matthew Adeyanju, Dean of the College of Health Professions and Dr. Abdi Ferdowsi, faculty in the College of Business. We also welcomed Dr. Gregor Vander Beek from our partner University in Germany and his family. The International Potluck series was started last December to bring together the campus community to strengthen our efforts to support international faculty and staff. International faculty and staff along with domestic faculty and staff who have been supportive of their international colleagues have gathered in the IRC on an afternoon each month to share food from different cultures, join in conversation, and celebrate milestones.

The Office of International Education has adopted the African philosophy of Ubuntu. In essence, Ubuntu means, “I am who I am because of who we all are.” In other words, it is often explained as “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity.” The monthly international potlucks are a wonderful expression of the Ubuntu philosophy. For international faculty and staff, joining the Ferris community is very rewarding, but integrating into the campus culture and the larger Big Rapids community can also come with challenges. The International Potlucks provides a platform to build a supportive network of community members who can share challenges, advice, and successes. It also provides a platform to share the richness of the variety of cultures represented here on campus. At our June International Potluck, we had representation from Nigeria, Congo, Iraq, Malaysia, Vietnam, Germany, Iran, Nepal, India, Ghana, Kenya, Turkey, China, Jamaica, Trinidad, Canada and the United States! What a great community! If you would like to join in our monthly International Potluck, please send an email to [email protected].