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John Brown aggregates all the most recent public diplomacy related news, including current issues in U.S. foreign policy, international broadcasting and media, propaganda, cultural diplomacy, educational exchanges, anti-Americanism, and the reception of American popular culture abroad.

JUNE 1, 2005 EXCHANGES SUPPLEMENT
by Gordon Douglas

C) WEEKLY EXCHANGES SUPPLEMENT

The following articles are related to educational and cultural exchange programs. Specific topics in this supplement include USG-funded exchange programs (e.g., Fulbright scholarships, Ron Brown Fellowship, International Visitors) as well as issues relating to student visas, study abroad, and NGOs involved in exchanges. The articles are aggregated weekly by MR. GORDON DOUGLAS, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

C.1) USG–FUNDED EXCHANGE PROGRAMS (SCROLL DOWN TO SECTION C.2 FOR OTHER TOPICS)

1. SIUC FACULTY MEMBER NAMED FULBRIGHT RESEARCH CHAIR – (THE SOUTHERN ILLINOISAN, JUNE 1, 2005): A marketing professor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will head to Canada next spring to become the Fulbright research chair at the University of Alberta at Edmonton’s School of Business. Siva K. Balasubramanian, SIUC’s Henry J. Rehn Professor of Marketing, holds the distinction of being SIUC’s first Fulbright research chair, although there have been dozens of Fulbright scholars at SIUC since the inception of the awards
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2. FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR FROM INDIA DRAWN TO SDSU’S NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE – PRESS RELEASE (SDSUNIVERSE, MAY 31, 2005): The Fulbright grant has given Anto Thomas Chakramakkil, a citizen of India, license to visit the U.S. and conduct primary research unavailable in his own country. Chakramakkil spent 2 years working to secure a Fulbright grant and the visa necessary to allow him to study children’s literature at San Diego State University. He arrived in early April for a six-month stay. A doctoral student from the University of Calicut, Chakramakkil is also a lecturer in the Department of English at St. Thomas College in southern India. His research centers on post-1950 American children’s literature.
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3. ROBERTS GETS FULBRIGHT GRANT – ECU NOTES (GREENVILLE DAILY REFLECTOR, MAY 30, 2005):  Rodney C. Roberts, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at East Carolina University, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and do research at the University of Cape Town, South Africa during the 2005-2006 academic year, according to the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Roberts will teach a graduate seminar on Africana Philosophy and Contemporary Injustice Theory, while doing research for his essay “Rectificatory Justice and Post-Apartheid South Africa.”
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4. SUPERINTENDENT HEADED TO CHINA – SHEILA BOUGHNER-BLAIR (OIL CITY DERRICK [PENNSYLVANIA] MAY 30, 2005): Henry Sinopoli, the Keystone School District superintendent, is bound for China as part of a team of Fulbright Scholars.
Sinopoli made the China connection through Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he is studying for a Ph.D. in educational leadership. One of his professors, Wynfan Yan, who is originally from China, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, and as part that, was asked to establish a program of “mini” scholars to participate in a Sino-American Principal Forum.
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5. TWO MORE FULBRIGHT AWARDS FOR BC – Mark Sullivan (BOSTON COLLEGE CHRONICLE, MAY 27, 2005): Boston College’s 2005 Fulbright winners now total 14, eight of them from the German Studies—a record tally by the small department that annually produces numerous competitive, and often successful, candidates for the prestigious post-baccalaureate awards. Last week, Erina Megowan ‘05 became the latest German Studies major to earn a Fulbright.
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6. ST. MARY’S PROFESSOR SELECTED FOR FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIP TO SOUTH KOREA – (SAN ANTONIO BUSINESS JOURNAL, MAY 25, 2005):
St. Mary’s University economics professor Alejandro Velez will participate in a four-week seminar in South Korea to study first-hand the rapidly changing political and economic climate in East Asia. Velez will be only one of nine faculty members in the United States—and the only one from Texas—selected for the Korea Fulbright-Hays Seminar. Faculty members will be gone from June 12 through July 10.
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7. FULBRIGHT ON THE MIND - CHRISTOPHER PHELPS (CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, MAY 23, 2005):  Opinion on experiences with a Fulbright fellowship.  “My family and I are preparing to return to the United States after spending this academic year in Poland on a Fulbright fellowship… It has been an extraordinary year. Our family life now transpires in two languages. Our preschoolers Rosa, 5, and Nowelly, 6, sing and prattle away in Polish, and Emma, 8, can even write it in fancy cursive. Carol, my wife, studied the language with a tutor every week… In my advanced-level seminar, our discussion veered off the American-studies track one day and switched to the subject of Jews, anti-Semitism, and Polish history. I watched with fascination as it erupted into one of the most candid, revealing, well-argued conversations that I’ve witnessed this year. Nevertheless, I am Mole. The sweet scent of America beckons.”
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C.2) OTHER NEWS ON EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE ISSUES

1. VIETNAM, CUBA EXHANGE EXPERIENCE IN EDUCATION – (VIETNAM NEWS AGENCY, JUNE 1, 2005):
Viet Nam can learn from Cuba’s experiences in education and training, said Bui Si Tieu, Deputy Head of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee’s Commission for Science and Education, during his meeting with Director of the Department of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, Roberto Montesino Perez. Tieu stopped over in Cuba en route home from Mexico where he had attended an international symposium on pre-school education.  He also expressed thanks to Cuba for providing free education for over 300 Vietnamese students who are attending universities or vocational schools there.
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2. IRAQI STUDENTS VISIT UNIVERSITY AS PART OF EXCHANGE INITIATIVE – BARBARA PALMER (STANFORD UNIVERSITY NEWS SERVICE, JUNE 1, 2005):  In a 10-day visit to campus as part of the Stanford-Iraq Student Exchange (SISE), students live in dormitories, attend classes and visit the state capital during a student effort to build mutual understanding of cultural and political values.  When asked what experiences had impressed him the most so far, Iraqi student Sasan Hasan looked down the table where he and two other Iraqi undergraduates were seated alongside Hoover Institution Fellows Larry Diamond and Bill Evers for a community forum on Iraqi-U.S. relations and said, “this.”
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3. TRADE, EDUCATION FOCUS OF THAI PM’S INDIA VISIT - IANS (WEB INDIA123.COM, JUNE 1, 2005):  A bilateral free trade deal, education, tourism and security cooperation between India and Thailand will form the focus of a daylong visit by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra here Friday. He will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and review bilateral, regional and international issues. Shinawatra will also meet Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh. An agreement on an educational exchange programme is expected to be signed by the two countries.
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4. A CONVERSATION WITH ALAIN DUCASSE – CARLO PETRINI (SLOWEB, JUNE 1, 2005):  In October 2006, food communities from around the world (representing about 130 different countries) will return to Turin for the second edition of Terra Madre, along with new participants. The new feature of Terra Madre 2006 will be that the small farmers, fishermen, nomads and producers will be joined by around 1,000 chefs and cooks of all nationalities, together with representatives of a hundred or so universities from around the world. Many big names have already enthusiastically confirmed they will be present, and this interview features one of them: Alain Ducasse, a world star of the kitchen.
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5. ‘BRAIN DRAIN’ QUESTION: MYTH OR REALITY? - STEPHANIE MILBERGS (BALTIC TIMES, JUNE 1, 2005):  It is becoming increasingly apparent that more and more Latvian young people are seeking master’s degrees and jobs abroad. The trend is especially prevalent in EU countries, now that Latvia has joined the bloc. There are 788 Latvian students studying at 31 universities across the world under exchange programs, according to Latvian Education and Science Ministry statistics. All of these movers and shakers have led some to fear that Latvia, along with the other Baltic countries, will undergo a “brain drain” in many industrial and professional sectors. Yet others firmly disagree.
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6. HUSBAND AND WIFE KEEN ON CONTINUING EDUCATION - CAROL HOLMES (TEHACHAPI NEWS, JUNE 1, 2005):  Dutch-born Tehachapi, California residents Adrian and Ria Maaskant enjoy their work because they have jobs that fulfill their desire for making a difference in the lives of students. Ria is the principal of Monroe High School and Adrian teaches math and science at Nueva High School in nearby Lamont. Though they met while Ria was on an education exchange herself in the US, both were born in Holland.
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7. MILITARY CULTURAL EXCHANGE – COL. MAXIE MCFARLAND (US ARMY PROFESSIONAL WRITING COLLECTION, JUNE 1, 2005): The Army is increasingly engaged in lengthy overseas deployments in which mission performance demands significant interface with indigenous populations. Learning to interact with local populaces presents a major challenge for soldiers, leaders, and civilians, yet working with these diverse cultures in their home element is a matter of finesse, diplomacy, and communication. Success demands an understanding of individual, community, and societal normative patterns. Cultural education is now necessary as part of soldier and leader development programs.
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