Events
- Annual Convention
- Great Teaching Round-up
- Leading from the middle
- fall conference for faculty leaders
- Webinars
"I think there is something more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren't enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision."
Events: 2009 International Education Schedule
International Education Services Summary
Friday, 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
"Going Global at Home…and Abroad"
Speaker: Susan Cummings, International Education Coordinator, Lee College
Friday, 2:30 - 3:45 p.m.
"International Service Learning: An Educational Strategy for Promoting Local and Global Sustainability"
Speaker: Cherith Letargo, Professor of Geology, Lone Star College – Kingwood
Saturday, 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.
"Residential Study Abroad and the Community College"
Speakers: Buck Buchanan, Professor of Geography, Lone Star College-Cyfair; Rob Coyle, Professor of History, Lone Star College-Fairbanks Center; and Robert O’Brien, Professor of History, Lone Star College-Cyfair
Friday, February 20th, 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
"Going Global at Home…and Abroad"
Speaker: Susan Cummings, International Education Coordinator, Lee College
Gather tips on introducing global awareness and perspectives among students through curriculum, campus activities, and short-term study abroad projects. Sound like a luxury? Not according to employers.
Biography:
Having attended a community college after high school and having taught at Lee College since 1982, Ms. Cummings understands the need to help students broaden their expectations of their educational experiences beyond transfer issues and workforce readiness. Her experiences have sharpened her abilities to stimulate student curiosity and to take academic risks, while attending to their desires to check off the next course on their degree plans. Ms. Cummings holds a bachelor of arts in journalism and a master of arts in humanities. She has done postgraduate work in the University of Texas Community College Leadership Program and art and literature at the University of Houston Clear Lake. In addition to teaching humanities and college study skills, Ms. Cummings is the international education coordinator for Lee College in Baytown, Texas.
Friday, February 20th, 2:30 - 3:45 p.m.
"International Service Learning: An Educational Strategy for Promoting Local and Global Sustainability"
Speaker: Cherith Letargo, Professor of Geology, Lone Star College – Kingwood
The teaching strategy described in this presentation uses service learning to help students develop an awareness of the impact of natural disasters on human population by involving students in international service learning projects that restore communities devastated by these disasters. Honors geology students have traveled to the Philippines in March 2008 to engage in intercultural exploration as well as global development by helping build sustainable communities. This science curriculum strategy is based on a program funded by the Faculty International Explorations Grant of Lone Star College and is conducted under the auspices of the Gawad Kalinga organization in the Philippines. Gawad Kalinga (GK) translated in English means “to give care” and it is an alternative solution to the blatant problem of poverty not just in the Philippines but in the world. GK is more than just having students build houses for the poor as is true with other benevolent projects. It has students providing the GK community with the knowledge and skills to transform people into a sustainable population that counters the factors leading to poverty. The next batch of geology honors students will travel to the Philippines in March 2009 to help develop an “Integrated Waste and Water Management Model” for GK villages in Batangas, Philippines. This project is funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) P3 Award: National Student Design Competition for Sustainability. It is hoped that this honors program will continue to grow and be an international model of cooperation between academic institutions and community partners.
Biography:
Dr. Cherith Letargo is a Professor of Geology at Lone Star College - Kingwood. Dr. Letargo, a Teaching Excellence Award recipient in 2003, believes strongly in collaboration, innovation, and enhancing learning through hands-on and field experiences. She received a Faculty International Explorations Grant to travel to the Philippines to build new partnerships for the college and to develop an honors geology course that will provide international service learning opportunities for students. Geology 1405 Honors/Study Abroad Philippines is now offered at LSC-Kingwood. Over spring break, students and faculty had a life-changing experience as they participated in the first-ever international service learning trip to the Philippines.
The presentation, “International Service Learning: An Educational Strategy for Promoting Local and Global Sustainability” will focus on the geology honors course and the trip that students and faculty took during spring break 2008.
Saturday, February 21st, 9:00-10:15 a.m.
"Residential Study Abroad and the Community College"
Speakers: Buck Buchanan, Professor of Geography, Lone Star College-Cyfair; Rob Coyle, Professor of History, Lone Star College-Fairbanks Center; and Robert O’Brien, Professor of History, Lone Star College-Cyfair
Faculty members from Lone Star College-CyFair will describe their initial forays into study abroad as an introduction to a group discussion of the benefits and challenges of residential study abroad in the community college.
Biographies:
Buck Buchanan is Professor of Geography at the Lone Star College-Cyfair. He is a winner of the Faculty Excellence Award. A former travel professional and a specialist in Geographic Education, he believes that study abroad is an essential component of a student’s educational experience.
Rob Coyle is Professor of History at the Lone Star College-Fairbanks Center. He is a winner of the Faculty Excellence Award. With a background in European History and experience as a study abroad participant, he is passionate about study abroad.
Robert O’Brien is Professor of History at Lone Star College-Cyfair. He is a winner of the Faculty Excellence Award. Having lived and taught in China for a year, he understands the importance of immersing oneself into an international culture and society and brings those international perspectives to his US History and World History courses.
International Education Section Chair: Nithyanantha Sevanthinathan, Lone Star College System