The Diversity Symposium: Fostering Engagement and Inclusion of International Students and Scholars broadly examined the key intersections between diversity and inclusion, and international student and scholars on U.S. campuses. This day-long interactive symposium brought together practitioners from the field to present good practices in developing interdepartmental partnerships for campus-wide integration of international students and scholars, ideas for student programming models, as well as current academic and social challenges that international students and scholars encounter in the U.S. The symposium also included suggested practices to improve international students and scholars’ success and implications for the future of the field.
Beverly Plowucha, The State University of New York
Mitch Leventhal, The State University of New York
Andrew Gordon, President, Diversity Abroad
In higher education, the term "diversity" can carry different connotations depending on the context in which it is used. This session set the groundwork for the Symposium by exploring diversity within the realm of International Student and Scholar Services. Issues of access and inclusion were addressed, with current international students and scholars sharing their experiences as we attempted to define this critical term.
Erika Rohrbach, Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY)
Lily Lopez-McGee, Diversity Abroad
Student Panelists (View Student Bios):
Mabingo Alfdaniels, Uganda
Paloma Baytelman, Chile
Andrea Castro Osorio, Mexico
Masako Hattori, Japan
Arancha San Gines, Spain
Bo (Elisa) Yuan, China
In today’s academic environment, the ability to communicate effectively with students of diverse cultures is essential. In this workshop, we explored how educators can enhance their cross-cultural competencies through a mix of lecture, case study, video vignette, and discussion. Participants were given the opportunity to: Improve their ability to understand various cultures, including communication patterns, norms, expectations, and taboos; Identify key points of cultural difference about which all administrators should be aware of when dealing with students of diverse backgrounds; Learn concepts and foundational skills to help them deal with challenging cultural situations they may encounter in the classroom; and Discuss cross-cultural competency models and the new generation of cross-cultural research.
Linda Smith, Linda A. Smith Associates, LLC
The Diversity Round Tables were an opportunity for participants to focus the discussion on common diversity topics. Facilitators led participants in sharing common concerns and best practices in dealing with these specific areas within diversity especially as it relates to the international student and scholar community. While we know there are many topics to address, we hope these areas were the beginning of our conversations on diversity.
Disabilities (Physical/Academic) and Universal Design - Download Notes
Christopher Rosa, City University of New York
Claudia Hernandez, The State University of New York
Integration on the Urban vs. Rural Campus - Download Notes
Katya Musacchio, One to World
Beverly Plowucha, The State University of New York
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender (LGBT) - Download Notes
Rosa Kelley, Baruch College (CUNY)
Lily Lopez-McGee, Diversity Abroad
Personal Health Issues - Download Resources
Anne Miller, Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY)
Susan Breton, Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY)
Erika Rohrbach, Fashion Institute of Technology (SUNY)
Race & Ethnicity- Download Notes
Guilherme Albieri, SUNY Optometry
Andrew Gordon, Diversity Abroad
Religion -Download Notes/Download Resources
Thomas Sirinides, New York University
Ruth Kamona, City University of New York
The final presentation of the day focused on how we can increase intercultural competency on our college/university campuses, and thus become proactive in creating more inclusive and interactive learning environments. The talk included suggested assessment strategies as a tool for knowing where to begin the process on your campus, how to design strategic programs that meet your goals, as well as, examples of effective programs, and the key factors that made them successful.
Helen Park Jameson, Culture Friendly Consulting, LLC
Ruth Kamona, The City University of New York
Beverly Plowucha, The State University of New York
Presenter and Facilitator detailed profiles are available on the conference website: http://diversitynetwork.org/events/suny2013