Communique Spring Summer 2010 by Monterey Institute of International Studies

Communiqué

Spring/Summer 2010

The Road Ahead

n July 1, the Monterey Institute of International Studies will formally merge with Middlebury College, becoming part of the Middlebury Model—a group of distinct and distinctive programs that includes a top-ranked undergraduate liberal arts college, summer language schools, a professional graduate school, and schools abroad in 13 countries around the world. Together these programs span the entire world, where Middlebury and Monterey alumni are shaping the future on every continent. As the Institute prepares to greet this significant moment, its leaders are at the same time looking beyond it, toward the horizon, and the road ahead. “As we consider the Institute’s future, we are focused on three key questions,” notes President Sunder Ramaswamy. “First, what does it mean to be a graduate of MIIS? Second, what are the world’s critical needs, and how can we best position the Institute to meet them? And third, what will differentiate the Institute’s approach to learning and teaching?” The answers are complex. First, graduates of MIIS are highly skilled international professionals with a strong sense of ethics regarding their communities, other nations and peoples, and our entire planet. Second, the Institute will meet the world’s most critical needs through a focus on five interrelated areas of study:

• • • • •

language education and multilingual communication peace and security sustainability and the environment trade and business management, and development and social change.

And third, the Institute will employ a signature methodology that combines immersive learning with adaptable problem-solving strategies and an open learning architecture. To put it more simply, we will focus on our strengths and adapt to the world’s needs as they evolve. Several examples of these principles in action have emerged in the wake of the 2009 reorganization that consolidated the Institute’s offerings into two graduate schools—the Graduate School of International Policy and Management (GSIPM) and the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education President Sunder Ramaswamy (GSTILE)—and combined the

In this Issue:

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traditionally separate functions of academic and career advising into the new Center for Advising and Career Services. Last fall the Institute announced a new degree program, the first-of-its-kind Master of Arts in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies degree, which is already generating strong interest from prospective students. In addition, the NPTS degree is one of four tracks for which integrated advanced-entry master’s degree programs have been developed with Middlebury—the others being International Policy Studies, International Environmental Policy, and Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Work is also underway toward offering a one-year TESOL degree option, something a number of prospective students have encouraged MIIS to create. “We see these initiatives as part of the natural process of expanding and enhancing programs with a proven value and appeal,” adds President Ramaswamy. “Two of the Institute’s greatest assets over the last 55 years have been its continual drive for relevance, and its ability to adapt to a global environment in which the only constant is change. The key is to keep the Institute academically excellent, financially sound, innovative and nimble, and last but not least, professionally relevant.” This focus on innovation and relevance is evident in another recent initiative. Earlier this spring, Provost Amy Sands assembled a Language Studies Task Force made up of the two school deans, several faculty members, and a student representative to review the Institute’s language requirement. The review’s goal is to strengthen the Institute’s commitment to linguistic and cultural competence by making the language requirements for GSIPM students more flexible, more relevant, and better integrated with other elements of the curriculum. Following a semester of exploration, a subset of the task force is currently preparing a comprehensive report.

Media Spotlight on CNS n Career Fair Success n Class of 2010 Challenge TEDx Monterey n Spring Commencement n MBA in Top 15 Again

continued on page 2

Media Spotlight on CNS Nuclear Summit, Treaty Conference Draw Attention The Communiqué is published for alumni and friends of the Monterey Institute of International Studies by the Office of Communications. For more information about our students, programs, and faculty, please visit our website at www.miis.edu. Contact us at 831.647.3516 or jason.warburg@miis.edu with comments or questions related to this publication. Editor Jason Warburg Co-Editors Shirley Coly, Beth McDermott Contributing Writers Shirley Coly, Anna Dudney, Leah Gowron, Peter Grothe, Eva Gudbergsdottir, Rob Horgan, Amy McGill, Erin Morita, Jason Warburg Creative Concept / Layout Tessa Avila Photography Eduardo Fujii, Ryan Gonzalez, Peter Grothe, Lucyna Jodlowska, Jenny Manseau, David Royal, Randy Tunnell

s the world’s largest research center devoted to combating the spread of weapons of mass destruction, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) has often been a go-to source when the news media seeks expert commentary on subjects such as nuclear terrorism, export controls, and the international Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. This spring, CNS experienced a flurry of media attention rivaling any period in its 20-year history. In February, Professor Jing-Dong Yuan, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at CNS, was quoted by Agence-France Presse in an article about the effects of the pending U.S. arms sale to Taiwan on efforts to discourage China from supplying Iran with nuclear technology. Soon afterwards, Research Associate Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova published an article on Russia and Iran on the Voice of America Web site. Toward the end of the month, an Associated Press reporter investigating the sale of sensitive nuclear technology to Iran quoted CNS experts Ferenc DalnokiVeress and Stephanie Lieggi in a story that was picked up globally by (among others) the Boston Globe, Business Week, CBS News, the International News of Pakistan, the San Francisco Chronicle, TIME magazine, the UK Guardian, the Washington Post, and Yahoo News India. A March 14 Washington Post story on Iran’s attempts to acquire nuclear weapons technology quoted CNS Deputy Director Leonard S. Spector, while a March 22 article in TIME magazine assessing the status of the U.S.– Russian START nuclear arms talks quoted CNS Founding Director William Potter at length on prospects for a new agreement. Within a few days, an agreement was announced and the New York Times turned to former Russian arms control negotiator and current CNS Research

Associate Nikolai Sokov to put the treaty into perspective for its readers. Dr. Potter was subsequently interviewed by ABC News Radio and Voice of America regarding the treaty. In April, the Obama Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review announcement and Nuclear Security Summit fueled a series of stories featuring commentary from CNS staff. On April 7, Nonproliferation Review Editor Stephen I. Schwartz was quoted by TIME, while Senior Research Associate Miles Pomper was quoted on the Newsweek blog The Gaggle. Over the course of the next 10 days, CNS Deputy Director Patricia Lewis was quoted by the Huffington Post, Professor Yuan was quoted by Reuters, the Dallas Morning News quoted Spector, both the Washington Post and the Asia Times quoted Pomper, and Potter was quoted by both TIME and Politico.com, and published an essay in leading journal Foreign Policy regarding the need for a global commitment to nonproliferation education. Then on May 3, the opening of the Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference prompted both National Public Radio (NPR) and PBS to seek out Spector for interviews. A segment on NPR’s Morning Edition featured Spector commenting on the opening of NPT Review Conference, while the PBS Newshour segment featured Spector’s commentary on the opening session’s fiery speech by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As leading authorities on a number of the defining issues of our time, the men and women of CNS will doubtless continue to be sought after by the media.

The Road Ahead (continued from page 1)

This paper contains recycled content and is recyclable

Communiqué

“Prospective graduate students today are seeking opportunities that will allow them both to learn across disciplines, and to customize their academic program to reflect their individual interests,” noted Ramaswamy. “The task force’s work promises to develop a strategy that will allow MIIS to fulfill both of those aims going forward.”

In the end, though, it’s not a single initiative, but a continuum of innovation over time that will shape the road ahead for the Monterey Institute of International Studies. “The Institute has a rich history as a leader in the field of international professional education for over half a century,” concludes Ramaswamy. “The merger with Middlebury and the new initiatives and possibilities we are exploring make it feel in many ways that our story has just begun.”

All-Institute Career Fair a Success

undits looking for evidence that the economy is beginning to reawaken would have done well to stroll into the Monterey Conference Center on February 26, when a career fair for Monterey Institute students attracted more than 90 employers. Ranging from local nonprofits to global corporations, participating employers included government agencies such as the U.S. Department of State and the Central Intelligence Agency, private sector leaders such as Apple and Facebook, and NGOs such as Catholic Relief Services and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. “We were extremely pleased with this year’s fair,” commented Institute President Sunder Ramaswamy. “The strong turnout from employers speaks to the value they place

on the kind of cross-cultural, cross-sectoral professional skills that Institute graduates acquire.” Students introduced themselves to employers at booths throughout the conference center’s expansive Serra Room, learning about job opportunities, dropping off resumes, and setting interview times. Workshop panels during the day featured Institute alumni talking about their professional experiences and offering tips on launching a career, networking, and advanced career strategies. The daylong fair finished with a networking reception for students and employers. The fair was organized by the Institute’s new Center for Advising and Career Services. The Center, launched last spring, combines the traditionally separate functions of

academic and career advising into a comprehensive campus resource intended to ensure students receive a constant flow of support, advice, and training from the day they register to the day they graduate.

Alumna Active in Haitian Relief Efforts

onterey Institute alumni face his family after his home had been destroyed and unique challenges while serving he didn’t know if he had any living relatives.” in interesting positions all around Lineberger says that she was first inspired the world, but few are confronted to go into international development work by with the array faced by post-disaster relief workProfessor Beryl Levinger’s Development Project ers such as Mary Lineberger (MBA ’03), who Management Institute certificate program. After is in earthquake-devastated Haiti working for leaving MIIS, Mary moved to Amman, Jordan Catholic Relief Services. Mary is program manwhere she was a technical advisor to a women’s ager for Protection of Orphans and Vulnerable professional business association. Children, of whom there are thousands. After the earthquake struck in January, she shifted to emergency programming for distributing goods and services in a camp where 45,000 displaced people were living. Today her main task is reuniting children with their families. Mary wrote in an email to a friend that many of the children had been separated from their families and were “living on the streets, alone in camps and abandoned in hospitals.” Her most rewarding experience was “seeing an Mary Lineberger with Haitian orphans 11-year old boy reunited with

Follies Raise $4,000 for Haitian Relief For 40 years, the MIIS Follies have amused students, faculty, and staff while offering a platform for members of the campus community to share their talents with the world. This year, however, the event took on an added layer of meaning as participants strove both to entertain and to “be the solution.” This year’s Follies also served as a fundraiser, generating $4,000 for Catholic Relief Services efforts in Haiti. For Sophie Dessources (MPA ’11), co-producer of the show and a native of Haiti, the event was particularly meaningful. A large part of Sophie’s family still lives in Haiti and she says it was very difficult to watch the humanitarian crisis unfold there after the devastating earthquake in January. But Sophie is also an optimist: “If there is one thing I have learned at MIIS, it is that when competent, innovative people work together to find solutions, good things happen.” Fellow student and co-producer Christine Carlson (MPA ’11) adds that making the event a fundraiser for Haiti inspired students to “bring their ‘A’ game.”

Gregory Freeman Sophie Dessources Christine Carlson

Spring/Summer 2010

Nonproliferation Education on the World Stage

he connection between Monterey Institute classrooms and high-level nuclear diplomacy was underscored in remarkable ways during the month of April, as two international leaders gave clear indications of the value they place on the nonproliferation education work being done by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). Reflecting his belief in the vital role education plays in his agency’s work, newly elected Director-General Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) traveled directly from the historic Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. to a Monterey Institute classroom. Before taking over the reins at the IAEA, Ambassador Amano served with CNS Director William Potter on the UN Experts Group on Disarmament and as diplomat-in-resident at CNS. Shortly after attending the April summit, he visited Monterey and spoke to students of Professor Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova’s class on nuclear trends and trigger events. Less than a month later, CNS Director Dr. William Potter could be found at United Nations Headquarters in New York City discussing disarmament and nonproliferation education with UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon. During the meeting, Dr. Potter described the Institute’s new, first-of-its-kind master’s degree in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies. CNS Deputy Director Patricia Lewis also attended the meeting, as did Sergio Duarte, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. During the meeting, Dr. Potter extended an invitation to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to visit the Monterey Institute in the future.

William Potter and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon

Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano, and William Potter

Professor Kardam Receives Excellence in Teaching Award GSIPM Professor Nüket Kardam is this year’s recipient of the Leslie Eliason Excellence in Teaching Award. This annual award is dedicated to the memory of Professor Leslie Eliason, reflecting her commitment to quality teaching and to her students, and is generously sponsored by Professor Eliason’s good friends Karen and Christopher Payne. Professor Kardam’s approach to teaching reflects the qualities that Professor Eliason valued the most—hard work, a passionate commitment to students, sound academic programming, and positive,

Communiqué

collegial interactions and collaborations with her students and peers. Professor Kardam has worked hard to engage students in meaningful learning experiences and activities and to establish an interactive, dynamic learning environment for MIIS students. In particular, she has pursued a cross-cultural and humanistic approach to her teaching and mentoring, and has worked with countless students to support their success in both academic and career objectives. Nüket has had a very busy spring as she participated in the Salzburg

Global Seminar “What Turkey? What Europe?” in the beginning of May, and ended the month speaking at the International Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Summit in Istanbul. As a result of winning the 5th annual Leslie Eliason Excellence in Teaching Award, Professor Kardam received $10,000 for professional development. She will use the funds to support her research project “From Ottoman Cosmopolitanism to Turkey’s Multiculturalism: Through the Eyes of a Family.”

Nüket Kardam

Trustee Jed Smith Challenges the Class of 2010

his spring, MIIS and Middlebury Trustee Jed A. Smith generously committed to establishing the Jed A. Smith/ Class of 2010 Scholarship Fund in honor of the class of 2010. To encourage donations, Jed offered a challenge to match every gift of $25 or more with $100, up to a total of $25,000. “I wanted to establish an ongoing scholarship fund with gifts from MIIS students and friends that will provide financial support for deserving students,” says Smith. “It’s also a way for new alumni to help give others the chance to receive a great education at the Monterey Institute.”

Smith graduated from Middlebury in 1988 and now resides in California. He is the founder and managing partner of Catamount Ventures, a seed/early stage venture firm with a focus on the eco-business and technology sectors. He started making annual contributions to his alma mater shortly after graduating and hopes to encourage alumni at both MIIS and Middlebury to do the same. Having seen the success of student fundraising campaigns at Middlebury, Jed was inspired to engage the MIIS class of 2010—the largest in the Institute’s history—in a similar opportunity to support future students. In describing the opportunity to his classmates, student

council president Gregory Freeman used the analogy of the scholarship fund as a seed the class will plant for a tree that will grow to shade others: “We might not sit under the shade of that tree, but we’ll provide for the next generation of students and start a tradition of giving back.” Smith’s offer sparked interest from the entire MIIS community, as students, staff, faculty, alumni, parents, and friends of the Institute have all contributed to the initiative. The official deadline of the challenge was May 22nd, graduation day. However, gifts made by August and December graduates will also be matched.

Learn more and make a gift to the Jed A. Smith/Class of 2010 Scholarship Fund at

Jed Smith

At press time, gifts to the scholarship fund exceeded $10,000 with Jed’s matching contribution.

www.miis.edu/giving/challenge.

EYES TO THE SKIES From Aghem and Delhi to Monterey

boy looks up at the sky and, mesmerized by the airplanes he sees above, dreams of flying. Many young boys share that memory, but only some pursue that dream, and fewer still realize a career in the field. Two such boys, near in age but born 5,000 miles apart, lived that dream. And when the scope of their dreams widened to include attending the Monterey Institute, neither thought he could, but thanks to scholarships—Fulbright, Fletcher Jones, and the Gard ‘n’ Wall Nonproliferation scholarships—both came to study, and met in class. Foy Hubert and Surjit Singh, unique at the Institute in that they share a background in aeronautics and space science, just graduated together as members of the Class of 2010. Surjit Singh, a naturalized U.S. citizen, spent his early years in New Delhi, moving to San Francisco with his family when he was 10. He holds an airline pilot’s license and a BS in aeronautics. His professional experience includes piloting for radio and television traffic reports and ferrying planes from the U.S. to India. Surjit wants to bring his professional experience to bear in countering terrorism and supporting efforts to enhance commercial aviation security. He is also a current, chartered member of the U.S. Department of Defense National Language Service Corps for Hindi. Foy Hubert, who hails from Aghem, Cameroon, excelled in math and science throughout his school years in Cameroon and France. He first aimed to be a fighter pilot, then spent six years teaching nuclear physics before focusing on space sciences, landing a position at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Troubled

Foy Hubert, MIIS President Emeritus Robert Gard, and Surjit Singh

by the links between space-based technology and weapons of mass destruction, Hubert sought a way to promote constructive interaction in the world, and came to the Monterey Institute to pursue a career in nuclear nonproliferation. Both Hubert and Surjit are quick to note that scholarships made the difference in their decisions to study at the Institute, enabling them to advance their career plans. They made the most of their two years of study, and plan to “pay it forward” to make the world safer for the next generation of boys whose eyes search the skies.

Spring/Summer 2010

Monterey/Middlebury Lecture Series Continues with Carmola, Van Lier

Sustainable Development: MBA Students Making a Difference

The Monterey/Middlebury Lecture Series, established to promote shared expertise and education as Middlebury College and the Monterey Institute proceed with integration, continued this spring with Middlebury College Professor Kateri Carmola visiting Monterey, and MIIS Professor Leo van Lier visiting Middlebury. Professor Carmola, the C.A. Johnson Fellow in Political Philosophy at Middlebury College, presented “The Risky World of Private Military Contractors,” examining the ethical and legal dilemma arising from the U.S. government practice of contracting private companies to take on jobs previously considered under the domain of the military. For example, many of those who carry weapons in the war zones of Iraq and Afghanistan are neither legal combatants nor protected civilians. Often mistaken as members of armed forces, they are instead part of a new proxy force that works alongside the military in a multitude of shifting roles. Professor Carmola’s new book, Private Security Contractors in the Age of New Wars: Risk, Law, & Ethics (Routledge, April 2010) analyzes the legal, ethical, and sociological issues surrounding the use of private military contractors worldwide. In addition to her April 14 lecture, Professor Carmola was one of the featured speakers at TEDx Monterey two days later. Linguistics expert and TESOL Professor Leo van Lier visited Middlebury College on April 1–2 to deliver a lecture on “Ecological

Helping create economic prosperity while simultaneously preserving our planet is a goal shared by three student entrepreneurs—Ravi Kurani (MBA ’11), Matthew Lindquist (MBA ’11), and Colin Duncan (MBA ’10). BanyanSeed, an organization that provides consulting services for green energy, was founded in 2009 by MBA students Ravi Kurani and Matthew Lindquist. Ravi is also an engineer and Matthew an environmental economist, and their team now includes eight others involved in their operations in India and California. As Ravi describes it, he and Matthew had an epiphany of sorts when they were in Mumbai last year conducting a pilot program providing solar-powered lamps to people living in slums. “Why stop at lamps?” they asked themselves as they observed what a change factor electric light can be. Now they are working on expanding their ideas and promoting green energy as a way forward. As the world population grows so does energy consumption, and BanyanSeed aims to be at the forefront of helping individuals and companies fulfill their energy needs in a sustainable manner. Upon seeing and hearing about the unfathomable destruction after the January earthquake in Haiti, MBA student Colin Duncan decided to follow up on a hunch he had about a way to help Haitians get their society back up and running. Colin had heard about Blueline Power of Marina in California and their “developing nations kit.” The kit, still in development, consists of photovoltaic cells and other equipment small enough to fit in a suitcase, but strong enough to power communications equipment, lights, or a small refrigerator continually. Colin had served in the Peace Corps in Madagascar where his main job was to use business principals to provide villagers with solar ovens. He envisioned using similar principals but on a larger scale to provide necessary energy to people in Haiti suffering from lack of resources. After contacting Blueline Power CEO Ed Bless, Colin has been working to establish a relationship with organizations on the ground in Haiti to promote this effort.

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Professor Kateri Carmola

Professor Leo van Lier

Linguistics and Action-Based Teaching and Learning.” Professor van Lier’s lecture described the basis for applied linguistics, including philosophical antecedents and the implementation of language teaching and learning. The term “ecological linguistics” refers to methodologies that are not new but that would benefit from a renewed emphasis by linguistic scholars. Professor van Lier also attended a discussion of Middlebury’s planned linguistics minor and the possibilities it offers for an integrated “4+1” program for students interested in attending MIIS, and participated in a class on “The English Language in a Global Context,” taught by Shawna Shapiro.

BanyanSeed CFO Chris Nyberg (MBA ’11) and Vice President Ravi Kurani (MBA ’11)

TEDx Monterey Engages Crowd with Ideas, Solutions

wo hundred campus and community leaders and innovators converged at the Monterey Institute in April for TEDx Monterey. Modeled on and licensed by the internationally renowned TED organization, and similarly focused on “ideas worth spreading,” TEDx Monterey showcased 15 carefully curated approaches to “being the solution.” Organized around sub-themes of “possibility,” “perseverance,” and “hope,” participants experienced the technological magic of TED fellow Seth Raphael; heard from MIIS student Lakhpreet Kaur Dhariwal (MAIEP ’11) on food co-ops as an alternative to wasteful and self-destructive consumption; accompanied pediatrician Ramon Resa on his journey from migrant farm worker to physician; took a historical look at a hope realized, as Hopkins Marine Station’s Stephen Palumbi recounted the revitalization of Monterey Bay from its near destruction in the last century. On a more philosophical note, Middlebury professor Kateri Carmola gave a TEDx talk on the roots of the word solution, and the importance, sometimes, of just standing still. TEDx Monterey was not just another conference, but an opportunity for connecting, interacting, and participating. Attendees experienced the future of play with David Merrill’s “smart” tiles; formed seed balls of soil to reclaim a vacant lot for wildflowers as part of community organizer

Laura Lee Lienk’s “Return of the Natives” project; lit their own campfires on MIIS faculty member and alumna Kelley Calvert’s (TESOL ’06) digital trek across the country. MIIS T&I students interpreted the conference into eight languages. The conference was available live via streaming video, and viewers were also able to access alternate audio channels in the language of their choice. With an average of 200 people online at any given time, there were almost as many virtual attendees as live participants. TEDx Monterey was also notable for being a “no waste” event, with nametags made from reusable puzzle pieces and clothespins, and programs printed on “plantable” paper with imbedded seeds. Refreshments featured local and organic foods in reusable containers, and food waste nurtured pigs and compost piles. Co-sponsors of TEDx Monterey included the Institute for Innovation and Economic Development at California State University, Monterey Bay, the Monterey County Business Council, amp (public access television), Jacob’s Heart Children’s Cancer Support Services, and livestream (streaming video service). MIIS postgraduate fellow Lynn McDonald (MPA ’08), along with an enthusiastic and tireless group of Institute and community volunteers, planned and carried out a wonderfully orchestrated event rich in inspiration and promise.

Dr. Ramon Resa at TEDx Monterey

To read more about TEDx Monterey, visit

Marcelo Gonzalez: Enhancing Cultural Understanding Through Translation Marcelo Gonzales (TESOL ’99) recently celebrated the publication of Negritud Literaria en la República Dominicana, his Spanish translation of the 2004 book,The Development of Literary Blackness in the Dominican Republic, by Dawn F. Stinchcomb. The book is an analysis of the Spanish language literature of this Caribbean Island nation in context of race and cultural identity. Marcelo, who currently teaches English and Spanish in the Marianas Islands, says he was drawn to the book when he came upon it in a library in New Mexico. The son of a Cuban father and Puerto Rican mother, Marcelo grew up in New Jersey in “a relatively small city with few Hispanics.” He has close personal ties to the Dominican Republic through family and his three years teaching English there. He says that he views the translation “as a way to enhance inter-cultural and inter-racial understanding, while promoting the literature and culture of the Dominican Republic.” Marcelo is currently working to secure the publication of his second book translation, the Spanish edition of Dr. Russell Crandall’s Gunboat Democracy: U.S. Interventions in the Dominican Republic, Grenada and Panama.

TEDx translators hard at work

http://www.tedxmonterey.org. Spring/Summer 2010

MIIS IN BRIEF constantly find themselves in the most exotic places—a list to which you can add Orange City, Iowa. The Hawkeye State’s O.C. is home to Northwestern College, where alumnus Piet Koene (MATI ’09) was recently named director of the college’s new major in Spanish Translation and Interpretation. The program seeks to help meet the growing demand—locally, statewide, nationally, and globally—for translators and interpreters. Local coverage of the announcement pointed out that there are only 11 certified interpreters available to serve the entire state’s court system, one of whom is Professor Koene. Named the Iowa Professor of the Year in 2004, Koene has taught in Northwestern’s Modern Foreign Language Department since 2000.

• On April 28, the San Francisco

Chronicle published a front-page story about public meetings hosted by representatives of the Food and Drug Administration and the Produce Safety Project in Monterey County. The meetings encouraged public input on food safety rules regarding worker hygiene, irrigation, composting, and wildlife in the fields, and included significant participation from MIIS faculty and students. Professor Jeffrey Langholz was a featured presenter, discussing a food safety report he recently co-authored, and eight current and former students—Craig Bessermin (MAIEP ’10), Melissa Cessna (MAIEP ’10), Lakhpreet Dhariwal (MAIEP ’11), Oren Frey (MAIEP ’10), Abby Kehr (MAIEP ’10), Deborah Nares (MAIEP ’10), Alice Paipa-Lenard (MAIEP ’09), and Lee Spivak (MAIEP ’11)—participated.

• During a late April trip to

Kazakhstan, MIIS Trustee Beverly Hamilton and her husband Lyman Hamilton hosted a luncheon for local MIIS alumni Dauren Aben (MAIPS ’03), Dana Baikenova (MACD ’99), Bayan Baitemirova (MBA ’00), Andy Offenbacher

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(MAIPS ’01), and Lyazzat Zhunnisbekova (MACD ’99). The Institute has a strong community of close to 20 alumni in Kazakhstan, having hosted fellowship recipients from the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and the Bolachek Scholarship program. Mostly based in Almaty and Astana, the alumni remain close and act as a strong networking resource for Kazakh graduates of MIIS.

• Monterey Institute graduates

• GSIPM Professor Jan Knippers

Black has two new books and a journal article out this year. Her book The Politics of Human Rights Protection, (Rowman & Littlefield) came out in paperback this spring. The fifth edition of Latin America: Its Problems and Its Promise rolls off the presses of Westview, Perseus Books Group in July. And her article on women’s rights, “Between the Glass Ceiling and the Sticky Floor,” appeared in the spring edition of Human Rights Global Focus.

• It is hard to think of a couple

more devoted to MIIS than Elizabeth (MATESOL ’10) and Thomas Halvorsen (MPA ’10) who took time off from their honeymoon in Hong Kong to have dinner with prospective students. “It was a win-win,” says Thomas, because “it was a nice way to do something for MIIS, and we were already there.” Thomas and Elizabeth graduated in May and now live in Norway. Considering their shared enthusiasm for recruitment, we wouldn’t be surprised to see even more Norwegian students heading to Monterey soon!

• It would be an exaggeration

to say that all paths lead to the Monterey Institute—but it’s always intriguing to see how many different ones do. Elizabeth Edouard (DPMI ’10, Midd ’10), an International Studies major at Middlebury College, participated in the 2010 J-term session of the Development Project Management Institute (DPMI) in Monterey. Thanks in part to her DPMI experience, she is considering pursuing a graduate degree at MIIS in the fall. In the meantime, Edouard recently received an undergraduate internship offer for this summer from the World Bank Institute.

Harrison examined what happened in Indonesia in the 1990s after an international anti-sweatshop campaign forced multinational corporations to improve workers’ wages at apparel and footwear factories, and ought to dispel the economic theory that suggests wage increases among sweatshop workers leads to factory closings and job loss. Professor Scorse was also recently appointed to the board of directors of the Otter Project, where he joins Allison Ford (MAIEP ’09), executive director of the Otter Project, and MIIS adjunct professor and fellow board member Kris Lindstrom in efforts to promote the rapid recovery of the California sea otter. Scorse hopes to contribute to the preservation of sea otters and related issues like ocean conservation in general through his expertise in environmental and agricultural economics.

• Under the terms of the Yellow

Ribbon program described in the last issue of Communiqué, the federal government and the Institute each contribute toward tuition costs in order to allow veterans in the program to enroll fulltime at no cost to them. The Institute began marketing the program last year and today, 14 veterans are enrolled at MIIS. That number will rise to 34 by this fall!

• In a May 8 Financial Times

column, “Why anti-sweatshop campaigns might do it after all,” columnist Tim Harford wrote that he has been forced to rethink his assumptions about the effects of anti-sweatshop campaigns as a result of an article in the academic journal The American Economic Review co-authored by International Environmental Policy Program Chair Jason Scorse and Berkeley Professor Ann Harrison. In “Multinationals and Sweat-Shop Activism,” professors Scorse and

• When a massive 8.8 earthquake struck Chile in February 27, student Nevin Rosassen (MAITP ’10) was on an International Professional Service Semester assignment in Santiago serving as an intern for the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. In a March 4 e-mail to his MIIS professors, he reported that “Our office building has suffered major damage . . . I attended our first meeting since the earthquake today, where we were addressed by the executive secretary of ECLAC

for nearly two hours.” Nevin was fortunate in that many interns were let go after the earthquake due to a lack of functional office space, but he was spared and continued his assignment developing a document addressing the implications of carbon footprint labeling for Latin American exports.

’11); Japanese—Adam Mahowald (MATI ’11); Korean—Sohee Kim (MATI ’10); Russian—Maria Tratsevskaya (MATI ’11) and Tigist Yitbarek (MATI ’10); and Spanish—Hilda Diaz (MATI ’11), Elena Kozak (MATI ’11), and Marta Sanchez Gomez Ulla (MACI ’10). Congratulations to all!

• Following up on an item in our

• Alumna Jennifer Giroux (MAIPS

’06) recently contacted GSIPM Professor Moyara Ruehsen from the Niger Delta, where she has been conducting field research on energy infrastructure for the Center for Security Studies. In the wake of a recent car-bombing attack in the city of Warri, Giroux reported that “I was actually scheduled to attend the meeting that was targeted . . . fortunately, my local host and colleague thought the meeting officially began the next day.” Visiting the scene of the attack four hours later, Giroux took photos of the destruction and submitted them to CNN’s iReport (see http://www.ireport.com/docs/ DOC-420576).

• In March, we learned that nine

MIIS translation and interpretation students had been selected for the prestigious Stanford Hospital and Clinics Medical Interpreter/ Translator Summer Internship program. They are: Chinese— Stephanie Shi-Huei Weng (MACI ’10) and Jianhang Sunny Mai (MACI

• Recruiting staff were delighted to

Jonas Abel

Fall 2009 MIIS In Brief column, we are pleased to report that GSTILE Professor John Balcom’s translation of Cao Naiqian’s There’s Nothing I Can Do When I Think of You Late at Night has won the 2010 Northern California Book Award in the category of translated fiction. Cao’s novel—actually a series of inter-locking short stories—was published in Taiwan in 2005 and in China in 2007, where it was rated one of the top-ten books of the year in one poll. Professor Balcom’s award-winning translation has made this novel accessible to English readers around the world.

an enrollee in our Summer English for Academic and Professional Purposes (EAPP) program. December 2008 student commencement speaker Joyce Laker (MAIPS ’09) had participated in EAPP as an incoming student in summer 2007, just as Bulbul did in summer 2008—a great illustration of the program achieving its goals of helping international students become integral parts of the campus community.

• Graduating student Jonas Abel

(MATI German ’10) received two pieces of exciting news this spring. First, he learned from the South African Consulate that he has been selected to serve as a volunteer interpreter at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Jonas is originally from East Germany, but moved to California with his family almost 20 years ago, after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Jonas earned a bachelor’s degree in German from UC Davis and subsequently participated in Middlebury’s Schools Abroad program in Mainz, Germany. Around the same time he received the good news about the World Cup, Jonas was selected as one of two student speakers for spring commencement, along with classmate Bulbul Ahammed (MBA ’10)! Director of Intensive English programs Patricia Szasz (MATESOL ’06) subsequently pointed out that Bulbul, who came to the Monterey Institute from Bangladesh, is the second student commencement speaker in recent years who began their Monterey Institute career as

reconnect with alumnus Lee Hyunsuk (MACI, ’03) when he helped plan a recent recruiting event in Seoul. Since returning to Korea, Lee’s language skills have landed him a role as an increasingly well-known host of two radio programs in Seoul designed for English learners. The fondly-remembered former MIIS Student Council president was also the subject of a recent profile in the Korea Herald in which he talked about the value of his Monterey Institute experience.

endogenous productive capacity and a strong role for government in industrial development, is the most robust of the three models as a starting point for the design of climate-resilient development paths. The working paper will be published in a collection by Routledge later this year. At almost the same time Professor Zarsky’s paper was published, she received an e-mail from Nicole (Nikki) Zimmerman (MAIPS ’10), who is currently on an International Professional Service Semester assignment in southern Sudan, that started out “I just wanted to say that your class on business models for sustainable development was very useful today.” Nikki is in Sudan working on monitoring and evaluation for Winrock International, a global nonprofit organization that addresses rural development and sustainable resource management needs through education and empowerment programs. Describing a discussion she had with a senior colleague about a potential renewable energy initiative, she reported that “I drew on my group’s research, as well as the case studies from the energy section of our class. It was great!”

• Alumna Kathryn Ries (MPA ’86)

Bulbul Ahammed

• GSIPM Professor Lyuba

Zarsky recently had a paper entitled Climate-Resilient Industrial Development Paths: Design Principles and Alternative Models published on the Web site of the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts. In her paper, Zarsky compares three distinct development models and suggests that the so-called “new developmentalist” model, with its overarching objective of building

was recently awarded the Bronze Medal for professional achievement at NOAA. Kathryn has been working with NOAA since her graduation from MIIS and is currently deputy director of the Office of Coast Survey, a department founded in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson. Her award is for leadership in building hydrographic capacity in Central America to support navigation safety, economic growth, and protection of the marine environment.

• GSTILE Professor Barry Slaughter Olsen, head of the Conference Interpretation Program at what Radio Free Europe (RFE) described as “California’s highly respected Monterey Institute of International Studies” was featured in an RFE story about the demanding job of Spring/Summer 2010

MIIS IN BRIEF UN interpreters. A number of MIIS Translation and Interpretation graduates have made a career in the highly competitive world of the United Nations, which Professor Olsen described as the pinnacle of the profession. The story likens the job of interpreter at the highest levels to being “equal parts diplomat, rocket scientist, and traffic cop.”

• Erik Laursen (MAIPS ’86) has

been promoted to the rank of Ambassador of Denmark and will become deputy permanent representative to the UN this summer. His new status was announced in April as Denmark prepares to take over the European Union presidency in the first half of 2012. Laursen has worked for the Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs since 1992 and been posted to Thailand and Italy as well as serving at headquarters in Copenhagen. He will be joined in New York by his wife Mette, a psychologist, and their three children.

• In March, Professor Kathi Bailey

• In April, Lora Saalman (MAIPS

’04) joined the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a Beijingbased associate in the Nuclear Policy Program. Through her work as a graduate research assistant at CNS and the Center for East Asian Studies at MIIS, she earned a one-year fellowship to work at the International Atomic Energy Agency. Now she is completing her Ph.D. at Tsinghua University in Beijing where

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• Current student Miriam Rayward (MAIPS ’11), who is bilingual in Spanish and English and speaks French at an advanced level, was offered one of 2009’s Kathryn Davis Fellowships for Peace to

E Kathi Bailey

the Middlebury Language Schools as part of the Middlebury at Mills Arabic program. “It was the most incredible language opportunity I’ve ever had. My Arabic improved so much and so quickly that I realized fluency in language was not such a long-term goal,” she says. At MIIS, she has continued taking Arabic classes, and applied for and was accepted to the prestigious Critical Language Scholarship and Boren Fellowship. She will spend this summer studying Arabic in Morocco before moving to an International Professional Service Semester (IPSS) assignment in the Palestinian Territories in the fall. “At the end of my two-year degree, I will have attended two language immersion programs, three graduate-level language classes, and a full semester abroad. This would not have been possible for me to do had I attended any other schools in the country.”

• This spring, Professor Jon M.

Strolle retired after 25 years with the Institute, a stretch of time that saw him serve in roles including dean of the Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics, director of the Summer Intensive Language Programs and the Center for Intensive Language and Culture, associate provost for Executive and Special Programs, and professor of Spanish. Prior to coming to MIIS, Professor Strolle taught at Indiana University and Middlebury College and was an education policy fellow in the office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Education, and a Mellon Fellow at the National Language Center in Washington, DC. He has published studies on the relationship of language and international studies to business and global trade, and holds a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Wisconsin.

• Alumnus Casson Trenor (MAIEP

’05), Greenpeace employee, author of Sustainable Sushi and co-founder of Tataki Sushi Bar in San Francisco, recently explained to CNN viewers how to apply the “4 S” rule to selecting sustainable sushi (search “tataki sushi” at cnn.com to see the clip). The rule reminds seafood consumers of four characteristics to look out for when ordering sushi— small, seasonal, silver, and shellfish.

• Talking

positions in one of the nation’s most prestigious governmentsponsored nonproliferation fellowship programs. The Nonproliferation Graduate Fellows Program (NGFP). is overseen by the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, and provides participants with specialized training and practical experience on projects and initiatives involving the U.S. Department of Energy, other government agencies, national laboratories, foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations.

• May graduates Alfonso Ferrer

Amich (MATI ’10), Sarah Irene (MACI ’10), Yun Li (MATI ’10), Susan Yanqi Liu (MACI ’10), Carmen Villalba Ruiz (MATI ’10), and Claudia Tebay (MACI ’10) will be part of the first group of summer interns ever selected by the United Nations’ Translation and Interpretation Services. The interns report to UN Headquarters in New York on July 1 for a two-month intensive training program designed to prepare them to take the UN’s competitive examinations, a requirement for all prospective UN translators and interpreters. The internship program is a component of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed last fall between the UN and the Institute.

traveled to Dubai to serve as a plenary speaker at the TESOL Arabia Convention, a regional conference drawing attendees from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Bailey’s presentation focused on innovation in language teaching. She also led a one-day workshop on classroom research methods, chaired a colloquium about research on English language teaching and learning in the region, and reported on a survey of language program administrators’ responsibilities.

she will be the first American to earn a doctorate from its Department of International Relations. Lora is writing her dissertation in Chinese; it covers the impact of US and European export control shifts on Sino-Indian military modernization.

about the global reputation of the Monterey Institute’s James Martin Center for UN T&I interns with UN Interpreting Service Chief Hossam Nonproliferation Fahr, Professor Barry Olsen and Career Advisor Jeff Wood Studies is one thing; having it convincingly demonstrated is quite another. Today, current students and recent graduates Kate Bachner (MAIPS ’11), Joanie Dix (MAIPS ’11), Sean Dunlop (MAIPS ‘09), Dan Johnson (MAIPS ’10), Taissa Sobolev • Can’t get enough MIIS news? (MAIPS ‘09), and Annie Winterfield Don’t forget to visit the newsroom at (MAIPS ’11) occupy six of the 26 www.miis.edu/about/newsroom.

American University in Cairo MOU Promotes Collaboration On March 21 in Cairo, Egypt, MIIS President Sunder Ramaswamy signed a memorandum of understanding with the American University in Cairo (AUC) designed to expand ties and exchanges between the two schools. The agreement calls for the two institutions to cultivate academic and educational cooperation, support collaborative research, professional internships and technical cooperation, and promote sustainable partnerships that may include exchanges of graduate students, faculty, academic materials, and publications. President Sunder Ramaswamy with AUC President David Arnold “We look forward to working closely with AUC on a variety of initiatives in the future,” said MIIS President Sunder Ramaswamy upon signing the three-year agreement. “This partnership ensures that MIIS and AUC students will be provided with the opportunity to collaborate and contribute across cultural, political, and geographic boundaries,” added AUC President David Arnold. The agreement between MIIS and AUC was initiated by Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, the founding dean of AUC’s School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and chair of the Middle East Nonproliferation Project at the Monterey Institute’s James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

Teaching to Make the World a Better Place One of the Institute’s unique programs this year welcomed an equally unique and interesting new student. The Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program, now in its 15th year at MIIS, offers students the opportunity to meld the process of earning a master’s degree with service as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Enrollees typically spend a year studying in Monterey before serving their 27-month Peace Corps term, after which they return to complete a final semester at MIIS. The PCMI program at MIIS includes degree options for IEP, MBA, MPA, and TESOL students. Sky Lantz-Wagner (PCMI/TESOL ‘12) never expected to become a teacher. “After college, I worked as a scuba-diving instructor in Egypt, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico. Thanks in part to a degree in international business, I had the opportunity to found Whale Shark Experience, an ecotourism company in the Mayan Riviera. It was an adventure, but not a career path I wanted to follow.”

Sky explains that “Teaching found me when I wasn’t looking.” One of his teachers from high school invited him to teach ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) at an elementary school in Georgia, and once he’d been certified and learned the ropes, “I fell in love with it.” Sky states forthrightly that his goal in life is “to make the world a better place as a teacher… I want to challenge my students by expanding the classroom experience into the real world and connecting them to the bigger picture. This summer, Sky will embark on his Peace Corps Master’s International assignment in China, where his main responsibilities will be teaching English to college-level students as well as training Chinese teachers of English. “I will go to Chengdu in the Sichuan province to do my pre-service training and from there, the Peace Corps could send me to one of three places.” Sky says that his dream job is to be “the administrator of an ESOL and/or foreign language program in

Sky Lantz-Wagner

MIIS Stories Around the World Campaign Launched Calling all members of the Monterey Institute community! If you have an interesting story to tell about your experiences either at or after MIIS, we have the vehicle for you to tell it. The “MIIS Stories Around the World” section of our Web site already has more than 100 stories from MIIS alumni, students, staff members, and faculty—our goal is to collect at least 500! Each story is accompanied by a corresponding peg on the world map. Jennifer Schneider (MBA ’09) tells her story of advising Kazakhs about emerging markets. Elias Shakkour (MATI ’10) talks about growing up in Jerusalem speaking both English and Arabic from an early age, before going on to master both French and German. Stories about language understanding and misunderstanding, and adventures with exotic creatures (both human and nonhuman) abound. Stories can be in almost any form, written, video, sound, or graphics. Guidelines and advice are on the website at www.miis.edu/community/ world, but the idea is to write from the heart and be yourself!

a public school district. My experience at MIIS has helped expose me to all the various aspects of language, language teaching, and language learning that I think are relevant to running a language program. It has also helped me to be able to analyze educational materials, develop curricula, and read research articles, none of which I was able to do before.” Spring/Summer 2010

Spring Commencement

Celebrating a Year of Change

he Institute’s spring commencement ceremony was held on May 22 on Colton Hall Lawn, honoring the academic achievements of 338 students in 11 graduate degree programs. Guest speaker Dr. Robert Gallucci, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and former dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, offered an overview of major world issues, before noting how MIIS graduates can make a difference in addressing each of them. Dr. Gallucci was also present on the dais to make the formal degree presentation for one particular graduate—his son Nick Gallucci (MAIPS ’10)! After student speakers Jonas Abel (MATI ’10) and Bulbul Ahammed (MBA ’10) entertained the crowd with anecdotes about their experiences at MIIS, the graduates—representing 40 countries around the world—received their diplomas and walked back over to the Samson Student Center with their families and friends for an afternoon reception.

The opening processional at commencement featured the flags of the 40 home countries of students in the spring 2010 graduating class.

U.S. & Russian High School Students Present Views on Nuclear Disarmament Issues at Monterey Forum

he annual Critical Issues Forum conference culminates a year-long program designed to increase high school students’ awareness of nonproliferation and disarmament issues and enhance critical thinking skills by giving students from both the U.S. and Russia the opportunity to work with nonproliferation experts from the Monterey Institute of International Studies’ James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS). More than 100 students and teachers from 12 U.S. high schools and 10 schools in

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Russia’s closed nuclear cities gathered in Monterey on April 22–23 to present their research on “Nuclear Nonproliferation: Global Opportunities and Regional Challenges.” Working under the guidance of teachers and researchers trained at the Institute and CNS, the students studied how much progress the world has made and is likely to achieve toward the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. Students presented their views on current developments and future prospects for nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, including the new START follow-on

arms control treaty, the recent Nuclear Security Summit, and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review conference at United Nations Headquarters in New York in May. In addition to student research and cultural exchange, the conference also featured a keynote speech by Dr. Patricia Lewis, deputy director and scientist-in-residence at CNS and advisor to the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament. The conference received wide regional media coverage, focusing on local high schools that sent delegations to participate.

Russian student presenting at the Critical Issues Forum

THE MIIS–MIDD CONNECTION Where It All Began: Fred Noseworthy

n the world of academia, a merger between two institutions is anything but commonplace. Merger and acquisition firms generally focus on private companies, and search firms in higher education stick to executive hiring. While the fit between the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Middlebury College seems obvious now that the two are in the process of merging, some may still wonder how the paths of the two institutions, located on opposite sides of the country, serving two different audiences (graduate and undergraduate) first crossed. Who was the “matchmaker” behind this dynamic pairing? Enter Fred Noseworthy, Middlebury class of 1965, a New Englander who enjoyed a full collegiate experience that included skiing, playing hockey and a busy social calendar as a Sigma Nu fraternity brother. Fred moved his family to the Peninsula in 1974 to join a Monterey financial planning firm as one of the country’s first Certified Financial Planners. He quickly found his role in the community and, later, as a real estate agent, started working with a group of educational institutions struggling to attract talent from outside of the area due to the Peninsula’s steep real estate market. He worked closely with then-current MIIS President Steve Baker on the issue, but other problems were quickly taking priority as ongoing financial pressures convinced the Institute to begin exploring the possibility of partnering with a compatible undergraduate institution.

When the Institute’s search for an institutional strategic partner became front page news, Fred asked President Baker if he could make some calls on behalf of the Institute. Middlebury didn’t immediately come to mind— he actually started with a fraternity brother who was president of a small college in upstate New York. Fred made the connection later when he started hearing news about the appointment of then-new Middlebury President Ron Liebowitz, “It just hit me—all the similarities between MIIS and Middlebury. The language and international focus, the small student body—it seemed like a no-brainer.” Fortuitously, at that time another fraternity brother and dear friend was serving as a trustee for the College. Fred made the contact, outlined the Institute’s selling points and was convincing enough that the conversation ended with his friend’s standard, but promising, reply, “Have the guy give me a call.” Initial discussions ensued and introductions soon followed, the courtship began, and Fred earned his place forever in Monterey Institute history as the matchmaker who linked Middlebury with Monterey. “There are a few personal accomplishments that I take great pride in: two of the greatest kids in the world, completing the Army’s Ranger School, and making it through Middlebury,” says Fred. “Today, the role I played in the ongoing success of the Institute is right up there.”

Microsoft’s Localization Expert Speaks to Students

icrosoft’s Ulrike Irmler, manager since 2008 of the company’s localization organization and leader of the company’s effort to launch translated and localized versions of Windows 7 throughout the world, visited the Monterey Institute and spoke to translation and localization management students on April 5. In Irmler’s lecture, titled “Windows Localization—Language for Worldwide and Local Audiences,” she presented a comprehensive overview of Microsoft’s localization efforts for Windows audiences including consumers, IT professionals, and developers. With more than one billion worldwide customers and 100 target languages, translation and localization activities for Windows encompass everything from user interface language to digital marketing, developer kits, licensing agreements, and online help text. Irmler walked her audience through several localization scenarios, focusing on

market strategy, translation challenges, standards, and linguistic quality. Localization is the process of translating and culturally adapting products, branding, and supporting materials to local markets in different countries around the world. The Monterey Institute offers master’s degrees in translation and localization management through its Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education.

MBA Program Ranked in Top 15 for Global Management The Monterey Institute’s Fisher International MBA Program, winner of a top 15 ranking from Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review for four straight years, has now been recognized in The Princeton Review’s 2nd annual “Student Opinion Honors for Business Schools” as one of the top 15 graduate schools of business in the nation in the category of Global Management. The Princeton Review compiled the Student Opinion Honors lists using data from a national survey of 19,000 MBA students attending the business schools profiled in the 2010 edition of its publication Best 301 Business Schools. The 80-question survey asked students to report on classroom and campus experiences at their schools and rate their MBA programs in each of six areas. “We salute the business schools on these lists for the outstanding job they are doing both academically and professionally in preparing their students to apply their MBA training beyond the classroom to successful job searches and productive careers,” commented Robert Franek of The Princeton Review. “We know this will be particularly meaningful to applicants and MBA grads in these challenging economic times.”

Ulrike Irmler

Spring/Summer 2010

ANNA CUMMINS

MIIS MATTERS Love in the Time of “Plastic Soup”

nna Cummins (MAIEP ’02) has made it her personal and professional calling to raise awareness about the alarming effect consumerism is having on the health of our oceans. Through her studies at the Monterey Institute, Anna received a fellowship with Santa Cruz-based nonprofit Save Our Shores and her work with them led to a fulltime position after graduation. At a conference in Santa Barbara, Anna was introduced to Captain Charles Moore, who had discovered oceanic regions where plastic outweighed zooplankton. Anna immediately became actively involved and volunteered for a research cruise to Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja California. It is a place far from human habitat, but filled with the consequences of human behavior. Anna and her fellow shipmates found evidence of plastic ingestion in marine animals and birds. Captain Moore’s influence on Anna did not stop there, because at his 60th birthday celebration in 2007, Anna met her future husband Dr. Marcus Eriksen. Six months later, on Captain Moore’s research boat in the middle of a plastic gyre in the Pacific Ocean, Marcus popped the question. Today, Anna and Marcus are tireless crusaders constantly coming up with original ways to raise global awareness of this growing problem. In 2008 they founded “Message in a Bottle” and created a vessel out of 15,000 plastic bottles, naming it JunkRaft. Marcus and a friend sailed the raft to Hawaii while Anna conducted an awareness campaign from land. Next, Anna and Marcus met up in Vancouver, hopped on their bikes and cycled all the way to Mexico, stopping along the way to educate both children and adults about plastics in our oceans, including a June 2009 stop at the Monterey Institute.

WANDA HALL When Wanda Hall (MAIPS ’92) arrived at the Monterey Institute in 1990, she knew two things: the world was rapidly changing, and she wanted to learn how to facilitate that change. With this goal, she immersed herself in her studies with a focus on international policy and improving her Russian. “My courses allowed me to explore how the world was organized, understand why things worked a certain way, and envision ways to change the status quo.” During her time as a student, the Soviet Union broke into 15 countries and a period of uncertainty followed. From this, Wanda learned that dramatic transition offers opportunities for paradigm shifts—a time when new voices, if amplified, can be heard. She decided to apply herself to grassroots change in these types of settings.

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Anna Cummins and Marcus Eriksen

The husband and wife team is now finishing up their “5 Gyres” project, which is focused on collecting evidence and informing the public that the now-famous Pacific Garbage Patch is not an isolated phenomena, but one of many such patches. This spring, the international press was filled with news of the pair’s fresh evidence confirming the existence of a large “plastic soup” patch in the North Atlantic. Anna is already working on the couple’s next adventure, which involves building a ship out of discarded plastic straws collected by schoolchildren in Los Angeles and sailing it from Paris to the mouth of the Seine River and across the English Channel.

Giving Community a Voice

Wanda spent several years in Russia before making a career shift toward violence-plagued East Africa. After working for three years in Rwanda and in Arusha Tanzania, the seat of the Internatinoal Tribunal for Rwanda, she moved to The Hague to the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC). From this experience she found her niche as a change agent for international justice and in 2005, she founded Interactive Radio for Justice (IRfJ), a community radio project designed to encourage an informed and participative public in communities where the ICC is investigating genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. IRfJ produces radio programs and music CDs written by youth on social issues related to justice and human rights. The group also organizes pub-

lic meetings that give citizens access to high-level international justice authorities as well as national and local officials. This dialogue helps rebuild trust and accountability following periods of strife and during profound transition. Wanda is now based in Paris and oversees activities carried out in three countries. She also focuses on raising international awareness and interest about current International Criminal Court. “Citizens having a voice, accountability and transparency by public officials are largely Western ideas. When we start a new project with the local media, I’m generating most of the ideas and imposing my perspective. Now, I’m seeing communities take ownership of these activities. Our group in the Democratic Republic of Congo developed a series that incorporates a

troop of actors role playing scenarios related to the rights of individuals in various situations. They are working hard because they feel like it’s important for their community.”

Wanda Hall

Alumni Profiles

ASHWINI NARAYANAN

Finding a Path, Making a Difference

shwini Narayanan (MBA ’96) almost accepted a job in investment banking after graduating from the Monterey Institute, but a fortuitous meeting with a Silicon Valley entrepreneur led her instead to what she believes is a much more exciting and relevant career path: global microfinance. Ashwini has an undergraduate degree in physics, a diploma in computer science, and an MBA from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She has made a career of blending innovation and technology with business skills, and today, she enjoys what she calls “the best job in the world,” serving as general manager of Microplace, a company under the eBay-PayPal umbrella that connects everyday investors with the world of microfinance. The idea, says Ashwini, is to offer a sustainable solution to alleviate poverty. She goes on to explain that there are a billion people in the world who could potentially work their way out of poverty if they had access to small amounts of capital. To lend to all of these people, microfinance institutions would need to have about $300 billion in capital, but they currently only have around one tenth of that amount. Ashwini is passionate about the need to scale up microfinance and she believes the way to go is through retail capital. Microfinance is not charity, but investment, and for Ashwini it is about “engaging with another person like a human

BELINDA BRAUNSTEIN Merced, California may not be the first place that comes to mind for pursuing an international career. However, as coordinator of the English Language Institute (ELI) at University of California, Merced (UCM), Belinda Braunstein (MATESOL ’93) is finding the San Joaquin Valley a great place for advancing her TESOL career. Belinda came to UCM three years after it was established in 2005 as the 10th campus in the University of California System. “It’s invigorating to be in on the ground floor of something, to work at a university campus and coordinate an institute while both are still in their nascent years and have so much room for growth.” At the ELI, Belinda assesses the language skills of all incoming international graduate students, works with them on these skills, and develops programs to better serve UCM’s small but growing

being” by believing in their ability to pay back the loan with some interest. After working as director of financial services for North America at PayPal, Ashwini was offered the chance to participate in the launching of Microplace, which she recalls as her opportunity to start “making a difference from both sides of the equation.” Ashwini adds the reason she chose the Monterey Institute for her graduate studies was the opportunity to combine Ashwini Narayanan business studies with social thinking and international development. One of Ashwini’s goals is to make everyday investors in the United States more comfortable with the concept of socially beneficial investing—the idea that they can both make a difference and expect returns from their investments.

The MIIS Network in Action

international community. She also coordinates the Summer Bridge Program, which focuses on writing skills for incoming freshmen who are primarily former English Language Learners. To keep her classroom skills fresh, Belinda teaches Writing 01 for freshmen. In addition to her “day job,” Belinda takes an active role in professional associations. She recently served as president of California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL), a group that represents teachers of English language learners throughout California and Nevada. As president of CATESOL, Belinda led a 40-person board and oversaw ten chapters in California and Nevada. The organization provides professional development for teachers, and educates legislators and the public about the needs of English Language Learners and their teachers.

In recalling her time at MIIS, Belinda describes a session during new student orientation when Professor Grothe asked students a series of questions about their international experiences and plans. He instructed everyone to raise their hands if they had studied abroad once, twice, etc., if they spoke one other language in addition to their mother tongue, two languages, etc., and other questions. “All around the room everyone had their hands up for at least some of the questions, and many people kept them up for most. Even with all our different backgrounds and nationalities, these people were like me!” Belinda says her MIIS training was excellent preparation for the various positions she’s held since graduating; it was a MIIS alumna who first hired her to teach at a university in Mexico, and another alumna who invited her to UCM.

She believes in the strength of the MIIS network and keeps engaged. “When hiring for a TESOL-related position, I know that if an applicant went to MIIS, that person is going to be special—probably one the best candidates—even before meeting the person.”

Belinda Braunstein

Spring/Summer 2010

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