Message from the Director:
Happy Spring! In true IAS fashion, we kicked-off the season with a great event, our biennial “Global Careers Day” held on May 8, 2015. “Thank you” to everyone who was able to attend; and to those of you who could not make it, we hope to see you there next time! Global Careers Day has become a signature event of the IAS program, and this year it was attended not just by IAS students but juniors and seniors from around the university (and a few sophomores, too!) It was great to see what our alumni have been doing with themselves—joining the Peace Corps, working for humanitarian aid agencies, starting businesses, practicing immigration law, working in international technology, and more. The discussion ranged from effective networking strategies, to making the transition to the private sector, to deciding where your passions and talents lie. And it was a big help to our students, as they start the process of deciding what to do after college. I know from their feedback that they truly appreciated hearing from alumni about what sorts of options they have, and what challenges they are likely to face.
Global Careers Day is the capstone event for IAS, but we have been busy with other events also. These include “International Café” lunch events, our annual Senior Dinner, and various other professional development events on topics like careers in the State Department and applying to law school. The IAS program continues to raise its profile at the University. When I started as IAS Director almost eight years ago, students often told me their friends didn’t even know the IAS major existed! I haven’t heard that in a long time. We are widely recognized as being the most vital and exciting major in the College of Arts and Sciences, and our profile is spread across the university—we cooperate with the School of Public Health and the School of Education, with Business, Art and Design, and even Engineering. This is the result of our inter-disciplinary and professionally-focused model of education.
Because of this new visibility, the University has decided to invest substantial new resources into the IAS program, and exciting changes are underway. Right now, the University is hiring two new, key personnel. One will be a new Chair of the Department of Global Studies; the other, a new Head of Modern Languages. As you will know from previous newsletters, IAS will become part of the new Department of Global Studies, which will have more resources, faculty of its own, and a new connection with Modern Languages (harkening back to the days when Vivian Thweatt was Director). These changes will take effect in September, and things will just pick up steam after that!
In the meantime, we are getting ready to say goodbye to our seniors. We have 35 students graduating this year (give or take…exact numbers sometimes depend on various factors), reflective of the growth of the program. One Senior is off to Morocco, courtesy of the U.S. government, to study Arabic on a Critical Language Scholarship; another will spend time in Ghana before heading to medical school. Several students are headed to earn degrees in international public health, international affairs, and journalism. The rest are doing varied things with their IAS degree in the private sector, graduate school, and government work. We wish them all well.
Please keep reading further IAS Newsletters for updates about the new Global Studies Department. We are all very excited about the future!
