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Handing Over the Helm
Global Warming
In early 2005, Dr. Clara Yu had a vision to wander the shore, read or write poetry, perhaps pioneer a new search engine—the usual stuff of retirement. Yet once Middlebury College entered into its affiliation with the Monterey Institute, she replaced her vision with a mission and took the helm, becoming president of the 50-year-old institution. Now, three years later, Dr. Yu is preparing to return to retirement. During her tenure the Institute has made great strides, with increases in both enrollment and income, advances in faculty and staff compensation, and significantly upgraded infrastructure and facilities. “At different stages in an organization’s growth, there is an optimal style of leadership. I am, by temperament and in experience, better at start-up efforts—a sprinter rather than a marathoner. While there is still much work to be done, the Institute is now stable, strong, and poised to achieve greatness,” Yu noted. Upon her departure, Dr. Sunder Ramaswamy will assume the presidency, effective January 1, 2009. Prior to this appointment, Ramaswamy served as Middlebury College’s Frederick C. Dirks Professor of Economics, the dean for faculty development and research, and project director of the Middlebury–Monterey Integration Task Force.
A new student orientation program aims to improve cross-cultural communication
In this Issue:
King crab and chives. Apple and cheddar cheese. Paprika and sour cream. Sound like the materials of a culinary school? Nope. These are some of the imaginary ingredients employed in “omelets around the world,” one of the activities first-year students at the Monterey Institute of International Studies experienced as part of their new orientation. Because sometimes, breaking the ice means breaking a few eggs. “Students are totally stressed out when they first arrive,” explains policy student Bree Bacon, who helped implement the new community-building sessions for this fall. “We wanted to do something that would really help them feel like they were part of the community straight off the bat.” The omelet activity—along with several other creative collaborations—was stirred up by the research of Bacon and fellow policy student Wrenn Yennie. Last year, the pair surveyed nearly onefifth of the MIIS student body for a class project and discovered that clusters among similar schools, disciplines, cultures and language were stifling extracurricular social interactions. “I realized, ‘I should do something about it, not just research it,’ ” says Bacon, who with Yennie wrote a grant proposal to include more student interaction during orientation and to encourage student participation in activity planning. Working chiefly with language professor Peter Shaw and Ravi Dutta ’09 and gleaning some ideas from a UNICEF booklet of icebreakers and energizers, Bacon
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Fulbright Scholars Monterey Way 2.0
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and Yennie developed communitybuilding sessions and recruited 38 student, faculty and staff facilitators to lead the activities. So instead of just spending the first day of orientation finding their way around MIIS, some students were finding new ways to make elephants and kangaroos with their bodies for the “animal shapes” activity. Others delivered their “60-second autobiography.” Still others discovered who’d performed volunteer service, worked in government or traveled from another country during the “honoring diversity” activity. Once the groups—about 20 students each—were warmed up, they watched the spring 2008 graduation speech to inspire their own personal vision statements for MIIS; and attempted to create new MIIS logos. (Bacon reports that students are still calling each other by the team names from the logo session.) The next day, students undertook a campus treasure hunt and discussed values along with their own vision statements.
“It went beyond my expectations!” says Bacon. “We were totally psyched—it felt more cohesive around campus immediately; people were smiling and saying ‘Hey, what’s up,’ to each other.” For next year, Bacon hopes to help the entire orientation week feel even more cohesive with progressive activities—but she and others say the debut of this new orientation, imaginary eggs and all, was particularly dynamic. “It gave me a sense of the collaborative energy of the school, and I met new and great friends,” says MPA student Oluwaloni “Temie” Giwa, originally from Nigeria. Her favorite session: the logo contest. “It allowed us to showcase our vision for this new school and simultaneously summarize our experience of [MIIS] until then,” says Giwa. “We competed creatively and showcased our talent, which is what I think the school is really about.”
Nuclear Safeguards n Brett Melone Leading ALBA President Yu Honored n Enrollment Update
Extending Our Reach The Middlebury–Monterey–Madrid Connection
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his past summer, the Monterey Institute and Middlebury College collaborated to further manifest their mission of global education by providing a one-month English-immersion program, coupled with pedagogy specializing in content-based language instruction, to 100 classroom teachers from Madrid. Facilitated by the Middlebury Schools Abroad campus in Spain and taught by Monterey Institute faculty and alumni, the program was disseminated at two sites in Madrid, as well as a third at Champlain College in Vermont, and a fourth at the Monterey Institute. “The classes were very well received,” said Dr. Renee Jourdenais, interim dean of the Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics. “Students
loved the hands-on training and the technology we use in the classroom to teach content-based language instruction. Those who came to Monterey also enjoyed getting to know the American culture better and appreciated the chance to talk with other teachers about their experiences.” Responding to a Spanish government mandate that all teachers providing bilingual instruction must do so in English, classes were comprised of elementary and secondary bilingual teachers, who ranged in age and levels of teaching experience and English proficiency. “We are looking at different markets than MIIS has in the past,” said Dr. Jourdenais, “as we endeavor to provide in-service to those who are sent to us for training. We also believe in outreach, in continually looking for ways to
address the language needs of the world. We do get international requests for training, so we are constantly looking for ways to go to them and to bring them to Monterey.” Although the Monterey Institute hosts some 800 graduate students on campus, this training program demonstrates that its campus truly is the globe and Madrid, the first of many international classrooms to come. A month-long teacher training program is quick, rigorous intensive, and resoundingly effective. “We have always had an impact on language education
via our alumni population, who work with teachers of all walks of life in many countries,” said Dr. Jourdenais. “This summer, we worked with 125 teachers from other countries. To be able to influence that many people in two months is a serious impact. We train teachers in more effective language teaching, we get our name out into the world and, hopefully, we inspire some of these teachers to come pursue their master’s degree with us.”
Fulbright Scholars in Force Institute Leading School for International Scholars
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C San Francisco has six. UC Santa Cruz has eight. San Jose State has five. San Francisco State has ten. USC Graduate school has twelve. And the Monterey Institute currently has 19 Fulbright Scholars, including three visiting Scholars, among our student body. Not to mention more than 10 Scholars on our faculty. In the aftermath of World War II, Senator J. William Fulbright proposed the Fulbright Scholarship program as a much-needed vehicle for promoting “mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world.” His vision was approved by Congress and the program signed into law by President Truman in 1946.
Fulbright grants are made to U.S. citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Since the program’s inception, approximately 279,500 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—have been granted the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared issues. “At 21, we have twice as many Fulbright Scholars as UC Santa Cruz,” said Professor Peter Grothe. “UC/Berkeley leads the list with 64, but one could make an educated guess that, on a per capita basis, MIIS has the highest ratio of Fulbrighters to total students of any school in the United States. That is certainly true of the western universities.”
“International education exchange is the most significant current project designed to continue the process of humanizing mankind to the point, we would hope, that nations can learn to live in peace.” — J. William Fulbright
Congratulations to our Fulbright Scholars Sashika Abeydeera, Sri Lanka Gerardo Alejos Victoria, Mexico Hesham Alghannam, Saudi Arabia Sofya Avakimyan, Russia Nadia Hessin, Iraq Liviu Horovitz, Romania Rebeen Kareem, Iraq Nanthalath Keopaseuth, Laos Alina Kolegaeva, Russia Joyce Laker, Uganda Khalid Mafton, Afghanistan
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Faraaz Mahomed, South Africa Thulile Ndaba, South Africa Nikita Perfilyev, Russia Mohammad Sajjadur Rahman, Bangladesh Maiwand Rahyab, Afghanistan Abdul Hai Rauf, Afghanistan Carmen Villalba Ruiz, Spain Orjada Tare, Albania Ahmad Wahed, Afghanistan Amaia Zaballa Zarzosa, Spain
Fulbright Scholars
President Yu’s Tenure Celebrated Fund for Innovation Honors Her Legacy
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ore than 140 friends and colleagues gathered on October 24th to honor and celebrate retiring President Clara Yu. Held at The Clement Monterey on Cannery Row, the evening’s program included remarks entered into Congressional record by Congressman Sam Farr, a video show-casing the culture of innovation that was launched and fostered during Clara’s tenure, and the presentation of the Clara Yu Fund for Innovation, established with gifts exceeding $140,000. In announcing the gift, board member and chair of the Advancement Committee Vic Micati recounted a memorable conversation with Clara when she shared her conviction that innovation is not a luxury, but an imperative. “As we have seen, innovation has truly become the imperative, and while born of Clara’s vision, it has been embraced by and has helped to enrich the Institute as a whole,” remarked Micati. The endowed fund will provide seed funding for those programs that have the potential to transform the Institute’s curriculum or culture. The evening culminated with the announcement that, upon her retirement, the title of President Emerita will be granted to President Yu in recognition of her extraordinary contributions to the Monterey Institute. In her remarks Yu explained, “All my siblings have water in their names. My mother named them after great rivers of Asia; one of them was named ‘Ocean.’ Yet she named me ‘ripple.’ It is an effect, not a cause. At 5 foot in height, 110 pounds in weight, and wearing size 5 shoes, I have no overblown sense of my own significance. I’m meant to tread lightly on this earth, leaving only tiny footprints.” One guest noted, “Ripples move with a soft silence of humility, but they reach out with a gentle touch in all directions. They leave no trace, but lift everyone in their path. Clara is indeed a ripple.”
President Clara Yu has helped the Monterey Institute reestablish its footing both academically and financially. She has spearheaded efforts such as the strategic planning process, the Academic Excellence Initiative, and the innovations incubator, each of which has contributed significantly to the Institute’s present vitality and promising future. The Clara Yu Fund for Innovation was created to recognize the impact of Dr. Yu’s leadership. For more information about the fund, or to make a gift, please contact Beth McDermott at 831.647.3509.
Friends and colleagues fete Clara and the Institute’s success under her leadership.
Advancing International Education for Global Action
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n September, Monterey Institute President Clara Yu and President Designate Sunder Ramaswamy announced plans to further develop the Institute’s role and stature as a leader and innovator in international education. Their plan was presented in draft form to the Institute’s Board of Trustees at its June meeting and approved at their October 24th session.
“We hope to create a seamless experience for students as they navigate the broader curricular and career options available to them in a more integrated academic environment,” said President Yu. Beginning in the fall of 2009, the administration of academic programs will be organized into two schools: ◆ The School of International Policy and Management ◆ The School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education
Each school will be led by a dean who will, assisted by department chairs, oversee the faculty and curricula of the school. There will also be a newly created dean of advising position, who will oversee a suite of coordinated services to provide advising, mentoring, and career development to students in all programs. According to Yu, “We want to ensure that we are helping our students gain knowledge, skills, and jobs in an unbroken chain, and that really is our central focus.”
In a town hall meeting with Institute faculty and staff, Ramaswamy expressed his commitment to keeping the Institute academically nimble and innovative, professionally relevant, financially sustainable, and its students sought after. “This will allow us to be better as an institution and better as individuals.”
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Impact of Philanthropy Introducing the Hearst Scholars
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aty Bobseine can’t recall a time when she didn’t want to be in law enforcement. But she does remember the day after 9/11 that she decided to take it to the federal level. If only she knew where she could study terrorism, how to speak Arabic, and a way to pay for it. David Liang speaks Chinese and English but went into the high-tech industry. Until he learned American Sign Language and decided to pursue a career in translation and interpretation. If only he knew where he could study the exacting field and how to pay for it. Shane Loughnane knew he wanted a career in international business, but he also knew he wanted to start by learning how to give back before he got on the take. If only he knew where to find a program that would train him in international business while exposing him to global interests. Joshua Archer started studying economics, but the challenge escaped him, so he switched his studies to Japanese and shifted his attention to Asian Security Studies. If only he knew where he could get advanced training in international policy studies with a focus on Asian affairs.
Enter the Monterey Institute with its world-renowned international graduate programs in trade and business management, sustainability and the environment, language education and multilingual communication, peace and security, and development and social change. Advanced international training to address the issues of the
and institutions working in the fields of education, health, culture and social services. Its primary goal is to ensure that people of all backgrounds have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives. Thanks to a generous grant from The Hearst Foundations, Bobseine, Liang, Loughnane,
clockwise from upper left: Joshua Archer, Shane Loughnane, David Liang, and Katy Bobseine
21st century that caught the attention and the support of The Hearst Foundations, Inc. Established in 1945 by publisher/philanthropist William Randolph Hearst, the nonprofit organization provides philanthropic resources for organizations
and Archer are all enrolled at the Monterey Institute, pursuing master’s degrees in their respective fields as William Randolph Hearst Scholars. Selected on the basis of academic strength, experience, and financial need, each scholar was awarded a $10,000-per-year
scholarship for their two years of study at the Institute. Liang intends to work in the field of translation and interpretation for a few years before returning to the Monterey Institute to pursue his PhD, a program slated for service by 2010. Archer would like to work for the State Department in a research position on Japanese-American culture. “This scholarship made it possible for me to come to MIIS,” said Bobseine, a recipient of the Katherine Wasserman Davis Fellowship for Peace, who participated in the Arabic Summer Intensive at Middlebury College. “It has enabled me to better myself, to learn more about global problems, and to understand how to make a difference. Once I graduate, I would like to begin with a nongovernment agency for experience and then, maybe get involved in the FBI.” Loughnane, who would like to work for a nonprofit or government organization wherever he is most needed, said, “The Hearst scholarship enables us to better ourselves but, more importantly, it enables us to learn how to better others.” Not pictured is Nicole Ketcham, who was recently selected as the fifth Hearst Scholar.
In Honor of Beverly Hamilton
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he impact of Beverly Hamilton’s sizable contributions to scholarships at the Monterey Institute is augmented by her keen understanding of the Institute, its students, and the most effective application of her generosity. A seasoned world traveler and international businesswoman, Hamilton remains current and articulate on world affairs and their effects on her scholarship recipients. She understands what it takes to achieve a master’s degree from the Institute and what such training can mean to the countries in need of the resulting leadership and professional skills.
Beverly Hamilton
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“My life-long interests in education and international affairs,” she said, “come together at MIIS. With 60 languages spoken on campus, the Institute’s mission of preparing graduate students for professional careers in international business, languages, and public policy at governments and non-governmental organizations is critical in today’s world. I’ve enjoyed serving as a trustee since 2000 and am very enthusiastic about the affiliation with Middlebury. Education made possible through financial assistance changed my life, so my gifts to MIIS primarily provide scholarships for both American and foreign students.”
With gratitude and respect, the Institute celebrates Beverly Hamilton, who has been appropriately honored as Central Coast Philanthropist of the Year 2008.
Student Profile: Seda Savas
S Seda Savas
eda Savas was working in grant-writing and development for a theater company in Washington, D.C. when she realized that it didn’t matter how liberal her undergraduate studies; if she wanted to advance her work, she needed to acquire good management skills. And, if she wanted to master those skills, she needed to pursue an MBA. A native of Turkey, who grew up in Istanbul and studied theater at Middlebury College because she accurately believed it would provide an expansive liberal arts education, Savas was aware of the Monterey Institute and its affiliation with Middlebury. She also understood the graduate school’s “international aspect, commitment to corporate responsibility, and sense of social entrepreneurship,” so she applied to the Institute to pursue a dual degree in business and international policy studies.
“The interdisciplinary opportunities at MIIS are really great,” Savas said. “In other places I interviewed, I found it almost impossible to take courses in other programs. Now that I’m here at MIIS, I’ve found it’s not difficult to explore other areas of study. I fact, if we are in one school, we are encouraged to broaden our experience and take classes in other schools.” Now in her second year on campus, having completed her MBA program and focused on policy studies, Savas has become further involved in the MIIS community by taking the helm as Student Council President. “I see the student council as a great way to get involved,” she said. “This is a small school, where students can find the voice to be heard and the power to make things happen. As a student body, we are all focusing on community building, which is important on a campus that hosts students from all over the world.”
Student Profile: Jonathan Axtell Pedal Power and Social Enterprise
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key characteristic in overcoming poverty is agility—the ability to think quickly and move even faster, like a bicycle darting in and out of traffic among throngs of people in the streets of China. Jonathan Axtell, MBA ’08, saw it in Taiwan while teaching English during a high school summer program; witnessed it in Taipei during a college internship. It was there that he first recognized in bicycle transport, not only agility, but the leverage that two wheels could provide to those endeavoring to do business in a rural environment. Axtell put these ideas to work by overseeing operations for Acirfa, a nonprofit organization on track to deliver more than 3,000 bicycles to Zambia this year. Based in San Diego, managed in Monterey, and implemented in Africa, Acirfa, which is Africa spelled backwards, endeavors to “turn Africa around, one bike at a time.” “I realized that a bike is not just a bike,” said Axtell. “It’s something much bigger than that. It’s not so much that we’re giving them power but that we’re releasing it. They have talent, and we’re helping people put some structure to that.” Born and raised in Pasadena, California, Axtell never imagined himself helping to provide bicycles to struggling business people in Zambia, an impoverished, landlocked country in southern Africa. “If we’re willing to go there,” said Axtell, “life takes us on some interesting roads.” Axtell’s path now includes the pursuit of an MBA based on social enterprise, entrepreneurship, and sustainability at the Monterey Institute. Before entering the program, he sharpened his Chinese as a Kathryn Davis Fellow at Middlebury’s summer Language School. “Not only is Middlebury’s summer Chinese program the best you can take in the country,” he said, “but the experience absolutely confirmed
Jonathan Axtell and friends in Zambia
that I would go on to MIIS. I had looked at a number of graduate programs with a Chinese component or business or social entrepreneurship. No one but MIIS offered a program combining international policy studies and an MBA, where one program interacted with another. The fields intersect in the real world, so why not in our education?” “As I found out more about the Institute, I learned about the amazing opportunity to work with so many cross-functional colleagues. I never imagined myself becoming friends with people from all over the world who are not just thinking about themselves but how to make the world a better place.”
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Donor Profile Buzz Schulte Brings Corporate Perspective and Historical Lens
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n 1990, a pivotal event sparked Buzz Schulte’s passion for international education. That year, Korn/Ferry International, where he was in senior management, published a large study of international executives. The report warned that American executives were ill-prepared for post-Cold War challenges that would favor businesses with an international orientation. Schulte saw that future leaders must have the ability to understand, operate, and live in a multi-cultural world; hence the necessity for language and cultural education. “If you have ever been in an important meeting where several languages are being spoken,” he said, “the importance is clear, especially in the informal, but crucial, chatter that goes on behind the scenes.” Since then, he has campaigned for international training. Bernard “Buzz” Schulte is comfortable multi-tasking at the pace of big cities, but he exudes a relaxed warmth that is more suggestive of his childhood “on the ranch.” Raised in the San Francisco Bay area and Carmel Valley, he earned a degree in rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard; then turned them into a successful career in executive search and leadership development. His association with the Monterey Institute began in 1980 when Korn/Ferry managed the Institute’s presidential search. He became friends with the new president, William G. Craig. Schulte kept in touch as a donor and advisor. When Craig retired in 1987, Korn/Ferry led the Institute to Robert Gard, who developed the campus and its enrollment, and established the Center for Nonproliferation Studies. In 1990, Schulte joined a newly restructured Board of Directors, and has been actively involved ever since.
Generous donors for general operations and priority needs, he and his wife Lani agree that the work of the Institute is “so important that we have given time and financial support without hesitation.” Most recently, they established a scholarship through the Schulte Family Trust. For their exemplary record of commitment, the Schultes will be honored by the Institute at this year’s National Philanthropy Day in November.
Buzz and Lani Schulte
How do you want to make a difference?
Do you want to make the Monterey Institute accessible to students from around the world through financial aid? Ensure that our faculty prepare students to be the best practitioners in their fields? Gifts to the Monterey Institute do all this and even more. Now, what if you could double your impact? This year, gifts to the Institute will be matched dollar for dollar as part of a $3 million challenge to support academic excellence. Every gift, like every Institute student, makes a difference. TO PARTICIPATE http://www.miis.edu/give-home.html 831.647.3595
JMCNS Takes Nonproliferation Training Course to Baku
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MCNS Executive Officer and Senior Project Manager Kenley Butler participated in a four-day training session in Baku last spring on International Terrorism: Threats and Responses and Arms Control and Nonproliferation at the Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Butler, who joined the JMCNS staff in July 2000 after spending two years as an International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Commercial Service, and two terrorism experts from the George Marshall Center, delivered lectures to and facilitated discussion among participants, including Azerbaijani government officials from the MFA, Ministry of Defense, Customs, and Border Guards.
“The first part of the course,” said Butler, “used case studies to examine arms proliferation and control, focusing on motivations for states to obtain weapons, why other states have sought to regulate them, and how proliferation affects international security. Participants examined the nonproliferation regime in detail, concentrating on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the conventions banning chemical and biological weapons, supplier regimes and export controls, and verification and compliance issues.” With help from the MIIS Teaching and Learning Collaborative, Butler created a website (http://nonproliferation. wordpress.com) for the training
Summer Safeguards Monterey Course on Nuclear Safeguards
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he James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (JMCNS), in cooperation with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), conducted a pilot course in June on international nuclear safeguards policy and information analysis. The two-week course was designed and taught by senior JMCNS and Monterey Institute faculty and led by Dr. Lawrence Scheinman, JMCNS Distinguished Scholar in Residence, and Dr. Fred Wehling, GSIPS. An integral component of the course was presentations by technical experts from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and other leading nonproliferation specialists. Their first-hand experience in the field and technical expertise reportedly were appreciated by course participants. Lectures, briefings, and in-class exercises addressed the following issues: concepts, objectives, principles and history of nuclear safeguards; technology and techniques used to implement them; information analysis and evaluation; and limitations and future development of safeguards. Sixteen course participants, selected on a highly competitive basis, included 13 MIIS students and recent graduates, one student from the University of California, Los Angeles, one postdoctoral fellow from Stanford University, and a junior officer from the International Atomic Energy Agency (a former summer intern at CNS!). Students represented the following countries: Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Republic of Korea, Peru, Romania, Russian Federation, Spain, and the United States. Four course participants— Fernando Gouveia, David Peranteau, Jacob Quamme, and William Moore—continued in-depth studies and research projects during internships at LLNL throughout June–August. The pilot course in Monterey and paid summer internships at Livermore are implemented with support from U.S. Department of Energy’s Next Generation Safeguards Initiative. The Initiative, among other goals, seeks to develop viable international safeguards career paths and solid curricula for a wide range of professionals, who will be performing safeguards-related responsibilities in the U.S. nuclear industry, the federal government, as well as at the International Atomic Energy Agency and other international organizations.
session that enabled participants to access embedded video and audio files, and interactive online content prior to and after the sessions. Participants were particularly interested in WMD production and effects, and engaged each other in a lively debate regarding U.S. use of nuclear weapons during WWII; implications of possible U.S. or Israeli airstrikes to counter Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program; the safety of the aging Metsamor nuclear power reactor in neighboring Armenia; and the nature of agreements that allow the United States to place nuclear weapons in Europe and Turkey. The Azerbaijani Diplomatic Academy’s Advanced Foreign Service Program runs back-to-back
training sessions for Azerbaijani government officials on topics ranging from migration to Islam to terrorism.
Welcome Dr. Patricia Lewis The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (JMCNS) welcomes Dr. Patricia Lewis as Deputy Director and Scientist-inResidence. Prior to this appointment, she served as director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). From 1989 to 1997, she was the director of the Verification Technology and Information Centre (VERTIC) in London. She holds her BS degree in physics from the University of Manchester and her PhD in nuclear physics from the University of Birmingham. Before her work at UNIDIR in Geneva, she worked in Australia, India, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. She is a dual national of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. “Having worked closely with Dr. Lewis for more than a decade,” said JMCNS Director Dr. William Potter; “I was thrilled when she accepted our offer to join us as Deputy Director and Scientist-inResidence. As a renowned nuclear physicist, I am sure she will help the Center acquire a reputation for scientific excellence to match its record in the nonproliferation policy field.”
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Alumni Profile: Brett Melone Primed and Ready to Make a Difference
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hen Brett Melone ponders what brought him to ALBA (Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association), he realizes it has always been in him. Born in New Jersey and raised in both South Florida and the Santa Cruz mountains, the executive director of the nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing economic viability, social equity, and ecological land management among limited-resource and aspiring farmers, was primed. “I grew up attracted to other cultures,” he said. “In South Florida, I was exposed to a lot of Cubans and Haitians—large-migration people— so the concept of international relations and how I had experienced it in my personal life influenced me.” Moreover, Melone’s father, who worked for a family that grew avocados and mangos, became ill from the pesticides sprayed throughout the groves where they lived. “I was impacted, at a very young age,” he said, “by my father’s working conditions. Once I read, ‘Diet for a New America,’ by John Robbins, heir to the Baskin Robbins fortune, it helped me better understand the industrial food production in our country, in an academic way. This is really where the agricultural and environmental aspects of international relations started to weave together for me.” Melone graduated from the University of San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and a double minor in Business and Spanish. After working in international trade and commerce for a shipping company, a position that exposed him to many different places and cultures, he realized he wanted to do something with his professional life that fulfilled his personal values with regard to the environment and helping others. “I became attracted to the Monterey Institute,” he said, “when I realized I could combine environmental studies with policy work and language, and apply that to different cultures. I had studied Spanish since I was 7 years old, but I never felt completely bilingual. The possibilities of how I could translate this into my profession really attracted me.”
Brett Melone
During his tenure at the Monterey Institute, Melone completed a fellowship in Washington, D.C. before completing his graduate requirements and commencing with a Master’s in International Policy Studies in ’99. From there, he moved to Chile, where he became executive director for an organization dedicated to promoting citizen participation and leadership development in limited-resource communities. In 2002, he returned to Monterey to take the helm at ALBA. “My experience at MIIS was the bringing together of academic stimulations and discipline with the practical application of tools and information. We were exposed to all these problems and potential solutions and then plugged in as a participant. The coursework, volunteer programs, and work experience enabled me to generate ideas and work with people to carry them out. It was energizing and made me realize what was possible. I got to MIIS with some general ideas about what I wanted to pursue, but by being there, I was exposed to different people and different ideas, which gave me a chance to work on those ideas in the real world.”
New Courses Pilot Monterey Way 2.0
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his fall, students have the opportunity to take five new courses, designed to bring students from several programs together, and to exemplify the principles of immersive learning and high-performance thinking that define the Monterey Way 2.0. The courses include: Michel Gueldry’s French for International Professions and Organizations, which emphasizes co-creation of knowledge. The first three weeks will focus on developing inter-cultural competence, but the remainder of the class will be negotiated with the students based on their background, specializations, and interests. The China Factor, team-taught by Yuwei Shi, Wei-Liang and J.D. Yuan, approaches the phenomenon of China today from the perspec-
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tives of government, economy and business, and engages students in developing their own scenarios for China in 2030. David Colclasure’s course, Ethics in the Era of Globalization, investigates the social mores and moral value systems in a variety of cultures and applies skills involved in ethical discourse and decision-making in a professional context. Fundamental Concepts and Terminology for Economics, taught by Tanya Pound, is designed to help students learn about various aspects of the economy, including macroeconomics, securities, finance, and accounting, by developing presentations on selected topics for presentation to the class. During the second half of the semester, some of the presentations
will be given in languages other than English, and be interpreted by second year students. International Business Project Management, taught by William Brooks, satisfies program requirements for both the MA in translation/localization management and MBA curricula. It emphasizes the practical management of multidisciplinary project teams throughout the project life cycle. Finally, several of these faculty members are participating in an ongoing Faculty Learning Community, facilitated by Bob Cole and Jean Turner, to support each other in exploring applications of Monterey Way 2.0 pedagogy, and considering new approaches to assessing learning outcomes within this pedagogical framework.
Technology Helps Boost Institute Enrollment High technology, higher education, and highest regard have resulted in a record number of students enrolled for the fall semester at the Monterey Institute. In September, the 53-year-old graduate institution welcomed 430 incoming students, bringing the student body to 860, the largest enrollment ever. “Our affiliation with Middlebury is broadening our name recognition,” said Director of Admissions Jill Stoffers. “We are only just beginning to scratch the surface of our collective power. In addition, we are using technology more extensively to reach new constituencies of potential students.” To that end, the Institute is investing in several social networking technologies, including Facebook, through which prospective students can interact with current students and learn what alumni are doing with their post-graduate careers. On the Institute’s Facebook page, prospective and current students can become a “fan” of the school. There, prospective and current students, as well as alumni, discuss academic programs, activities, and events, and postgraduate opportunities. The Institute currently has 1,180 fans, a number that grows daily. “To generate a sense of community even before new students arrive on campus,” said Enrollment Manager Devin Lueddeke, “we also set up a closed group on Facebook, inviting only those already admitted for this fall semester to interact with our campus community.” This creates a direct line between incoming students, some 290 of whom interacted with one another through the network before arriving on campus this fall. In addition to Facebook, the Institute has established a presence on YouTube, posting videos on a Monterey Institute-specific channel that provide information on topics such as internships, a day in the life of interpreters, and international programs. Said Lueddeke, “There is a lot of content there to familiarize oneself with the Institute.” Finally, in partnership with the Naval Postgraduate School, the Institute is using Elluminate, an online classroom platform for distance learning. The Institute, however, employs it as a recruiting tool to provide interactive informational sessions with prospective students. Whether the Institute is offering visa workshops to international students or walking students through the financial aid process, participants are able to converse in real time from anywhere in the world.
The Communiqué is published for alumni and friends of the Monterey Institute of International Studies by the Office of Communications. Editors Beth McDermott and Shirley Coly Contributing writers Lisa Crawford Watson, Beth McDermott, Erin Morita, Sarah Tuff Creative concept & layout Tessa Avila Photography Randy Tunnell For more information about our students, programs, and faculty, please visit our website at www.miis.edu. Please contact us at 831.647.3545 or beth.mcdermott@miis.edu with comments or questions related to this publication.
900 850
MIIS Fall Enrollment (number of students) 2004–2008
800 750 700 0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Global Dialogue Expanding our Reach with Social Networking Sites The Monterey Institute is expanding its presence on social networking communities to engage potential students, promote our programs and events, and stay connected to our global network of alumni and friends. Join us online: Brazil and India www.orkut.com China blog.sina.com.cn Germany www.studivz.net Japan www.mixi.jp miis-japanese.blog.so-net.ne.jp/ Russia www.vkontakte.ru United States www.facebook.com www.linkedin.com www.youtube.com/user/ Monterey Institute
Please note that these sites may require user registration.
Fall 2008
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Integration Date Set for 2010
Middlebury President Ron Liebowitz, in a September message to the Middlebury campus community, outlined progress made on the relationship between the College and the Monterey Institute: “It is very clear there is much more that our two institutions, which share a common vision for international education, can accomplish by working together and taking advantage of each other’s academic and alumni networks and resources across the globe.” He added that he has moved to more fully integrate MIIS with Middlebury and its other graduate and special programs. “I have sought and received permission from our Board of Trustees to set a goal of June 30, 2010, as the date by which the Monterey Institute will become legally integrated with the College.” Liebowitz cited the 25 Monterey Institute students who, through the Kathryn Davis Fellowships for Peace, studied at Middlebury’s Language Schools and the 10 Middlebury alumni who began degree programs at the Institute this academic year as evidence of the synergies between the two institutions. Liebowitz went on to explain that while some aspects of the current relationship will change after June 30, 2010, others will not. He wrote, “The Institute will retain autonomy in the academic realm, while a number
of administrative functions will be integrated with the College’s to ensure smoother operations and efficiencies and to allow both institutions to take advantage of numerous opportunities for collaboration.” “I would like to thank all those at Monterey and Middlebury for their hard work in what has been a pioneering effort at both institutions.”
Ed Laurance and Ron Liebowitz This paper contains recycled content and is recyclable
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