Public Health Professor Dessa Bergen-Cico (left), shown here speaking at the International Drug Policy Academy (IDPA) in Strasbourg, France, this past June, is the coordinator of the addiction studies program at the Falk College and co-developed the IDPA’s curriculum.

Needing one more class or an independent study to complete a , Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics student Emily Graham turned to Public Health Professor for advice and Bergen-Cico offered the opportunity of a lifetime–a four-day immersion program in Strasbourg, France, in early June to participate in the International Drug Policy Academy (IDPA).

Bergen-Cico has been working with the Council of Europe’s and International Cooperation Group on Drugs and Addictions since 2010, and she co-developed the IDPA with the Pompidou Group’s leadership team in 2018. The IDPA, an intensive professional development program divided into three modules over a period of one year, is designed for professionals from all over the world who work as managers or senior team members in the areas of drug policies and addictions.

Emily Graham

For Graham, the IDPA showed her the value of cross-collaboration and understanding that there is more than one solution to substance abuse issues.

“The biggest takeaway for me was asking for help,” says Graham. “Sometimes when you get into executive positions, you feel like you need to figure it all out. But it’s OK to reach out and say, ‘Hey, what did you guys do and what were your results and how can we improve from that?’”

The IDPA is one of several unique opportunities for ���ϲ����� students to work with faculty and obtain global experience that exposes them to new ways of thinking about substance abuse and addictive behaviors. These opportunities are available to students who participate in the Falk College’s program that Bergen-Cico coordinates, and students like Graham who are involved with addiction studies in other ways.

As an undergraduate student and Barnes Center at The Arch peer educator, Emily Graham was asked to oversee the program for students who are in recovery from substance use disorder or sober curious. Soon after she received a bachelor’s degree in public health in 2022, she became assistant director for the in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. The Lerner Center’s mission is to improve population and community health through research, education, outreach and health promotion programming focused on the social, spatial and structural determinants of physical, mental and behavioral health and health disparities.

A U.S. Navy veteran, Graham is particularly interested in health and wellness for military veterans, who have a high rate of substance use disorder. She says the IDPA gave her a global perspective on prevention that she couldn’t get anywhere else.

“Being in the U.S., you can get single-minded about how we’re handling it here,” says Graham, who recently received the Maxwell Staff Rising Star award. “But you’re seeing that drugs affect everybody, and we’re all trying to find a common solution and work toward a common goal.”

From ���ϲ����� to Strasbourg

When he was the center director of ���ϲ����� Strasbourg, Raymond Bach created an internship program for ���ϲ����� Abroad students through his collaborations with Pompidou Group Deputy Executive Secretary Thomas Kattau. The Pompidou Group consists of representatives from countries throughout the world who “provide knowledge, support and solutions for effective, evidence-based drug policies, which fully respect human rights,” according to its website.

Dessa Bergen-Cico (left), Emily Graham (center) and McKenna Moonan, a master’s student of public diplomacy and global communications, stand in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Moonan was working as an intern for the Pompidou Group.

In 2010, Pompidou Group leaders expressed an interest in having U.S.-based experts in addiction and drug policy work with them on executive training programs for European-based drug policy administrators and Bach connected them to Bergen-Cico, who had emerged as an innovative expert on substance abuse and addiction. By 2011, Bergen-Cico started providing opportunities for students from the addiction studies program to participate in the Pompidou Group’s executive training programs and their first collaboration was held in Budapest, Hungary.

“Sasha Almasian Menkes ’13 was a public health and addiction studies student who participated much in the same way that Emily did this year,” Bergen-Cico says. “For the participants in 2011, the course was focused on emerging democracies in a lot of the former Soviet Union countries that were establishing independence and trying to find public health-based approaches to dealing with substance use and addiction.”

Over the years, the executive training expanded into the IDPA, which has evolved into a three-module program to accommodate increasingly complex topics and the growing number of attendees from all over the world. This year, Module 1 was held at ���ϲ����� Florence, Italy, in March; Module 2 was held in Strasbourg in June; and Module 3 will be held in Valletta, Malta, in October.

“Drug policies have changed dramatically, certainly in the U.S and in the past 15 years globally,” Bergen-Cico says. “For example, we went from heavy prison sentences for possession of cannabis to it being recreationally legal or decriminalized for anybody 21 and over in the majority of U.S. states and many countries are following a similar path. That just gives you an idea of the landscape and the people who are working in this area need a lot of training to be brought up to speed.”

Please and other opportunities for students interested in addiction studies.

If you’re interested in learning more about the addiction studies program at the Falk College, visit the or contact Bergen-Cico at dkbergen@syr.edu.

A group photo at the Mount Everest base camp, which is marked as the official destination point. Fun fact: That point changes every year as base camp is built on a moving glacier.

Of all the exceptional ���ϲ����� Study Abroad courses, there is one that towers above the others–about 18,000 feet above.

Mount Everest Base Camp Trek: The Human Response to High Altitude is a three-week, three-credit course and international research expedition in Nepal led by exercise science professor , chair and graduate director of Falk College’s . To teach students how the human body adapts to extreme high-altitude environments, the course interlaces full immersion classroom instruction with cutting-edge research led by faculty and advanced graduate student experts in physiology.

Before leading the trek to Mount Everest base camp, Exercise Science professor Tom Brutsaert and other professors and physiology experts directed five days of classes in the Nepal capital of Kathmandu.

Various physiological and altitude performance measurements of the students, faculty, researchers and Sherpa volunteer guides continued all the way to the Mount Everest base camp at almost 18,000 feet (roughly 3.5 miles) above sea level.

“The trip is immersive, and physically and emotionally challenging, but the payoff to students is close faculty contact, incredible experiential learning opportunities, and adventure,” Brutsaert says. “For the faculty and researchers involved, our student-focused ‘incremental ascent to high altitude’ research model has also proven to be very productive in terms of data generation and grant funding.

“For me,” Brutsaert adds, “it has been the pleasure of my career to lead two of these expeditions, one in 2018 and again this year.”

Designed for undergraduate and graduate students interested in human environmental physiology, mountaineering and adventure, the course brought the ���ϲ����� contingent together with high-altitude experts, researchers and students from Mount Royal University in Canada, Iowa State University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The ���ϲ����� students included health and exercise science majors Sofie Confalonieri, Alaina Hauber, Michael Jodlowski, Nathan McCarthy and Lydia Van Boxtel; Benjamin Dennison (chemistry), Emily Shuman (human development and family science), and Anthony Watt (bioengineering); and Taylor Harman, a Ph.D. student who received her M.S. in exercise science and is currently working on her Ph.D. in anthropology.

Including research participants and Sherpa guides (Sherpa is one of the Tibetan ethnic groups native to the most mountainous regions of Nepal), the group featured “an extended family of about 45 people all united toward a common goal,” Brutsaert says.

At Pheriche (altitude: 13,340 feet), the group’s head Sherpa and his wife gave four Falk College students prayer scarves. From left to right are Alaina Hauber, Sofia Confalonieri, Lydia Van Boxtel, and Emily Shuman.

The 2023 trip was funded through a three-year grant from the that was awarded to principal investigator Brutsaert and co-investigators from Mount Royal and UCLA. The grant supported the students, four faculty members, four post-doctoral students and several other trainees. It also paid for the direct costs of research on Sherpa volunteers – work that had not been done on the previous trip in 2018.

This year’s trip ran from May 15-June 6, starting with five days of classes in the Nepal capital of Kathmandu and pre-departure testing that measured hypoxia-sensitivity, hematology and exercise performance. The trek to Everest base camp and back covered about two weeks and 130 kilometers (81 miles) of strenuous hiking. On the way up, the schedule included rest days at increasing altitudes to allow for acclimatization and safe ascent.

To get a firsthand view of this unique experience, we asked Emily Shuman, a human development and family science major from Falk who’s minoring in biology, to describe it for us. Here’s what she wrote:

“Looking back on my three weeks trekking through Nepal, there are so many moments that stick out to me. The memories that first come to mind when I reflect on my trip include waking up each morning face-to-face with Ama Dablam (a mountain in the eastern Himalayan range of Koshi Province, Nepal), visiting active monasteries, participating in global research, meeting Sherpa who have summited Mount Everest, and becoming friends with researchers and undergraduates from around the world.

“Traveling to Nepal and having the opportunity to trek up to the base camp of Mount Everest was by far one of the most amazing things I have ever done, but it was also among the most grueling and emotional. Sixteen days of intense hiking, altitude sickness, food sensitivity, weather difficulties and lack of sleep made the trek even more difficult.

“Don’t get me wrong, it was the most life-changing experience of my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but it’s not the trip that everyone dreams of when they think of ‘vacation getaways.’ Despite the struggles that we as a group endured throughout our several weeks in the mountains, it was all worth it in the end. After all, how many people can say they’ve trekked through the Himalayas and seen Mount Everest up close and personal, while also participating in major research projects?

Emily Shuman

“Those 16 days spent in the Himalayas–and the days in Kathmandu before and after the trek–taught me more about myself and the world than a classroom ever could. Not only was I learning about the effects of high altitude on the body, but I was experiencing it firsthand. We spent hours learning about how the different parts of your body react to the lack of oxygen in the air, and then we went out and experienced it for ourselves, allowing us to connect with not only the material but our physiology in a way that would otherwise be strictly hypothetical.

“We watched movies and documentaries about the mountaineering industry and the amazing group of people who lead trips to the summit of Mount Everest, and then we were able to talk about it with the Sherpa in the room. Guest lecturers taught us about their world-renowned research one night and we woke up and participated in it the next morning. Everything that we did in Nepal taught me something different about the world of research, the world of mountaineering or the world of physiology.

“To anyone considering going on this trip in the future, I cannot recommend it enough! Is it a lot of hiking in one day? Yes. Will you get sick from the altitude? Probably. But does it leave you with a sense of accomplishment and awareness (for not only yourself but also the world) that can’t be found anywhere else? YES! Since returning from Nepal, I have spent hours talking to my friends and family about the trip, and to all of them I say the same thing: It was the toughest thing I have ever done, both physically and emotionally, but it was also the one thing that has taught me the most about who I am, and what I can be a part of, in this life.”

Throughout their adventure, the participants posted a (Shuman’s blog entry is Day 16 on May 31). For a peek at what you’ll read in the blog, here’s an excerpt from Wesley Lefferts (Days 17-19 June 1-3), a cardiovascular exercise physiologist and an assistant professor at Iowa State University who received his M.S. in exercise science and Ph.D. in science education from ���ϲ�����:

“We survived. Survived AMS, sleep apnea, finger-stick blood draws, VO2max tests, upset stomachs, headaches, restless nights of sleep, smelly socks and dodging yaks and zoes (zo’s, I have no idea how to spell it exactly, but they are basically lower altitude cows that replace yaks which don’t do well in the warmer temperature).”

(Editor’s note: A dzo is a hybrid between the yak and domestic cattle.)

Lefferts also created a video of the trip that you can watch .

To learn more about the academic programs, experiential learning and research opportunities available in Falk College’s Department of Exercise Science, visit the department .

SU Abroad staff and center directors gathered on campus for a reception in their honor. From L-R: Caroline Tong, director, ���ϲ����� Beijing; Mauricio Paredes, director, ���ϲ����� Santiago; Hana Cervinkova, director, Exploring Central Europe; Sasha Perugini, director, ���ϲ����� Florence; Troy Gordon, director, ���ϲ����� London; Bobby Kuehl, director, ���ϲ����� Madrid; Erika Wilkens, Special Assistant for Global Engagement (director, ���ϲ����� Istanbul, 2010-2017); Joffre Chan, director, ���ϲ����� Hong Kong; and Raymond Bach, director, ���ϲ����� Strasbourg.

Chancellor Syverud presented a challenge to the assembled group, calling for a significant increase in the percent of ���ϲ����� undergraduates who study abroad.

“A full 90 percent of incoming first-year students indicate that they are interested in a study abroad experience, yet only 44 percent ultimately fulfill that wish,” Chancellor Syverud noted. “Study abroad participation by ���ϲ����� students is much higher than the national average of 10 percent, but we clearly have work to do.”

Underscoring the Chancellor’s remarks, Provost Wheatly reflected on the goals set out in the Academic Strategic Plan, and reiterated in the $100 million Invest ���ϲ����� initiative. In particular, she focused on the University’s ambitious but achievable goal that every ���ϲ����� student should have the opportunity for a global learning experience.

“We are leaders in the field of study abroad, and ���ϲ����� Abroad’s operation is emblematic of the signature ���ϲ����� experience—where we put individualized student development above all else,” said Wheatly. “Through these programs, the University delivers to students unparalleled and highly personalized services, and unique curricular, co-curricular, internship and critical intercultural opportunities unavailable on the home campus.”

The center directors—representing ���ϲ����� campuses in Beijing, Florence, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Santiago (Chile), Strasbourg (France) and the Central Europe program (based in Poland)—were energized by the Chancellor’s shared charge.

“Our centers are not merely outposts; we are prominent representatives of ���ϲ�����’s global footprint,” said Hana Cervinkova, director of the Exploring Central Europe program. “Through this shared goal to increase participation, we and our main campus counterparts can deliver a truly distinctive ���ϲ����� education.”

“���ϲ����� is one of those rare institutions that not only promotes study abroad, but is actively engaged in designing and implementing innovative programs around the world,” said Raymond Bach, ���ϲ����� Strasbourg director. “We are very encouraged to see that the University’s commitment to these programs is stronger than ever, and that the Chancellor and Provost are determined to give more and more students the possibility of expanding their horizons through an international experience.”

Whatever your reason, summer abroad will help you grow as an individual, give you an international perspective, open your eyes to new foods, ideas, music and people, and boost your resume.

See all the summer abroad programs ��.

The deadline for Center-based summer programs is now March 1, so there’s still time to get your application in! Questions? Email kbhanbac@syr.edu or call 315.443.9421.

A view of Florence, Italy

Students choose to go abroad in summer for a number of reasons—maybe you have a double major would like to catch up on some credits during the summer semester, maybe there’s a course you’d like to take that’s only offered in or , or maybe you just can’t commit to an entire semester away from your home university.�����ϲ����� summer abroad also offers you the chance to explore a particular interest that may not align with your major— perhaps you’re a business major, but also interested in��?

Whatever your reason, summer abroad will help you grow as an individual, give you an international perspective, open your eyes to new foods, ideas, music, and people and boost your resume.

See all the summer abroad options . .

The deadline for these summer programs is Feb. 10, so get your application in now! Questions? Email kbhanbac@syr.edu or call 315.443.9421.

Participants in a previous Paris Noir program

Study the influence and dynamics of Black culture, literature, and experience in Paris, past and present. Like a jazz composition, the seminar is arranged to convey variations and diverse interpretations of the “Paris Noir” theme and features panel discussions, poetry readings and visits to community theater workshops, working artists’ studios, nightclubs, concerts, African markets and restaurants.

Critical reading of literary and cultural texts, analytical thinking and lively exchange of ideas are important seminar components. Students enjoy impromptu meetings with legendary figures like the poet Sonia Sanchez, jazz great Archie Shepp and members of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company.

The program dates��are June 7-July 12. Students must apply for the program by Feb. 10.

For more information, contact: Kelsey Hanbach at kbhanbac@syr.edu or Prof. Janis Mayes at jamayes@syr.edu; or visit .

As ���ϲ�����’s associate provost for international education and engagement, she has crisscrossed the globe in her work leading the University’s critical international education initiatives and study abroad programs.

Margaret Himley

“My experiences in study abroad have been amazing, making me both more humble and more curious about the world,” says Himley. “I have experienced history in Tianamen Square in Beijing and at the site of the former clandestine Villa Grimaldi torture and extermination center in Santiago; almost touched Michaelangelo’s David in Florence; gained understanding of the multiculturalism of London; seen the vertical density of Hong Kong; explored the architecture and history of Istanbul; sat in on a session at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg; and explored the Reina Sofia museum of contemporary art in Madrid. I’ve had to learn about laws and real estate, pedagogy and curriculum in different national contexts. I now follow the news of the world with great interest and urgency.”

Himley, who has been in her role since 2011, will step down on Sept. 30. A member of the ���ϲ����� community for more than 30 years and a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence, she will return full time to her role as professor of writing and rhetoric in the in the fall 2018 semester.

Petra Hejnova, director of curriculum and academic services at ���ϲ����� Abroad, will assume the role of interim executive director of ���ϲ����� Abroad. Hejnova has worked for ���ϲ����� Abroad since 2014. She also has a courtesy appointment in the political science department with a three-year term.

During Himley’s tenure, internationalization and study abroad has been identified as a key strategic priority of ���ϲ�����. “Our Academic Strategic Plan identifies internationalization and study abroad experiences as critical components of an undergraduate education,” says Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly. “Margaret has elevated the University’s global presence through study abroad. All the while, she has worked tirelessly to develop programming and opportunities that engage all students early in their academic experience at ���ϲ�����.”

One of the most important aspects of Himley’s job has been leadership of ���ϲ����� Abroad, one of the nation’s premier study abroad programs. Students learn to become global professionals and citizens, address urgent issues from interconnected, global perspectives, work with others from different cultures and move ethnically across borders at the University’s eight abroad centers and through more than 100 partner programs in more than 60 countries and 35 short-term and summer programs.

Study abroad has always been about cultural immersion and field experience, the importance of going to other parts of the world and experiencing other languages, cultures and histories. “Now it’s also about global interconnectivity, about what it means to live and work within a complex, highly interactive and technologically mediated transnational world,” says Himley. “And it’s about what it means to be a global professional, someone who works well with other people from different countries and cultures (and time zones).”

At ���ϲ�����, over 40 percent of students take part in a study abroad experience, well above the national average of 10 percent. During Himley’s tenure, study abroad offerings have been expanded and efforts made to open study abroad opportunities for veterans, first-generation students and those in STEM and health studies. In 2016, the University partnered with Generation Study Abroad, a program of the Institute of International Education, to expand opportunities. ���ϲ����� Abroad now collaborates with the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs to create more scholarship and grant options, and has started working with students at the beginning of their studies at the University in order for them to plan for their education abroad.

The new offerings that have come to fruition during Himley’s tenure reflect the complex issues of today’s global society. One of the University’s featured programs, Exploring Central Europe, was launched in 2014. Based in Wroclaw, Poland, students explore how people from different national and ethnic identities—with different languages, cultures and traditions—can live together after wars and other violence. The program was awarded FORUM’s Excellence in Education Abroad Curriculum Design, the most prestigious national award for study abroad curriculum development.

“Margaret gave her intellectual force into envisioning what Central Europe could offer American students and together we built a thematic semester abroad, which focuses on issues of history, memory and identity in the context of past and current conflicts on the European continent,” says program director Hana Cerevinkova. “Embedded in the pedagogical framework of this international experience is an effort to support students’ global imagination—their ability to incorporate study abroad experiences into imaging their lives as engaged and caring citizens of the world.”

Himley has worked with the University’s schools and colleges to integrate experience abroad into students’ fields of study in meaningful, substantive ways. Sophomore engineering students now study in Strasbourg and Florence, and soon there will be a Discovery Engineering program for first-year, first-semester students in Madrid. Faculty-led summer programs have been designed to provide “value-added” experiences for their students.

Troy Gordon, director of the ���ϲ����� Abroad Center in London, says Himley raised the academic standards of education abroad at ���ϲ����� to a higher level. “She became the first senior academic to lead ���ϲ����� Abroad, which stamped the field as primarily an academic and learning experience,” he says.

“Margaret has shown true leadership in her efforts to maintain and develop academically rigorous programs at the SU Abroad Centers, all while exploring new avenues for students wishing to study abroad,” says Raymond Bach, director of the Strasbourg Center. “She has worked tirelessly to strengthen and reinforce the connections between the schools on the main campus and the foreign programs, thereby ensuring that study abroad remains an integral part of a student’s overall educational experience.”

Himley has also focused much of her attention on students and the unique experience that is study abroad. “Margaret looked beyond academics to student services. She created the position of case manager at ���ϲ����� Abroad and, in a larger center like London, for instance, she pushed for the creation of a specialist health and wellness advisor on staff. … The impact on the student experience has been incalculable,” Gordon says.

“Vision is a term that is all too often bandied about, but in Margaret’s case, it is perfectly appropriate,” says Bach. “During her tenure at ���ϲ����� Abroad she has constantly striven to create an international experience that gives ���ϲ����� students the tools they need to understand the marvelous, and sometimes daunting, complexity of the world that lies beyond the borders of the United States.”

Himley says that the success of study abroad at ���ϲ����� should be credited to the ���ϲ����� Abroad staff and faculty.

“All of these things are possible only because of an outstanding staff on campus and overseas, all committed to providing students with academically rigorous, transformative and safe education abroad experiences,” she says. “The dedicated and talented staff at ���ϲ����� Abroad and at the overseas centers, led by gifted directors, have taught me a lot, and I will miss our collaborative work.”

���ϲ����� Florence offers an average of 90 field trips per year. Experiential learning is a signature part of ���ϲ����� Abroad programs. (Photo by Lauren DeLeo)

Students worried about choosing a study abroad program that fits their major or minor requirements are invited to attend and talk to representatives from 10��of ���ϲ�����’s schools and��colleges. School and college advisors will be paired with study abroad staff members and global ambassadors to highlight abroad programs that work well with specific majors and minors.

In addition to the seven ���ϲ����� Abroad centers and 65 World Partner Programs, the showcase aims to highlight 2018 summer and short-term programs. Faculty members who are leading programs in 2018 will be available to answer specific questions about their courses.

New faculty-led programs in 2018 include a Mount Everest base camp trek, led by Professor Tom Brutsaert from the and Professor Rick Burton; a spring break program to Cuba focusing on Afro-Cuban dance, led by Professor Sydney Hutchinson in the ; and a summer program based in Vancouver, Canada, led by Professor Dessa Bergen-Cico from Falk College, which will focus on drug policy and harm reduction.

“We want to help SU students figure out which study abroad program is right for them,” says Jennifer Horvath, ���ϲ����� Abroad marketing and communications manager. “With over 100 programs in 60 countries to choose from, we know it can be overwhelming for students who are unsure where to begin.”

In addition to SU Abroad staff, representatives from 10 partner programs will be present to share information with SU Abroad students. SU students can meet with representatives from Bard Abroad, Tel Aviv University, the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, SEA Semester, University College Dublin, CEA Study Abroad, School for International Training (SIT), Undergraduate Program in Central European Studies (UPCES) and Diversity Abroad. A representative from the local passport agency will also be on hand to offer assistance to students who need to apply for a passport.

Staff members from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs will be available to talk to students about financing and budgeting for their abroad experience, and SU Abroad’s global ambassadors will be on hand to share their personal experiences with prospective abroad students. Light refreshments will be served.

Students studying abroad (Photo by Nick Townsend)

A panel of study abroad alumni will provide firsthand accounts of their study abroad experiences. Panelists will share stories and take questions from those in attendance with special focus on how diversity affected their study abroad experience. Alumni panelists include Christine Chung (SU London), Jason Deal (SU Hong Kong), Daisia Glover (SU Santiago), Brandon Mixson (SU Madrid) and Saphyir Moody (SU Hong Kong). Diversity Abroad’s Trixie Cordova will also be in attendance to speak with students. Diversity Abroad is an international organization that connects diverse students with academic, professional and volunteer opportunities abroad.

“We’re really excited to partner with SU Abroad again,” says Huey Hsiao, associate director in OMA. “Our study abroad alumni always return with such great experiences to share with their peers on campus. We hope that sharing students’ experiences will motivate more students to share in these experiences.”

“In addition to this great group of abroad alumni, we’re thrilled to welcome Trixie to campus,” says Jenn Horvath, manager of marketing and communications at SU Abroad. “We really think students have a lot to gain from all that Diversity Abroad has to offer.”

The event is open to all students and will take place Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 6 p.m. in Schine 304ABC. Light refreshments will be served.

If you have questions about this event, please contact Lucile Matthews, SU Abroad recruitment specialist, at lpmatthe@syr.edu or visit suabroad.syr.edu.

Students in the Paris Noir 2015 program at the Elysee Palace

The program, which will celebrate its 16^th anniversary in summer 2016, is a six-credit, five-week program sponsored by the and . It is designed for students who are interested in learning about the influence and dynamics of black culture, literature and experience in Paris, both past and present.

“There are no walls around this classroom: the city of Paris and the surrounding areas transform the student’s learning experience,” says Mayes. “Panel discussions, music, open-mic poetry, visits to museums and artists’ studios, and African markets are just some of the public culture texts and spaces or public culture lessons students will explore while in Paris. It’s an incredible opportunity and I look forward to traveling to Paris next summer with a new cohort of students.”

Nearly 200 students have participated in Paris Noir over the years; many say the experience changed their lives in unimaginable ways.

“When I say Paris Noir changed my life, I mean it quite literally,” says Kishauna Soljour, a former Paris Noir student. “Now I’m getting my Ph.D. in history and my research focuses on the African migration to France after World War II.”

Paris Noir is open to all ���ϲ����� students, undergraduate and graduate. Like other SU Abroad programs, this experience is also open to students from other colleges and universities.

Space is limited; need-based grants are available to interested students. The deadline to apply is Saturday, Feb. 20; all deposits ($550) and Conditions of Participation forms are due on that date. Students are responsible for the cost of their airfare as well as most of their meals.

Students interested in applying to Paris Noir should visit the . If they have questions, they should contact Marie Kulikowsky by email at mkulikow@syr.edu or Caitlin Jarvis at cajarvis@syr.edu.

Mauricio Paredes

Paredes will give a public lecture in Spanish titled “Student Movements in Chile: Confronting the Legacy of the Dictatorship,” on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 4 p.m. in Maxwell Room 204.

The SU Abroad center in Santiago, Chile, is a two-site program, where students can advance their Spanish language skills while taking a wide range of courses, from anthropology to studio and visual arts. Coursework at the center, the Universidad de Chile and the Pontificia Universidad Catolica is all conducted in Spanish. Students live with host families, giving them a rich, immersive experience in Latin American culture.

Students may begin with a pre-semester, 4-credit language immersion program in Cuenca, Ecuador, before doing a full semester in Santiago, Chile.

Paredes is uniquely positioned to guide SU Abroad students in discovering and navigating the complexities of Chile: Santiago as the modern, secure city of gleaming skyscrapers and a bustling downtown, and the ongoing effects of the 17-year long reign of military dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet that left the society deeply divided, with Chileans continuing to reconcile the torture and human devastation carried out by the regime,

In his courses, students examine the dictatorship, the transition to democracy, and historical memory in contemporary Chile through multiple sources: primary sources drawn from U.S. archives; the few Chilean primary sources that survived the dictatorship’s censorship and destruction of files and evidence; specialized secondary sources, both Chilean and international; and through in-depth study of sites of historical memory located in the city of Santiago. He introduces students to the rich social and political history of former military dictatorships in the Southern Cone during a week-long travel seminar spanning across Chile, Argentina and Uruguay.

���ϲ����� Abroad students explored many historical and modern sites during a summer session in Japan. (Photo by Thomas Kuei)

A group of ���ϲ����� Abroad students went searching this summer for the meaning of “japan-ness” as a design perspective during a month-long exploration of Japan.

They found it in the wooden pillars of the Kiyomizudera temple in Kyoto, the austere concrete of the Church of the Light in Osaka and the scrumptious delights placed in the compartments of a bento box, among many other sites and experiences.

The theme of “japan-ness” can’t be fully understood within one building, says architecture student Thomas Kuei ’18.

“Japanese architecture has developed within its unique ecosystem, and thus has had an incredibly rich history through which its buildings have transformed,”��Kuei says. “These different types of architecture all work together to tell a story of Japan’s architecture and how the entire field has taken on a life of its own.”

Kiyomizudera platform structure (Photo by Anne Munly)

The summer program “From Shoji to SANAA: Japan-ness in Architecture” explores the origins of Japan’s profound influence on Western architecture and design, in terms of such factors as space, material and lightness.

Traveling to Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo and islands in the Inland Sea, students saw traditional architecture and the modern works of such important architects and firms as Tadao Ando, SANAA, Kengo Kuma, Atelier Bow-Wow and Amorphe.

Booklets made and bound by the students (Photo by Zeke Leonard)

In the six-credit program, students took two courses: “Scale, Materiality and Dwelling in Japan,” led by Professor Anne Munly, and “Materiality and the Hand,” led by Environmental and Interior Design Assistant Professor Zeke Leonard in the .

Munly first started the summer session in 2009 with then-School of Architecture Professor Michael Carroll.

Munly had been named a Laura and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence and wanted to use the funding to create a course that would appeal to architecture and non-architecture students.

Leonard joined in 2013, bringing furniture-making and wood-working insights to the program.

“To talk about the modern home is to talk about the influence of traditional Japanese architecture on early 20th-century architects, such as Frank Lloyd Wright and Bruno Taut,” Munly says.

Students met with several architects during their ���ϲ����� Abroad experience in Japan, discussing the architects’ process, aesthetics and buildings. In this photo, Kiyoshi Sey Takeyama of Amorphe Architects in Kyoto speaks with students. (Photo by Anne Munly)

“Wright was strongly influenced by his trips to Japan and imported Japanese traditions of building and making space,” Munly says. “European and American architects who traveled to Japan were looking at buildings of the 16th century, but they were seeing in them a proto-modern condition. I wanted to take the students to Japan to look at roots of the modern home.”

The American Craftsman house and split-level homes

Wright and others incorporated certain features from Japanese structures into their buildings and in turn those features were filtered into popular homebuilding designs. For example, the 20th-century American split-level home developed from the ideals of a certain style of Japanese home with its change in floor plane, low horizontal frame and large, wide windows, Leonard says.

The term “japan-ness” comes from historian and architect Arata Isozaki and his book “Japan-ness in Architecture” (MIT Press, 2011), which examines the Japanese aesthetic in historical and contemporary forms.

In traditional Japanese construction, interior space is flexible and there is an important connection to nature—through man-made gardens—and an awareness of light and shadow.

The main house at the Shiorian in Kyoto (Photo by Thomas Kuei)

Architectural graduate student Yifei Cai recognized that connection in their visit to the Yoshijima House, a former merchant’s home in Takayama, that incorporates several distinct gardens and tatami mat rooms.

Traditional shoji—a door or a room divider constructed of paper and wood—are used to open a home to the outdoors and separate large interior spaces.

The interior of Tadao Ando’s Church of the Light (Photo by Zeke Leonard)

“When the shoji is completely opened, there is no barrier between people and nature, the interior space becomes open,” Cai says.

“When the shoji is ajar, the relationship between nature and interior is ambiguous,” Cai says. “When you close the shoji, the shoji can be considered as a window. So you may find different kinds of changes.”

Another site, the Church of Light, a United Church of Christ chapel designed by Tadao Ando, makes use of light through its stark concrete and the cut form of a cross behind the altar.

“In order to highlight the light, the building material is very pure,” Cai says.

It’s important for students to experience those nuances and appreciate how places and materials can evoke a response.

Smell the incense

Sketch of the Church of the Light by student Yifei Cai

“You’re standing in this massive wooden Buddhist temple from the 1600s. You can smell the incense, you can hear praying and the gong ringing,” Assistant Professor Zeke Leonard says. “Then you go to the Church of the Light. It’s all concrete. You can feel the cold clamminess that hangs in the air.”

Leonard, who calls the Church of the Light “possibly one of the smartest pieces of architecture ever conceived,” wants students to understand the emotive response and analyze what the space is made of that makes it elicit that response.

“Five students physically gasped as they walked in. If you can do that with space, then shouldn’t that be the goal?” Leonard says. “We don’t design structures to be shown in magazines; we design structures to be used by humans, so putting the students in the space to me is just critical.”

Miyashita Park, Tokyo, redesign by Atelier Bow-Wow, analysis by student Jessica Kim

Kuei was fascinated by the sense of past, present and future in Japanese architecture.

“While there is still a push to preserve important historical artifacts and sites, there has also been a push for an architecture that is meant to be changed every 15-20 years,” Kuei says.

Ready-made

Students visited the Muji house, a minimalist pre-fab home in Tokyo. Muji is a chain store that sells a variety of home goods and apparel and has now branched into the sale of ready-made homes.

Led by a master sushi chef, students learn how to make sushi during a workshop in Kyoto and then sample their creations. (Photo by Anne Munly)

“The ideas surrounding the pre-fabricated homes were incredibly interesting to study and grapple with,” Kuei says. “We ended up having a great group discussion of the validity of these types of architecture and what impact prefab homes would have on the future of architecture.”

Along with the tours of various buildings, students also experienced outdoor markets, exhibitions and the art of sushi-making with a master sushi chef who led students in making their own sushi.

Students also met with several architects, including Kiyoshi Sey Takeyama, Kengo Kuma and Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, discussing the architects’ design process, aesthetic choices and built works.

“Students are exposed to architects who are very skilled at their craft, architects who have reinterpreted those traditions to make really good contemporary work,” Munly says.

View below for more photos of the sights and experiences enjoyed by students in the ���ϲ����� Abroad summer program in Japan.

A section of the 1,000 torii gate hike at Fushimi Inari-Taisha Shrine outside of Kyoto (Photo by Thomas Kuei)

Students sketching at he Benesse House Oval, designed by Tadao Ando, on the island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea (Photo by Anne Munly)

Headquarters of jewelry store Mikimoto in the Ginza district of Tokyo (Photo by Thomas Kuei)

Religious artifact on display at the Nezu Museum in Tokyo (Photo by Thomas Kuei)

The hand calligraphy stamp mark of the Kiyomizu temple (Photo by Thomas Kuei)

The sushi plate that the students made under the direction of a master sushi chef (Photo by Thomas Kuei)

Byakurengedo Temple Shinjuku in Tokyo, designed by Amorphe Takeyama Associates (Photo by Anne Munly)

Dotonbori Street in Osaka (Photo by Thomas Kuei)

Students from a previous session of the Paris Noir program enjoy the sights of the city.

Today, the and announced the reopening of the application period for one of the University’s most revered study abroad experiences—Paris Noir.

The program, which began 14 years ago, is a six-credit opportunity aimed at students who are interested in learning about the influence and dynamics of black culture, literature and experience in Paris, both past and present.

Nearly two weeks ago, it was announced that Paris Noir would not be offered this summer due to low enrollment. Like any other class, course or study abroad program with low enrollment in a given year, the University has to re-evaluate whether the program can still be offered. But College of Arts and Sciences says the program has had such a tremendous impact on its participants, that reopening the application period is not only appropriate, but necessary.

“Paris Noir is a hallmark study abroad program and one that the University wants to see continue for many more years,” says Ruhlandt, an international scholar herself who also directs a National Science Foundation-supported international program in chemistry. “Personally, I believe studying abroad is a cornerstone of any liberal arts education and it is my hope that any student that wants to travel internationally has the opportunity to do so during their time at ���ϲ�����.”

The College of Arts and Sciences, the SU Abroad team and the program’s faculty director, Associate Professor will collaborate on deploying vigorous recruitment efforts in hopes of attracting interested students. In order for the trip to go on as planned, 14 students must commit to the program.

The deadline to apply is Friday, April 17; all deposits ($550) and Conditions of Participation forms must be in by Friday, April 24. Students are responsible for the cost of their airfare as well as most of their meals.

“It’s going to take hard work, collaboration and our best recruiting efforts to make sure we meet our enrollment objectives,” adds Ruhlandt. “We are going to do everything in our power to promote this opportunity, communicate its tremendous value and assist students with the application and financial aid process.”

Mayes, professor of African-American studies and creator of Paris Noir, says she is appreciative of Dean Ruhlandt, Chancellor Kent Syverud, Interim Provost Liz Liddy and the staff at SU Abroad for their support.

“Paris Noir is so much more than a study abroad program; it’s a life-changing experience for students who otherwise may not have the opportunity to travel and study in Paris,” says Mayes. “I look forward to working closely with the dean’s communications team and SU Abroad to see to it that any student that seeks to experience Paris Noir has the opportunity to do so this summer.”

Students interested in applying to Paris Noir should visit . If they have questions, they should contact Marie Kulikowsky by email at mkulikow@syr.edu.

Contributions to support the Paris Noir program are welcome. To support the program, contact Karen Weiss Jones, assistant dean for advancement, at 315-443-2028 or kmweissj@syr.edu.

Engineering students will participate in a new study abroad opportunity at SU Florence this spring.

“The beauty of this program is that students are able to experience unique opportunities in Italy while completing courses that contribute to their major— keeping them on track,” says , senior associate dean at the college.

In addition to taking courses related to engineering, students will take an introductory Italian language course. They will be immersed in Italian culture,��participate in field trips across the country to visit global companies, including General Electric, and see historical sites in Rome. They will also make a special trip to take in the engineering and artistic marvels of Leonardo da Vinci—an experience inspired by a course taught by of the and of the .

While this is a pilot program, it is expected to��become an annual offering. If you have any questions or interest in taking part in this program in the future, please contact , director of the college’s student records and study abroad.

The symposium marks the 50th anniversary of the Florence Graduate Program in Renaissance Art.

The continues its semester-long look at “Perspective” with a major symposium on Italian Renaissance Art.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, the will present “New Perspectives on Renaissance Art” from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. in 132 Lyman Hall. The symposium marks the 50th anniversary of the , as well as the retirement of its longtime director, .

Events are free and open to the public. To register, contact Ardean Orr in the Department of Art & Music Histories (AMH) at 315-443-4184 or aorr@syr.edu.

Gary Radke

A welcoming reception will be held for registered participants on Friday, Oct. 17, from 4-6 p.m. in the Lyman Hall Lobby.

The purpose of the symposium is to consider multiple perspectives on the production and interpretation of Italian Renaissance Art,” says Radke, Dean’s Professor of the Humanities and professor of art history. “Our presenters will discuss recent discoveries and interpretations of written and visual evidence, revealing how men and women sponsored, created and interacted with works of art during the Italian Renaissance [c. 1300-1600]. We will also discuss themes of spirituality, ethics, patronage, gender, rhetoric and collaborative practices.”

“New Perspectives on Renaissance Art” is co-sponsored by the 2014 Ray Smith Symposium, the ���ϲ����� Humanities Center and AMH.

The program features more than a dozen internationally renowned museum professionals and teaching scholars, all of whom are alumni of the college’s Florence Program.

The schedule is as follows:

9:30 a.m.
Opening remarks by Radke

9:45-11:15 a.m.
“Changing Perceptions of Renaissance Art”

• Theresa Flanigan G’95, associate professor of art history at the College of Saint Rose
• Jill Carrington G’83, professor of art history at Stephen F. Austin State University
• Susan Dixon G’84, associate professor and chair of art history at La Salle University

11:15-11:45 a.m.
Coffee Break

11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
“Making Renaissance Art, Part I”

• Bryan Keene G’10, assistant curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum and adjunct professor of art history at Pepperdine University
• Renée Burnam G’81, author for Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (USA)

12:45-1:45 p.m.
Lunch

1:45-2:45 p.m.
“Making Renaissance Art, Part II”

• Heather Nolin G’01, research associate and project manager of the Arthur Ross Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery
• Bradley J. Cavallo G’05, teaching assistant at Temple University

2:45-3:15 p.m.
Coffee break

3:15-4:45 p.m.
“Working and Living at Court”

Sally Cornelison

• Sally J. Cornelison G’89, professor of Italian Renaissance art at the University of Kansas and director-designate of ���ϲ�����’s Florence Program
• Anne Proctor G’05, assistant professor of art and architectural history at Roger Williams University
• Molly Bourne G’88, coordinator of graduate and undergraduate art history at ���ϲ����� in Florence

4:45-5:15 p.m.
Plenary discussion

“New Perspectives on Renaissance Art” is the latest in a series of events marking the Florence Program’s anniversary. In June, Radke led a weeklong alumni trip to Italy that included visits to various Florentine landmarks, as well as meetings with and presentations by ���ϲ����� students and alumni.

The only accredited M.A. art history program in North America to offer most of its coursework in Italy, the program requires students to take one semester on ���ϲ�����’s main campus, followed by two semesters in Florence. At the latter, they conduct research at Villa I Tatti, home of the renowned Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies; the Kunsthistorisches Institut; and the Archivio di Stato.

Every fall, the Florence Program sponsors a public symposium, where each student delivers a 20-minute scholarly presentation. Radke, who founded the symposium series in 1986 (not long after taking over the Florence Program), says it helps promote ���ϲ����� to the general public, while giving back to Florence, which “generously opens up its churches, museums and libraries to our students.”

Since joining the ���ϲ����� faculty in 1980, Radke has helped elevate the Florence Program to international prominence. In the process, he has established himself as one of the world’s foremost authorities on Italian Medieval and Renaissance art and architecture. In 2001, he became a guest curator at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, where he has since organized a handful of nationally touring shows of works by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Ghiberti, Verrocchio and other Italian masters.

Radke is currently working on an exhibition titled “,” opening this fall at the High and next spring at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

“Public events such as ‘Make a Joyful Noise’ and ‘New Perspectives on Renaissance Art’ exemplify the kinds of rigorous, hands-on work we do at ���ϲ�����,” says Radke, a fellow of the American Academy in Rome. “They’re physical expressions of our commitment to the interdisciplinary study of art and music histories.”

At ���ϲ�����, Radke has also served as chair of the AMH department and as director of the honors program.

Sally Cornelison

“I feel like my career has truly come full circle,” says Cornelison, who after receiving a master’s degree at ���ϲ����� went on to earn a Ph.D. at the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London. “I loved being a student of art history and I look forward to teaching at the very place that helped launch my career.”

This won’t be Cornelison’s first professional experience at ���ϲ�����. In past, she has served as teaching assistant, field trip coordinator and lecturer, as well as adjunct professor at the Florence campus. In Florence, she taught an undergraduate summer survey of Italian late medieval and Renaissance art. Cornelison also organized and lectured on field trips to cities and towns throughout Italy. These trips included visits to ancient, medieval, Renaissance and Baroque sites.

Cornelison says the best way for students to learn about Italian Renaissance art is to experience it firsthand.

“It’s not enough to read chapters, study pictures and listen to faculty lectures. To truly understand the significance and historical value of each work, a student must see it in person and have the Italian language skills to carry out meaningful research. That’s one of the reasons I love the ���ϲ����� Florence Program so much—it provides an opportunity to students that they otherwise may not have,” added Cornelison, who has also held faculty positions at Savannah College of Art and Design and Virginia Tech.

“The College of Arts and Sciences is thrilled that Sally has decided to join our esteemed faculty,” says Karin Ruhlandt, interim dean and distinguished professor of chemistry. “The Department of Art and Music Histories is one of the oldest and most highly regarded in the country and we feel quite honored to have someone of Sally’s stature joining the team. The college is the hub of the humanities and of interdisciplinary learning and with Sally’s versatile background, I am confident she’ll do great things.”

Learning from an expert like Cornelison will certainly be a welcomed opportunity for students pursuing a degree in her field. But equally excited are her future colleagues, especially Theo Cateforis, chair of the Department of Art and Music Histories and associate professor of music history and cultures.

“We will greatly miss Gary Radke, not only for his scholarly expertise and mentoring but his collegiality,” says Cateforis. “But, we’re fortunate and delighted to have found Sally, who I have no doubt will seamlessly transition into her new role and add her own twist to the teaching and research of Renaissance art. Not only is she a renowned leader in her field, she’s a former student of ���ϲ�����. The fact that she’ll rejoin the ���ϲ����� family as a member of the faculty serves as a testament to the quality and caliber of the program Gary has nurtured for the last 35 years. I look forward to working with Sally and am eager to watch her further enhance our Renaissance art history offerings.”

Though Cornelison will not formally join the ���ϲ����� faculty until next summer, she will be on campus in October for a daylong symposium titled “New Perspectives on Renaissance Art.” She will discuss the 16th-century Italian artist and architect Giorgio Vasari, who wrote the influential “Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects.”

The Florentine skyline stretches out behind SU Florence student Ali Whitney.

will host its annual Study Abroad Day on Thursday, Feb. 27, from 3-6 p.m. in the Schine Student Center, Room 304ABC. Study Abroad Day is a chance for students in every major and at every class level to explore more than 100 study abroad options available to them through SU Abroad.

In addition to SU Abroad staff, representatives from 11 partner programs will be present to share information with SU Abroad students. SU students can meet with representatives from Bard Abroad, Tel Aviv University, the Danish Institute for Study Abroad, SEA Semester, the University of Queensland, Augsburg College, Fordham University, CET, SIT Study Abroad and the Organization of Tropical Studies.

Staff members from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs will be available to talk to students about financing and budgeting for their abroad experience, and SU Abroad’s global ambassadors will be on hand to share their personal experiences with prospective abroad students. Light refreshments with an international flavor will be served.

More information is available , and students are encouraged to tweet @SUAbroad using the hashtag #SUAbroadDay.

Gilman scholarships, which are available to United States citizens receiving federal financial aid, are awarded to students traditionally underrepresented in study abroad, including students from diverse ethnic backgrounds, those with high financial need, first-generation college students and students with disabilities.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Cultural Affairs, the Gilman scholarship program awards up to $5,000 for a semester of study. An additional $3,000 can be awarded to students studying a “critical language” abroad, such as Mandarin Chinese or Turkish (���ϲ����� has centers in Beijing and Istanbul.)

The spring 2014 ���ϲ����� awardees are:

Sarah Graham (SU Beijing), 
Raul Ramos (SU London)
, Amy Hong (SU Beijing)
, Winnie Tu (SU London), 
Camila Perez (SU Hong Kong), 
Supreet Kaur (SU Hong Kong), 
Heather Rounds (World Partner: AMIDEAST Arabic Studies Jordan), 
Yvonne Lee (SU Beijing),
 Diana Au (SU Beijing),
 Jasmine Muhammad (World Partner: FAMU Art Photography), 
Vanessa Botero (SU Madrid), 
Jason Quiles (SU Hong Kong)
 and Pasang Lhamo (SU Beijing).

The next scholarship deadline (for those students studying abroad in summer or fall 2014) is March 4, 2014. Interested students can visit for announcements and information. The deadline to apply for an SU Abroad summer 2014 program is Feb. 20, and for fall 2014/all-year 2014-15 is March 17, 2014. Students may apply for a Gilman Scholarship prior to admission into an SU Abroad program.

To start an online Gilman application, visit the .

Running in the fall semester only, “The Culture and Politics of Reconciliation” will offer students a special opportunity to work closely with faculty mentors across disciplines to study the urgent questions of conflict and conflict resolution, while living and studying in the exciting city of Wroclaw, Poland (formerly Breslau, Germany).

The rapidly transforming urban spaces in East Central Europe will serve as powerful laboratories for understanding the history, processes and struggles of reconciliation.

Based at the University of Lower Silesia, the program will commence with an intensive pre-semester traveling seminar titled “Negotiating Identities Across Europe’s Borders.” Students will travel to urban and rural spaces in Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Lithuania, where memories of conflict and reconciliation testify to the dramatic upheavals of European history.

Core courses will explore the history of East Central Europe as analyzed through the effects of totalitarianism; analyze the contemporary situation of women, LGBT people and workers in Poland through scholarship and first-hand research; and address important moral and philosophical questions. In particular, those interested in the growing field of peace studies will find that “The Culture and Politics of Reconciliation” meets their academic and activist interests well.

All students will complete an action research project related to their disciplinary interests. Students will also be able to take courses, including foreign languages, at the University of Lower Silesia, the University of Wroclaw and the University of Economics.

The selection of Wroclaw, a city destroyed and rebuilt after World War II, highlights SU Abroad’s ongoing commitment to offering education abroad opportunities that provide an in-depth and comparative approach to exploring urgent global issues.

“This new program is not just a window on the process of political and cultural reconciliation in the aftermath of Nazi fascism and Soviet oppression,” says Sue Shane, director of programs at SU Abroad. “Rather, it’s a journey back to act forward, where students engage in action research, and participate in ‘reading’ the contemporary material culture of their urban settings, recovering clues and contributing new insights through project-based work.”

At the helm of the new program in Wroclaw is director Hana Cervinkova, a professor of cultural anthropology and the founding director of the International Institute for the Study of Culture and Education, a dynamic center for practice and scholarship at the University of Lower Silesia. She has been an academic partner of ���ϲ����� Abroad for 10 years, leading innovative educational programs in Central Europe.

“Professor Cervinkova is a dynamic, committed educator, deeply knowledgeable about this region of the world and questions of reconciliation,” says Margaret Himley, associate provost for international education and engagement at SU. “She is a great partner for this new program, and a great teacher, as students who have studied with her before attest.”

The application deadline for the Fall 2014 program is March 15, 2014. Applications will be available at suabroad.syr.edu/admissions. .

Jake Reiner

The British electorate might be surprised to find out that what they are paying attention to this election season is no more than a gubernatorial race in the state of Ohio. The American flag has been reconfigured displaying only nine stars in the upper left corner. Across the pond, this is of little concern to the public here.

What is, however, is the dogfight itself. Londoners thrive on their theatrical culture and it appears they are getting quite the show starring President Obama and Gov. Romney. Never did I think U.S. politics would play such a prevalent role in the media coverage here like it has with this election.

In the days before America’s battleground states decide who the next leader will be, the British newspapers made it the front page story.

Rupert Cornwell, the U.S. correspondent for The Independent, a British newspaper, is covering his sixth presidential election. He summed up the election on Sunday with, “The longest, the largest, the most important, the gaudiest, and, it must be said, on occasion the silliest, exercise in elective democracy on the planet reaches its climax, as Americans finally make their choice between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.”

The most ruthless presidential election to date, $2.5 billion of negativity and character slashing with two individuals each trying to prove that his opponent is unfit to run the country has dictated this election season. “Neither has deigned, beyond the most vacuous generalities, to tell those whose votes they seek what they propose to do if entrusted with office,” Cornwell said, speaking of the candidates.

It’s that type of objectiveness that American media desperately needs to adopt in order to be deemed credible. With the exception of the national newspapers like The New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. media is undoubtedly biased. Especially the broadcast television stations like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC—which are more focused on choosing a side and pleasing a specific audience than forcing the voters to make their own decisions.

I am more likely to trust a British reporter covering American politics than I am listening to a yelling Chris Mathews or just watching anything on Fox News. It’s the simple understanding that the British media is the outsider in this situation so you have to ask: why would they try to persuade me in any direction? The fact is the British electorate has a passing, but informed interest in who becomes the next commander-in-chief. The British media has the job of informing, nothing else. Think about it: does the next U.S. president have that much impact on the people of Great Britain?

Which brings me to my next point: why are people over here so interested in a race confined to the fight over a few battleground states in a different country? Archie Bland, deputy editor of The Independent, wrote an op-ed piece entitled, “Is it sad that I find the U.S. elections so enthralling?”

“I love American politics. And I’m a complete idiot for being so obsessed,” wrote Bland.

He tried to explain why following an election out of his control would draw him in so closely. “A nice, simple two-candidate face-off, presentable to many British addicts in straightforward enough terms of good guy vs. bad guy; a language we speak: a habit of mind engendered by American dominance in every sphere of cultural life,” Bland argued.

What I took it to mean is that if there is enough hype in the states about a certain story, it will reach the rest of the world in no time. This election is reality television at its finest, becoming less and less about the issues and more about the theatricality of a “mano a mano” all-out fight to the finish. The candidates’ policies hold little, if any, weight here in Britain. But there must have been a reason that the big networks (BBC, Sky News, ITV) carried all three presidential debates beginning promptly at 2 a.m. U.K. time. People here obviously care and it has a lot to do with the heavy cultural influence America has on the U.K., as Bland was pointing out.

The British media has helped shape and understand my own opinions about this election. I now feel more informed and well-rounded in understanding U.S. politics because they have simplified it so well for me. I now know that the choice is between “a safe pair of hands” in Obama or a change of uncertainty in Romney. Is it safer to go with the devil we know or a transformer that changes his views at the drop of a hat to please the public?

The Economist, a British weekly newsmagazine and newspaper, put it to me straight: “Mr. Romney has an economic plan that works only if you don’t believe most of what he says. That is not a convincing pitch for a chief executive. For all his shortcomings, Mr. Obama has dragged America’s economy back from the brink of disaster and made a decent fist of foreign policy. So this newspaper would stick with the devil it knows, and re-elect him.”

Reiner is a broadcast and digital journalism student in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He is also an anchor with CitrusTV News/SA Today and a reporter with NCC News Online.

Stephen Keil

Although this is my first election that I am eligible to vote in, I am not stateside, but in Istanbul with the SU Abroad program. My experience leading up to election night has been different and, as an international relations major, I have been taking advantage of it as much as possible. This is a great time for me to be in Turkey as a growing regional power with a civil war at its southeastern border.

Throughout my first two months, many people that I have met have asked me what I think of Obama. These conversations became invaluable to find out what foreigners think of Obama as well. I found that many foreigners do know about the elections and take genuine interest in them.

What I found even more consistent was that just about every person I spoke with, whether they were a Turk, Kurd, Libyan, or Brit, etc., favored Obama. I received the general sense that they feel he is better for promoting peace and is an honest man. They like that he creates a more modest, diplomatic America rather than one that is militaristic and overbearing.

I have been able to look into Turkish politics and compare them to our politics back home. Turkish politics are more power politics with a multi-party system. It is by no means a full democracy yet, as Prime Minister Erdogan and AKP (the ruling political party) attempt to hold power. Kurdish party BDP supporters have been increasingly active during my time here, with a protest just this past weekend that resulted in tear gas and water cannons by police to break up around 400 protesters. They were incited after 700 imprisoned Kurdish militants took up a hunger strike in September for the release of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and other Kurdish rights.

The Turkish government has a history of using the military to enforce the country’s founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s vision of secularism. I realized that while mosques surround me, life here is secular and the military is not present at all in daily life. This history, though, can be seen in how Turks treat the police, and they are not polite toward them when they gather in crowds (soccer matches, for example).

Election issues that are important here in Turkey are the American economy and U.S. foreign policy in the Eurasia region. The U.S. economy is the largest in the world and when it struggles, the world economy struggles. The Turkish economy has been growing rapidly over the last��10 years, and it is visible with the amount of construction I pass by on a daily basis. The Turkish economy is strong, but a strong American economy would help them grow only more.

With foreign policy, Turkey is most interested in the candidates’ responses to the Syrian crisis, where Romney favors more intervention and arms deals than diplomatic pressures. Turkey has been dealing with masses of Syrian refugees and many are sent to refugee centers here in Istanbul.

The SU-Istanbul program has given us the opportunity to volunteer at the centers. There have also been anti-war protests, which I found hypocritical considering we are about 800 miles away from Syria and not being mortared. Those closer to Syria I think would differ on the protests.

My time abroad during the election has given me a great opportunity to exercise my major during a crucial time, in such a key country. I may not be stateside, but I will be waiting for the election results early Wednesday morning.

Keil is a student in The College of Arts and Sciences. While studying abroad, he writes and interns for .

Rebecca Lucas

Facebook, Twitter and e-mail mean that much of the American media makes its way overseas. While we certainly get news from other sources and undoubtedly miss developments at home, much of my information about the American election still comes from American news sources, despite being in Turkey for the semester. The biggest difference is that I miss the incessant campaign commercials—which I must say is a relief!

Just because I get my morning news from The New York Times, however, does not mean I have not been shown alternative views of the American presidential race. The diversity of opinion I encounter among my fellow students at Bahcesehir Universitesi has been more interesting, and perhaps more important, than what I read in the news.

Attending a liberal arts college in New England means that a significant proportion of the student body holds the same views that I do. Even where we disagree, we usually take two well-established sides of an argument: for example, taxation always comes back to the same discussion about economics, all of us envisioning the same chart from Econ 101 in our heads. Here, entering into discussion with Turks and other foreign students, both their assumptions and priorities are often different than my own.

For example, the Pakistani student I sit next to in my Turkish class is concerned about an issue that was barely touched on in the foreign policy debate: drones. Though it seems distant to American citizens, to him and other Pakistanis, it is very tangible, not only regarding morality or territorial sovereignty, but of lives saved and lost.

Another similar case is the Syrian crisis. While my friends have not been personally affected, its importance is clear. Today’s Zaman, one of Turkey’s two main English language newspapers, featured a headline recently that read “Ankara’s eyes fixed on US elections for the fate of Syria.”

Turkish politicians certainly care about the United States economy; that, too, has real implications here. However, they also care about policy issues that, while abstract to the average American voter, are all too immediate here. The contrast is particularly striking, given that both Romney and Obama kept steering the foreign policy debate back to domestic policies.

At home, much of the debate within the media, between the presidential candidates and between interested parties has centered around domestic policy: the budget deficit, the unemployment rate, abortion.

Spending this fall away from home has been a welcome, and perhaps necessary, reminder that American politics do not occur in a vacuum. Instead, they affect and are affected by global trends and crises, politics and people. Domestic policy is certainly an important issue in this election, but it is important to remember that it is not the only issue. The repercussions of Tuesday night will affect far more people than those casting their ballots.

Lucas is a student in the Class of 2014 at Wellesley College. She is majoring in political science and religion.

The focus of the third edition of the Florence Architecture Workshop was the historical center of San Miniato, a Medieval city set on hills in the Tuscan countryside west of Florence—a setting combining both urban and natural landscapes. The workshop was organized by Elizabeth Kamell, (SUF School of Architecture), Fabrizio Arrigoni, Antonello Boschi, Andrea Bulleri, (Università di Pisa) and Andrea Ponsi (Kent State Florence Program). Participating students were from the SUF School of Architecture (16), the Università degli Studi di Firenze (5), the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile dell’Università di Pisa (4), and the Technische Universiteit in Delft (8). This is the first phase of a two-part workshop—the second phase will take place in September. SUF Architecture is offering workshop participants studio space, a lecture hall and jury space.

Students worked together, in small, mixed-nationality groups, exchanging ideas on issues of common architectural and urban importance—in this case, the reclamation of abandoned, but historically significant, open space. Randall Korman, associate dean at SU , participated as a visiting critic. Notes Korman: “The San Miniato al Tedesco workshop is a wonderful event on several levels. Foremost is the opportunity for our students to interact with those from the universities of Florence, Pisa and Delft. Each group approaches the project with a particular set of architectural and cultural biases that require a collaborative approach to design. This effort is enhanced by the participation of faculty members from each of the institutions, who serve as roving critics. The afternoon table-top critiques are rich and varied. Also of great value is the fact that the projects are rooted in a set of ‘real-world’ issues confronting the town of San Miniato that includes among others, the need to be forward looking while also respecting the patrimony of the historic context. The challenge to the students has been to find that balance point between pure invention and responsible accommodation of functional needs. The result is an exceptional experience that will resonate with everyone for some time to come.”

The seminar began with a lecture on the town of San Miniato, followed by a site visit to the town with a welcome by the mayor. Students worked hard in the allotted time frame to develop ideas into projects, facing head-on the challenge of communicating with other students in English and Italian. “Excitement among the students could be felt from the first day of the workshop,” says Boschi, adding that he was pleasantly surprised by the amount of bilingual communication.

Students were excited about the opportunities the workshop presented. “The opportunity to design abroad within a cross-cultural setting has proved to be an invaluable experience, one that will have a profound impact on my education,” says SU student Edward Dudley.

“The different nationalities involved mean different opinions on designing, which make it more complicated—but more interesting,” says Marnix de Jong from the University of Delft.��“The pace is dynamic, and decisions need to be made very fast. We are learning a lot more than we would on any one individual project.”

For all the cultural differences in play, Lorenzo Paoli from the��University of Florence says communication flowed “through the common language of architecture.”

Students presented Powerpoints of their projects on Saturday, March 20, in the SUF Gallery, with a monetary prize awarded to the winning team.

IEW is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education. Coinciding with IEW each year is the release of the Open Doors report by the Institute of International Education (IIE), which provides annual figures and trends on international study.

According to Open Doors 2009, a record number of U.S. students chose to study abroad, with an increase of 8.5 percent to 262,416 in the 2007-08 academic year, the latest data year available.

In the Open Doors report, SU is ranked 11th among all U.S. doctorate institutions for undergraduate participation in study abroad programs. In 2007-08, 1,490 SU undergraduate students studied abroad—contributing to a 51.5 percent participation rate for SU undergraduates at some time during their college career.

“SU Abroad is known as a leader in the field of international education—a distinction that has much to do with the experience and passion of our staff,” says SU Abroad Executive Director Jon Booth.

The report also notes that the number of students going to nearly all of the top 25 destinations increased, with particularly strong rises seen in students going to less traditional destinations for study abroad. The United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France and China are the top five leading destinations for study abroad students.

Recognizing that Europe continues to be a perennial leading destination for undergraduate academic and cultural experiences, ���ϲ����� Abroad recently launched a new addition to its existing study abroad centers, SU Europe. This strategy reflects a necessary evolution within the field of international education, according to Booth. When the SU Abroad program began, American study abroad experiences were focused on gaining exposure to another culture. But in this age of greatly increased mobility, technology and intercultural exchange, a new model is required that aggressively works to facilitate even deeper participation and engagement with that culture. The SU Europe team is focused on developing partnerships with host-city universities and best-in-class American universities whose programs and locations complement SU offerings. Such partnerships will result in varying arrangements, from partial residencies within host campuses to agreements that expand class offerings by host institutions. The overall effect will be a greatly increased range of choice, coupled with a more integrated and transformative experience in which students learn and grow by adapting to and succeeding in an unfamiliar environment.

SU Abroad currently operates seven overseas centers—in Beijing, Florence, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Santiago (Chile) and Strasbourg (France). Each SU center is managed by an academic director and bicultural support staff, and has close ties with local universities, allowing students to design integrated programs appropriate to their academic and language abilities.