Office of Global Engagement Newsletter2019 · • Offering Arabic and Korean languages in local public schools; • Global Folktales told by UTRGV graduate students at Edinburg Public

This was an eventful year for all of us at OGE. Most prominent was the move of the Language Institute, headed by Ms. Norma Ramos, out of OGE and into another unit. Ms. Ramos and all her staff will be missed for their collegiality as well as their important contributions to globalization at UTRGV. We wish them all the best as they continue to offer world-class language courses.

OGE’s Title VI Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language grant from the Department of Education has been essential in supporting globalization at UTRGV this past year with over $80,000 in funding and was renewed for 2019-20. Some of the initiatives supported the UISFL grant include:

• Funding for faculty travel and research;

• Support for language courses and testing in Arabic, Chinese, Korean, and Spanish;

• Creation of new courses in global border studies, globalization, and languages;

• Faculty-led workshops and symposia on bi-lingualism and global border/area studies;

• Establish/promote minors in Asian, Middle East, Global Borders, and Latin American studies;

Newsletter 2019Welcome from the Associate Vice President

OGE Leadership and Staff

Dr. Dennis HartAssociate Vice President

Stephanie VazquezIntl Programs Specialist

Alan EarhartDirector of International Programs & Partnerships

Samantha LopezDirector of

International Admissions& Students Services

Welcome to the Office of Global Engagement’s (OGE) third annual newsletter. Our mission is to advance knowledge, research, and learning that promote the common good. We contribute to the academic and cultural environments of UTRGV through the movement of people and ideas across borders. We support our faculty, staff, and students to become effective global leaders who will create a more just global society.

Among our many activities, we continued to promote student mobility through both study abroad and study away programs to new places around the world. OGE helped international students join the UTRGV community so that they can learn about our cultures and teach us about theirs. We continue to provide critical support to UTRGV’s international partnerships by overseeing the signing of new Agreements of Cooperation between our school and international partners. OGE supports faculty as they internationalize our campus and community through our Faculty Research Grants and Global Opportunity Grants. These grants, though reduced this year through budget cuts, will continue to provide faculty members support to travel abroad for research, invite speakers, conduct outreach, internationalize their classes, and nurture international partnerships.

Office of Global Engagement

• Scholarships for UTRGV students to study abroad;

• Model United Nations for UTRGV students at the United Nations in NYC;

• Outreach with PSJA High School on international events and languages;

• Offering Arabic and Korean languages in local public schools;

• Global Folktales told by UTRGV graduate students at Edinburg Public Library.

Global Border Studies Conference 2018• Last fall, the Office of Global Engagement hosted the Third

International Conference of Border Studies in partnership with the Universidad Autonoma de Tamaulipas, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Universidad de Sevilla, the Universidad Autonoma de Sinoloa, and the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas Austin. The conference, which began in 2016, extends two days and takes place in both Edinburg, Texas and Matamoros, Mexico.

• Conference presenters engaged in discussions and presentations surrounding any global border as well as theoretical approaches on the ideology of borders more generally, and, how borders and borderlands help us understand broader global issues. Our goal is to generate a space for the exchange of research and socialization among those interested in issues related to global borders around the world.

Recent News

Office of Global EngagementRecent News (continued)

• This past year’s conference featured Dr. Reece Jones of the University of Hawai’i Manoa as its keynote speaker. He is the author of two books on global borders, one of which won the PolGRG book award from the Royal Geographical Society and the Julian MinghiDistinguished Book Award from the American Association of Geographers. He spoke on the topic of human movement, violence, andborders in South Asia.

• The UTRGV conference featured 32 presenters in seven panel sessions. Papers addressed important topics such as political imaginaries and material realities; migration, identity, and border crossings; health, education and identity on the US-Mexican border.

• The theme for this year’s International Conference on Border Studies is Global Borders: Resistance and Resilience. The sessions will include presenters from nine countries on topics such as literary and musical borders; intimate borders; mapping of resistance and resilience; health; narratives of belonging; gendered resilience; and re-thinking borders through history, politics, and globalization.

• Our keynote speaker this year will be Dr. Maurice Stierl, Leverhulme Fellow at the University of Warwick, UK. Dr. Stierl's research focuses on migration and border struggles in contemporary Europe and is broadly situated in the disciplines of International Relations, International Political Sociology, and Migration, Citizenship & Border Studies. His presentation is titled: “What does it mean to resist borders?” In his talk, he will speak about forms of resistance that seek to counter the violence of contemporary borders and that seek to re-claim the democratic spaces that are currently shrinking all around our bordered world.

• We are also excited to have Dr. Sunaina Maira as a plenary speaker. Dr. Maira is Professor of Asian American Studies and is affiliated with the Middle East/South Asia Studies program and with the Cultural Studies Graduate Group at the University of California Davis.

Homeland Security Conference 2018• This year, Dr. Terence Garrett, Professor of Political Science, with the support of OGE held the conference titled Homeland Security in

the Trump Era: On the Border by the Sea. Underwritten by the Texas national Security Network Excellence Fund, this conference analyzed, deconstructed, and interrogated all aspect of “borders” between Mexico and the US. The conference featured five panelswith 18 presenters and focused on topics such as migration, border security, environmental impact, public law on the border, andborder languages.

Arrivals & Departures• OGE notes the departures of Ms. Erika Carrizales, Ms. Rachel Berner, Mr. Gaspar Garcia, Ms. Grisel Portilla, and Mr. Andres

Altamirano and wishes them all the best. Ms. Erika Carrizales will be joining the Language Institute as its new Associate Director.

• Joining OGE are Ms. Stephanie Vazquez, Ms. Connie de la Rosa, Ms. Jessica Alvarado, Ms. Cynthia Yu, and Ms. Jessica Gessler. Please welcome our newest members to OGE.

Faculty Grants Awarded by OGE 2018-2019

Office of Global Engagement

Office of Global EngagementSelected Faculty Activities Funded and Supported by OGE

• Associate Professor Brent Campney, Department of History, published his peer-reviewed journal article titled “What we need here is another Crystal City”: The Mexican American Civil Rights Movement in South Texas, 1963, in the New Mexico Historical Review, based upon research funded by OGE.

• Professor Aziza Zemrani, Public Affairs and Security Studies, presented her paper titled “Deep Cultural diversity as a governance challenge: the need for leadership training using assessment” at the International Association and the Euro-Mena, Granada, Spain.

• The School of Music’s Professor Joel G. Pagan gave a viola performance at the Habana Contemporary Music Festival, and gave master classes in the Universidad de las Artes, both in Havana, Cuba.

• Professor Mounir Ben Ghalia of Electrical Engineering traveled to Valencia, Spain to present his paper titled “A Pedagogical Model for Teaching MATLAB Programming in an Undergraduate Engineering Laboratory” at the 2019 International Technology, Education, and Development Conference.

• The Chemistry Department’s Associate Professor Wei Lin, visited and conducted collaborative research using the Fourier transform microwave spectrometer to study unstable radicals produced from electrical discharges, at the National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan.

• Associate Professor David Sadler, School of Music, was in residence as a teacher and performer in Lucca, Italy at the Accademia Europea dell’ Opera.

• Dr. Mònica Clua-Losada, Associate Professor in the Political Science Department, created an organizing committee for the Historical Materialism Conference in Barcelona, Spain. She also presented her conference paper titled: “Marx and the surplus population:precarious lives in the 21st century.”

• Assistant Professor Karin Ann Lewis, Teaching & Learning Department in the College of Education, presented her paper titled: “Celebrating Disparate Experiences on the USA-Mexican Frontera: Three Colleagues at a Hispanic Serving Institution” at the International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies in Melbourne, Australia.

• From the Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Assistant Professor Lakshman Chandrashekhar served as an International Business Expert on the Nordic-India Business Research Group established recently at the Stockholm Business School, Stockholm University, Sweden. The activities of this research group involve an annual business research conference, business presentations by practitioners working in the Nordic-India region.

• Assistant Professor Katherine O’Donnell Christoffersen, Writing and Language Studies, was in Valladolid, Spain to present her paper titled: “‘Aqui também é assim’: Code-switching for Humor in Spanish-Portuguese bilingual conversations.” She presented at the international conference on Applied Linguistics, the 37th International Conference of the Spanish Society for Applied Linguistics.

• The UTRGV School of Music in conjunction with the ITEA Chapter at the UTRGV student organization and under the leadership of Associate Professor Scott Roeder, hosted the International Tuba and Euphonium Festival. The festival featured guest artists from Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.

• Associate Professor Alfonso Mercado, Psychological Science, organized a collaborative symposia at UTRGV with community organizers from Texas to advance research directly assessing the relation between Latino sociocultural values and physical health in recent immigrants.

• The 6th National Symposium on Spanish as a Heritage Language was hosted at UTRGV thanks to the leadership and efforts of Jose Esteban Hernandez, Professor in the Writing and Language Studies Department.

• Under the auspices of Assistant Professor Mi-Seon Kim, the Political Science Department hosted their annual Colloquium Series. Open to all members of the UTRGV community, this series sponsored 12 talks, including speakers from the Universidad de Monterrey, Mexico; Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Mexico; and Texas A&M.

Outreach Events Sponsored by OGE

• International Meet and Greet • International Education Week • Multi Lingua Fest, Dr. Minhee Eom • Workshop on Bi-lingualism, Dr. Age-Ori Agbese• Asian Studies Symposium, NEXUS Conference• Lunar New Year, Professors Minhee Eom, Mijin Oh, Xin Zhang • Asian Cultural Show, Professor Mijin Oh • Community of Scholars, J-1 Scholar Orientation & Farewell Events • Model United Nations trip to NYC & UN, Dr. Michelle Keck • Sahmyook University Program on Drug Addiction, Dr. Eunkyung Park• Hosting of signing ceremonies for delegations from Ghana, China, and Mexico.

Office of Global Engagement

In coordination with the Division of Research, Graduate Studies, and New Programs, OGE will be hosting International Faculty Fellows (IFF). These Faculty Fellows will work closely with the Office of EVP-RGSNPD and the Office of Global Engagement in building sustainable partnerships with institutions in their original home countries to establish recruitment pipelines for our undergraduate and graduate programs as well as advancing research. This year’s IFF and their country-focus are:

• F. Kofi Andoh-Baidoo, Associate Professor, Information Systems – Ghana

• Teresa Feria Arroyo, Associate Professor, Biology – Mexico

• Erwin Suazo, Assistant Professor, Mathematical & Statistical Science – Colombia

OGE Welcomes New International Faculty Fellows

International Admissions & Student ServicesWelcome by IASS Director IASS Team

Cynthia X. YuAdministrative

Coordinator

Jessica CantuInternational

Admissions Specialist

Nora Cruz DoleAssociate Director

Ashley AlvaradoInternational Student

Advisor

Nellie LeyvaInternational Student

Advisor

Our vision is to nurture and develop international students by providing a top-quality education and enhance their personal and professional development skills in a diverse and safe environment. Our aim is for our international students to become transformative agents of change throughout the world.

IASS Vision

“International students are an essential part of the community and culture of our institution. Their background, goals, perspective, dreams, and experiences strengthen our university as a whole and make everyone’s learning experience richer.”

Samantha LopezDirector

Latin America 2019

IASS along with the UTRGV Language Institute visitedPanama, Colombia (Barranquilla, Medellin, Pereira,Bucaramanga, & Bogota) Ecuador, and Peru to recruitinternational students by sharing the endless educationalopportunities that UTRGV has to offer.

Our Director, Samantha Lopez was selected to representUTRGV at the Spain Workshop organized by theEduespaña and ICEX Spain Trade & Investment. This eventhad a mission to promote Spanish universities to ourinstitution and encourage our students to study abroad.She visited institutions in Madrid, Salamanca, Valladolid,Burgos, and Cordoba, Spain in December 2018.

Spain 2018

Recruitment Efforts

Conducted top quality cultural events, and provided support services as needed to help our international students integrate into the academic, cultural, and social lifeat UTRGV.

IASS has increased international student engagement activities sponsored by IASS and successful collaboration with faculty, departments, and campus and external organizations.

IASS Team Achievements

Our services include:

Advising on international admissions requirements from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Conducting orientation and cultural events to help our international students to integrate and adjust to the new academic, cultural, and social life at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Serving as a liaison with our U.S. governmental agencies, U.S. Consulates, and sponsors that support international student education.

Connecting our international student population with the community, volunteer programs, student organizations, and campus services available to them.

IASS Services

Mexico 2019

Our department participated in a Student Recruitment Fairin the cities of Monterrey, Mexico City, Guadalajara, andQueretaro, Mexico. We reached out to students andfamilies who are interested in joining UTRGV for graduateand undergraduate studies in the Spring semester of 2019.

International Admissions & Student Services

Enrollment by Education Level Scholarships Awarded to International Students2018-2019

Fall 2018

Enrollment by Campus

$68,000TOTAL

$40,,000

TPEG

$10,000

IMEBECASMexican Consulate

UTRGVTalentScholarship

$18,000

560

167

32

Edinburg Brownsville Other

Top 5 Places of Origin

#1Mexico

#2Bangladesh

#3India

#4China

#5Brazil

Our Signature Events

International Students - Profiles of Excellence

International Admissions & Student Services

Samanta Alvarado NietoManagement and AccountingMatamoros, Mexico

Francisco MenchacaMechanical EngineeringQuerétaro, México

Yannick Rajesh KambrathComputer EngineeringPlaisir, France

Aldo Vazquez AlvaradoBusiness ManagementMatamoros, Mexico

Joshua RuizComputer ScienceBogota, Colombia

Vladimir BelousAccounting

Moscow, Russia

International Meet & Greet Lunar New Year

Thanksgiving Celebration International Women’s Day

International Programs & Partnerships

Welcome by IPP Director

IPP Services The Office of International Programs and Partnerships collaborates with UTRGV students and faculty to create enriching academic and research experiences on campus and abroad. These experiences foster intellectual and personal growth for the UTRGV community preparing our students to be leaders in the Rio Grande Valley and in the world.

The mission of International Programs and Partnerships enhances the internationalization of the UTRGV community.

STUDY ABROADEach year hundreds of students participate in academic experiences abroad. The majority of UTRGV students enroll in Vaqueros Study Abroad programs led by our own UTRGV faculty. These programs are a few weeks in length and offer students the chance to experience a new culture with the close support of fellow UTRGV students and a faculty member. Through exchange agreements with partner institutions abroad UTRGV students also enroll directly in courses at a university abroad for a semester or longer. Finally, UTRGV students can also attend study abroad programs managed by third-party entities.

AGREEMENTS OF COOPERATIONSchools and Departments conducting research or academic exchanges with institutions abroad rely on International Programs and Partnerships to provide support and guidance on the establishment of Agreements of Cooperation. We have the experience and knowledge to complete this process in compliance with established institutional norms.

VISITING SCHOLARSInternational Programs and Partnerships provides U.S. immigration leadership for obtaining J-1 visas for international scholars conducting research with Schools and Departments at UTRGV. We also facilitate the integration of these scholars into the campus community through logistics support and event planning.

International Programs and Partnerships serves the UTRGV community by establishing agreements with partner universities abroad, by administering the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, and through the creation of study abroad opportunities. This semester we greeted 19 exchange students from partner institutions such as the Instituto PolitecnicoNacional of Mexico and the UniversitatAutonoma de Barcelona of Spain. These students enrich our classrooms and diversify our campus.

Alan EarhartDirector

Scholarships

Luis AlcocerInternational Programs

Specialist

Stephanie VazquezInternational Programs

Specialist

Lizette LealInternational Programs

Specialist

IPP Team

Connie De La RosaAdministrative Analyst

IPP Mission

The Exchange Visitor Program at UTRGV is a program through the US Department of State designed to foster academic and cultural exchange. Each year UTRGV hosts about 60-70 exchange visitors who come as exchange students, visiting scholars, and visiting professors. IPP ensures that each exchange visitor is compliant with the rules and regulations governing the program. For more information you can visit our website at [email protected]. There you will find information about the program as well as a link to the application for hosting an exchange visitor at UTRGV.

Study Abroad 2019

International Programs & PartnershipsGhana AOC Signing

On July 31, 2019, International Programs & Partnerships in conjunction with the Office of Global Engagement hosted an Agreement of Cooperation signing between The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) along with three affiliated institutions, Data Link University College, MountCrest University College, and Radford University College. This Agreement of Cooperation will promote opportunities for the students, faculty, and staff members between our institutions to work together through academic and research exchanges, as well as visits between faculty, researchers, and students. Dr. F. Kofi Andoh-Baidoo has led the development of an academic collaboration between the U.S. and Ghana.

Agreements by Country

Visiting Scholars

185 Participants Summer 2019

South Korea

51

Ireland18

Morocco1

Peru11

France13

Italy6

China18

United Kingdom

7

Spain39

Argentina10

Mexico11

Country Number of Agreements

Argentina 1

Chile 1

China 5

France 1

Ghana 5

India 8

Italy 1

Kazakhstan 1

Mexico 7

Russia 1

South Korea 3

Spain 2

Taiwan 1

Thailand 2TOTAL 39

OGE Organizational Chart

Contact Us

Office of Global EngagementBrownsville Campus: BMAIN Bldg. 1.308Edinburg Campus: ESTAC Bldg. 3.128Email: [email protected]: (956) 665-3572 or (956) 882-8955Phone Alt: 1-(956)-882-4026Fax: (956) 665-2281

International Admissions and Student ServicesBrownsville Campus: BMAIN 1.308Edinburg Campus: ESTAC 3.128Email: [email protected]: (956) 882-7092 or (956) 665-2922Phone Alt: 1-956-882-4026Fax: (956) 665-2281

International Programs and PartnershipsEdinburg Campus: ESTAC 3.128Brownsville Campus: BMAIN 1.304Email: [email protected]: (956) 665-3572 or (956) 882-8955Phone Alt: 1-(956)-882-4026Fax: (956) 665-2281