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President McPherson Testifies in Washington,
D.C.
On October 4, 2000, MSU President Peter McPherson appeared before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee to testify in a hearing on safety in study abroad programs. Held by the Committee on Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, McPherson's presence was at the request of subcommittee chairman Pete Hoekstra, Republican representative from Holland, Michigan. Additional testimony was provided by Lee Fritschler, assistant secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education; Diane Andruch, managing director, Overseas Citizens Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Department of State; and public witnesses. In his remarks, McPherson elaborated on the importance of study abroad in the modern world, and presented MSU's study abroad initiative in the context of the institution's campus-wide internationalization efforts. He then outlined some general areas of safety and security concern, including cultural differences, health, crime, political and social stability, and environmental circumstances. "At MSU, we take these challenges very seriously," McPherson said, and proceeded to specify how MSU has developed "comprehensive policies, procedures, and action plans . . . to deal with each of the major concerns." These include multilevel review of all programs, a separately constituted university committee on study abroad safety, incorporation of MSU faculty with in-country experience in the planning and monitoring of programs, the constant attention to State Department reports, mandatory health insurance coverage for all study abroad students, emphasis on general and country-specific safety issues in pre-program orientations, and comprehensive procedures for handling emergencies abroad.
The complete text of President McPherson's address can be found on MSU's University Relations Web site at http://www.ur.msu.edu/media/releases/oct00/samcp.html. More information about the hearings can be found on the committee Web site at http://www.house.gov/ed_workforce/ using the search tool. Study Abroad Experiences Augmented by Internships
Several MSU colleges have been promoting international internships for many years. Student interest increased dramatically beginning in 1993, when Professor John Hudzik received approval for MSU to assume the coordinator role for the CIC/AESOP Internships in Australia program. (CIC is the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, an academic consortium of major research universities in the Midwest.) Since that time, much thought and effort have gone into developing more opportunities for MSU students to gain valuable life experience abroad. Currently, MSU offers almost 20 types of internship placements, from government and nongovernmental organizations to schools, museums, theaters, and hospitals. Thematically they include areas as diverse as archaeology, agriculture, finance, engineering, and marketing, and geographically, from Australia to Zimbabwe, with Ecuador, Germany, India, Israel, Mexico, Philippines, Turkey, and the United Kingdom represented in between. As the current international internships brochure from the Office of Study Abroad explains it, "International academic internships are an excellent way to apply ideas, concepts, theories, and principles acquired in an academic program to the professional world. They allow you to establish and address personal and professional development goals; develop necessary employment skills and strategies; and identify your professional strengths and limitations while learning the structure and operation of an international organization." In addition to all this, they look good on a résumé and, because they include academically supervised components, they are accompanied by academic credit. The fact that they typically are not for pay has not dampened the enthusiasm of scores of MSU students who have participated in such internships. Turkey Summer internship opportunities in Turkey, first offered in 1999 through the MSU International Alumni Academic Internship Program (IAAIP), caught the eye of three James Madison College students. James Colon, James Sheridan, and Gale Govaere were accepted into the program and spent five weeks in Istanbul earning academic credit for the work they did and the knowledge they gained through it. "The lessons I learned in Turkey will stay with me and help to guide me for the rest of my life," says Sheridan, who, along with Colon, interned at a bank. "I gained confidence in my ability to adapt to new situations, and look forward to new challenges knowing that I have the necessary tools to be successful, and those tools were forged in Istanbul, Turkey." Govaere, who interned at a historical society, notes "the people are generous, their history is fascinating, and the monuments are breathtaking. I will definitely return in the near future and bring others to see what I experienced in the summer of 1999." IAAIP is a collaborative project involving the MSU Alumni Association, Office of International Studies and Programs, Office of Study Abroad, James Madison College, College of Engineering, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Eli Broad College of Business, and international partners. Program implementation is heavily dependent on contacts in the host country. In the case of the Turkey program, the key to success was the participation of the MSU International Alumni Club in Istanbul, Turkey, and especially Dr. Cevik Uraz, the club's president. Australia
Meghan King and Douglas Pratt are two current MSU students who found rewarding internship placements in Australia through the summer CIC/AESOP program mentioned above. King, a communication major, worked for Fox Sports during the summer of 1999; and Pratt, a journalism major, landed a position with the Olympic News Service unit of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Immediately prior to her internship, Meghan King was a student in the spring 1999 MSU study abroad program titled "The People, Government, Justice System, and Public Policies of Australia," sponsored by the College of Social Science, Department of Political Science, School of Criminal Justice, and College of Arts and Letters. The courses she took during the six-week formal program gave her a good knowledge base to work from as she entered her internship. King was the first "work experience student" of this sort accepted by Fox Sports in Australia. She spent two months on the assignment, acquiring a broad inside view of the television industry and solidifying her desire for a career in that area. She found herself doing everything from basic office and newsroom tasks to onsite production support work for news stories and programs. At one point her colleagues even persuaded her to become a participant on "Afternoon Rush," an extreme adventure show for kids, where she found herself engaging in a skydiving experience. (See photo above.) Meghan King confirms that the value of her internship went well beyond the technical work-related knowledge. "Without this internship, I would not have learned nearly as much about Aussie culture as I did," she says, mentioning in particular their dialect of English and their love of sports not widely followed in the United States, such as rugby and cricket. More generally, she gained a familiarity with Australian business, government, public relations, advertising, and international relations. She was even offered a "real" job at Fox Sports, but decided that her first priority should be finishing her MSU program of study. Back on campus, she works as a peer adviser in the Office of Study Abroad. Doug Pratt's first MSU Australia experience was as a student in the
summer 1999 program "Australia: Its Media, Environment, and Culture,"
sponsored by MSU's College of Communication Arts and Sciences and College
of Natural Science. He returned to that same program in summer 2000 as
an undergraduate teaching assistant primarily responsible for teaching
Web design skills. Being an avid sports fan, Pratt was delighted to be
in Australia for the summer Olympics. Having previously been an "Internet
sports intern" for the Chicago Tribune, he was well-prepared for
placement in a news service context. Landing an internship with the Olympic
News Service was an ideal way of combining his work and educational experiences
with his lifelong interest in sports.
The Olympic News Service was a part of the Press Operations division for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Doug and his colleagues were responsible for maintaining the internal media information system (INFO) used by members of the world media to access results of the games, as well as schedules, athlete biographies, news stories, Olympic history, and other information. In this capacity, he worked with IBM on technical difficulties on the INFO system. He was also called upon to cover some Olympic events for ons, including the women's and men's triathlons and the medal rounds for baseball. (See photo at right.) Pratt sums up his experience enthusiastically. "I never thought that I could work unpaid for 14 hours a day, six days a week, and have such an incredible experience. Everyone said that working at the Olympics was the experience of a lifetime, but I hope they're wrong - I can't wait to do it again!" For details about MSU international academic internships visit the web site at http://studyabroad.msu.edu/internships/ or see the ISP Directory on the inside back cover of this publication for direct contact information. For more about the Istanbul program, see the article in the Global Spartans 2000 at http://www.msualum.org/globalspartans/turkey.html, and the IAAIP information page at http://msuaa.alumni.msu.edu/internships/. -Jay Rodman Environmental Studies in Japan
This unique opportunity, made possible through a grant from the National Security Education Program (NSEP), has developed primarily from the collaboration of the MSU Institute of International Health, JCMU (a consortium of 15 Michigan universities), and the University of Shiga Prefecture. Herbert L. Whittier, associate director of the Institute of International Health and professor in the Departments of Family Practice and Anthropology, is director of the ESJ Project. The Environmental Studies in Japan program is open to undergraduate and graduate students from all majors who have an interest in global environmental issues. Students will be required to take the keystone course "Environmental Problems from Meiji to Heisei," intensive Japanese language at their level of competence, and participate in an internship experience. The course "Japanese Culture and Society" is also recommended. The keystone course will be coordinated by Frank D'Itri, professor, MSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and associate director, MSU Institute of Water Research. Through the participation of leading Japanese and American experts in environmental sciences, it will acquaint students with the most serious environmental problems that have occurred in Japan, focusing on topics as diverse as principles and politics of pollution in Japan, pollution-related illness and diseases, waste recycling management, and the operation of Japanese research laboratories. Students will gain a historical perspective and understanding of how the post-World War II actions of citizen groups influenced political processes designed to protect human life and the environment. Classroom study will be augmented by field experiences and research activities.
The JCMU is an important component of the sister-state relationship, now in its fourth decade, between the state of Michigan and Shiga Prefecture in Japan. Its facility is located on the shores of Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan and the most important and extensively studied source of fresh water in that country. This location offers students an excellent opportunity for study of and involvement in various water issues, many of which are similar to issues of the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada. Following the academic program, students will participate in internship experiences with a Japanese laboratory, government agency, university, business, or organization. Examples of internship partners include the University of Shiga Prefecture, the Lake Biwa Research Institute, and the Shiga office of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). These internships will afford students the opportunity to continue developing their language skills and cross-cultural understanding while engaging in research and learning about citizen participation in solving environmental problems in Japan. The environmental knowledge gained in Japan will enable students of this program to return to Michigan with a unique perspective on freshwater issues. For more information about the Environmental Studies in Japan Program, check the Web site at http://www.isp.msu.edu/jcmu/ESJ/, or contact Japan Center for Michigan Universities, 110 MSU International Center, East Lansing, MI 48824-1035; tel 517.355 .4654; fax 517.353.8727; e-mail jcmu@msu.edu.
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