WVU Parkersburg receives $15,000 international education grant.

CONTACT:  Dr. Rhonda Richards, executive dean of academic affairs, 304-424-8242. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

West Virginia University at Parkersburg is the recipient of a $15,000 grant to develop and expand campus international education initiatives.

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission has awarded a total of $45,000 to four state public colleges and universities. The grant program is part of the commission’s continuing emphasis on internationalizing higher education in West Virginia.

“These grants will help our colleges and universities to better prepare their graduates for an increasingly globalized 21st century by integrating international experiences and perspectives into the university curriculum,” Dr. Brian Noland, HEPC chancellor, said.

WVU Parkersburg's grant project involves the creation of short-term foreign language study abroad programs, including a summer study program for Spanish language with the Autonomous University of Coahuila in Mexico and a summer study program for French language with Laval University in Quebec, Canada, noted Rhonda Richards, executive dean of academic affairs at WVU Parkersburg. 

She said the college will also broaden its existing relationship with the University of Rousse in Bulgaria, by enabling students in Rousse's elementary education degree program to take courses at WVU Parkersburg and exploring the feasibility of having WVU Parkersburg students study at the University of Rousse for a summer or semester.

In addition, WVU Parkersburg plans to initiate an area of emphasis in global studies in its Regents Bachelor of Arts degree program and establish an Office of Global Connections to coordinate the campus' international projects.

The successful grant applications were chosen from proposals submitted by public state colleges and universities in West Virginia.  In addition to WVU Parkersburg, other institutions awarded the grants include Concord University/Bluefield State College, and West Liberty State College.

The joint grant project by Concord and Bluefield State will involve the cooperative development of an undergraduate area of emphasis in International Studies.  The two institutions will work together to recruit international students, develop world language majors and create cultural curricula. They will also participate in a cooperative international student recruitment visit to Tripoli, Libya, and establish teleconferencing links to Middle and Far Eastern countries where Concord and Bluefield State will target their international student recruitment efforts.

West Liberty will send students and a faculty member to Bosphorus University in Istanbul, Turkey, to participate in that institution’s summer term program. The students who participate in the study abroad program will be expected to serve as Hilltopper Ambassadors for the year following their return to campus. Their duties will include helping to conduct presentations on campus and in the community to increase student interest in studying abroad. West Liberty will also make an active effort to recruit Turkish students to West Virginia through their partnership with Bosphorus and participation at an international student fair.

04/01/08