Traveling? Help Us Yield Applicants for Fall 2009

Spring is the time of year when applicants to graduate schools are making
decisions about where to attend. They have received their financial aid
packages, know about their scholarships, and are trying to narrow down
their options for fall. Making a personal connection to a MIIS person
might be all it takes to help them realize that a MIIS degree is worth the
substantial investment involved.

If you are traveling this spring or summer, we would love to set up a
meeting with applicants/admitted students. These gatherings are
generally small groups that meet in a local restaurant or bar for
appetizers and drinks or coffee and sweets– which ever is most
appropriate. They generally last 2 hours and can be done during the day or
evening. We can often set them up to meet at your hotel restaurant. The
Recruiting Department handles all of the invites, RSVPs, and sets the
location. We would provide you with an RSVP list in advance and reimburse
your expenses for the event.

It will take all of us in the community to reach this fall’s enrollment goal.

Please contact Jill Stoffers by email (or at 647-6571), or your Enrollment Manager if you are able to help us yield the next class. Thank you!

White Whale Visits MIIS

Mike Roy, Dean of Library and Information Services, announced last week that White Whale has been chosen as the web design company to partner with us on our joint web makover project. White Whale will visit Monterey on April 2.  You may see them wandering around campus, and they’ll hold an open meeting at 11 a.m. in the Board Room for anyone interested in hearing about their approach to this project.

We anticipate that a new public-facing website for MIIS will be launched in August. Middlebury’s public site will launch in December. Portal-like functionality for members of each campus community is expected to become available sometime during the next academic year. Much of the work of building the new sites for both Middlebury and Monterey is on the shoulders of the excellent technical team at Middlebury.  Kristen Byers, Digital Media Specialist, will serve as the project manager for work at MIIS, which will revolve, this summer, around developing the content for the new site. We will be looking to many of you to help us tell our story.

White Whale will focus on design and information architecture, helping us to achieve a high degree of usability, while providing us with a new look that will express out uniqueness and at the same time identify visually our connection to Middlebury .

MIIS Hosts International Storytelling Session for Kids

Peter Shaw’s TESOL students and the Office of Student Services will host a storytelling event for community children (ages 5-8) on Monday, April 9, from 10:15-noon.  The evnt includes with international folktales and interactive activities. Space for MIIS children are limited so contact Gail Lu to reserve a space for your child.

Download flyer.

Staff Advisory Team Formed

We are pleased to announce the formation of the new Staff Advisory Team. We’re very fortunate to have a group of volunteers who represent several different departments at the Institute, and bring diverse backgrounds, perspective, interests and skills to the important work of ensuring that issues of concern to Institute staff are articulated.  They are:

Kenley Butler, JMCNS
Rachel Christopherson, GSTI
Trinidad Gomez, ITS
Gail Lu, Student Affairs
Devin Luedekke, Recruiting
Raphael Ochoa, Financial Aid
Edy Rhodes, current GSIPS Career Development Officer, future Advising Staff

Thanks to the ad hoc staff group that has been working for the past several months to develop alternative frameworks for staff organization, and to carry out the process of vetting these frameworks  and implementing  the one favored by the majority of the staff:

Karen Weiss, Dean’s Assistant GSTI
Priscilla Lorenzo, Office Services Coordinator
Toni Thomas, MBA Academic Advisor and Program Coordinator
Lynn McDonald, Postgraduate Fellow in Organizational Development
Susan Wolfe, Manager of Foundation and Corporate Relations
Erika Johnson, Acquisitions Librarian
Kenley Butler, CNS Senior Project Manager, Executive Officer

Once the new team members have had an initial meeting, they will call an all-staff meeting to develop ideas for the agenda for the coming months.

MIIS Chosen to Orient Fulbright Scholars

Intensive English Programs is pleased to announce that they have been
selected to host 35 Fulbright scholars this summer. Monterey Institute is
one of the sites chosen to hold pre-academic orientation for newly arrived
Fulbrighters. The program is designed to cover an orientation to the U.S.
academic system, English language training and field-of-study preparation.
The program is also aimed at building a basic understanding of current
issues in U.S. society and a solid foundation of U.S. social values, both
of which are necessary for successful intercultural communication in the
scholars’ host communities. The scholars will represent a wide variety of
fields of study and cultural backgrounds and will be on campus from July
20 – August 7, 2009. If you are interested in learning more about this
program, please contact the program coordinator, Katherine Braun at
english@miis.edu.

HR Hosts Team Building Workshop

Thanks to our connection with EDFUND through the Financial Aid Office, we are able to offer a staff development workshop entitled “Building Teams for Your Future,” March 26, 1:30-3:30, CF 452.  This is a very timely offering, especially in light of the call that has just gone out for volunteers to form a Staff Advisory Team (deadline March 23).  The workshop will cover:

Defining teams
How teams benefit an organization
Being passionate about what we do
Defining the difference between teams and groups
Avoiding team mistakes
Developing team culture
Transforming your organization
Importance of attitude
Becoming multi-functional
Pulling it all together – building a bridge to success

Here is some information on the workshop leader:
Joel Kordis – Senior Professional Development Trainer, EDFUND

Beginning in 2001, Joel came to EDFUND with a well-rounded background in Financial Aid, Training, and Education and has over 20 years experience in both post-secondary and adult educational institutions. Academically, Joel holds degrees specializing in Leadership and Motivational Skills.  Some of the positions he has held include Academic Program Director, State Training Manager and Adjunct Assistant Professor. Joel is certified as a Facilitator for Development Dimensions International Learning Systems, and by the Bob Pike Group as a Master Trainer in Participant Centered Instruction.  While at EDFUND Joel has provided training events and graduation key note addresses to over 10,000 participants.

Unbook Club Update

The unbook club met at Maha’s restaurant on March 9th to discuss our latest concept/book, The Art of Possibility.  This book really struck a chord in the group and the conversations were lively and interesting.

The big idea of the book is to change your outlook to create opportunities.  The Zanders use stories to emphasize their concepts and illustrate that we can be the solution.  Concepts such as giving yourself or others an A, making a contribution, tell the we story, its all invented and living your passion are given life in this book along with ways in which you can incorporate them into your life.  One concept from the book, rule number six, made an impression.  What’s rule number six?  Don’t take yourself so seriously.  What are the other rules?  There are no other rules.

The unbook club group felt like they had only scratched the surface in analyzing this book and decided to keep reading it and discussing it at our next meeting, April 6th.  The group will be meeting in Kade at noon – everyone is welcome!

The Art of Possibility

Innovation Conversations – Every Tuesday at noon in Kade

Starting on March 17th, the pizza process will be hosting innovation conversations every Tuesday at noon in Kade 20 until the Idea Fair on April 16th.  The conversations will be an opportunity for pizza groups and innovators to develop their ideas with the help of some special guest participants.

Tuesday, March 17th – Lessons Learned from Last Year

Tuesday, March 24th – Project Logic/Start-up Tips

Tuesday, March 31st – Budgeting & Funding

Tuesday, April 7th – Branding & Marketing

Join us to learn more about how to shape the Institute and have a bit of fun while we’re doing it.  For more information and to RSVP, visit the Pizza Process Social Network or contact Lynn McDonald

Maya Soetoro-Ng To Address MIIS Students, Faculty & Staff

Nonviolence advocate Maya Soetoro-Ng will address Institute students, faculty and staff on the topic “Conflict Resolution, Peacebuilding and Education” on Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm in the Irvine Auditorium.  In addition to her work on nonviolent conflict resolution, last fall Soetoro-Ng spoke at the Democratic National Convention in support of her half-brother Barack Obama’s candidacy for president.  Soetoro-Ng serves on the International Advisory Board of Global Majority, a nonprofit organization started by former Institute students and faculty that is dedicated to promoting nonviolent conflict resolution education, mediation and advocacy.

All Institute students, faculty and staff are invited to attend.  A question and answer session will follow, and a podcast of the event will also be posted to the Institute’s iTunesU site afterwards.

Photo Credit

Reorganization: Next Steps

President Ramaswamy, Provost Sands, and the deans named recently to head GSIPM, GSTILE and the new Advising, Career, and Student Services area have been working together since the retreats two weeks ago to consider the input generated by the community and to craft next steps that will help us translate that input into workable implementation plans.  Attached to this post is a powerpoint document that connects “takeaways” from the retreats with planning processes for four sets of issues: curricular development in each of two schools, creation of a seamless advising function, and consideration of the myriad administrative details and workflows that must be aligned to make both the reorganization, and integration with Middlebury, as smooth and efficient as possible.

On page 16 of the document, you will find information about the leadership of each of these four processes. Please feel free to contact any of them regarding your interest in contributing to the planning activities described.

Program Chairs, School and Advising Staff Announced

After deliberation and consultation with President Sunder Ramaswamy, Provost Amy Sands, and faculty members, the deans are pleased to announce additional information regarding the structure of the two new schools and the Office of Advising, Career, and Student Services, including key staff and faculty appointments.  They are excited about the leadership teams they have put together and look forward to working with them and all of you to achieve our goals of academic excellence, enhanced faculty collaboration and innovation, and new student learning and career opportunities.

Graduate School of International Policy and Management

On June 1, 2009, The Graduate School of International Policy Studies and the Fisher Graduate School of International Business will officially combine to become the Graduate School of International Policy and Management (GSIPM). The new School will consist of four programs:

The Program in Public Administration in International Management (MPA)
The Program in International Policy Studies (MAIPS)
The Program in International Environmental Policy (MAIEP)
The Fisher Program in International Business (MBA)

The Program Chair of Public Administration in International Management will be Dr. Beryl Levinger. Dr. Levinger is Distinguished Professor of Nonprofit Management at the Monterey Institute where she also serves as Academic Director of the Development Project Management Institute (DPMI). She has had a distinguished career in international NGOs: President of AFS Intercultural Programs; Senior Vice President of CARE; Vice Chair and Co-founder of InterAction; and Senior Adviser to President of Save the Children. She has served on a number of prestigious expert groups, written extensively on capacity building and development for nonprofit organizations, and worked in nearly 80 countries as a Peace Corps Volunteer, trainer, facilitator, or presenter at development assistance meetings. Dr. Levinger received her MA and Ph.D. in educational planning and administration from the University of Alabama and her undergraduate degree in social sciences from Cornell University.

The Program Chair of International Policy Studies will be Dr. Fernando De Paolis. Dr. De Paolis is an Associate Professor specializing in research methods, data analysis, quantitative policy analysis, regional economics, development economics, and geographic information systems. He has also served as Assistant Dean of GSIPS, as a senior research consultant with the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center, and as a consultant for state and national governments, international organizations, and the private sector. He received his Ph.D. in urban planning from University of California, Los Angeles; Master’s in Urban Planning as a Fulbright Scholar from the University of Kansas; and Professional Degree in Architecture – Summa Cum Laude from National University of San Juan, Argentina.

The Program Chair of International Environmental Policy will be Dr. Jason Scorse.  Dr. Scorse has been on the Monterey Institute faculty as Assistant Professor since completion of his Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics at University of California at Berkeley. He teaches courses in environmental and natural resource economics and sustainable development. He has also served as Coordinator of the International Environment Policy Program since 2007. Dr. Scorse is currently the Lead Non-Market Economist for the National Ocean Economics Program and has consulted for major environmental organizations and published in leading journals. He recently completed a book manuscript entitled What Environmentalists Need to Know about Economics.

The Program Chair of the Fisher Program in International Business will be announced soon.

The several non-degree GSIPM activities and programs — including DPMI, CLP, IPSS, CEAS, MonTREP, and the GLOBE Center — will continue to report directly to the dean and will be grouped together under “Special Programs.” I expect to identify the synergies between some of these programs and, where appropriate, strengthen opportunities for expansion and collaboration.

The GSIPM organization will also have an Assistant Dean and a Dean’s Assistant. It is my great pleasure to announce that Toni Thomas has agreed to take on the role of Assistant Dean, and that Nina Dutra has agreed to take on the role of Dean’s Assistant.

Ms. Thomas has been the Academic Advisor and Program Coordinator for the Fisher Graduate School of International Business since Fall 2001. In addition to advising MBA candidates on academic requirements, her current role encompasses managing the data compilation and submission for surveys, rankings, and AACSB accreditation, coordinating curriculum development with the Dean and faculty, and dealing with marketing activities for both the degree and non-degree programs.

Ms. Dutra brings a wealth of experience in education, international development and women’s rights. Over the course of her career she has worked and traveled in Eritrea, the Swahili Coast and India. In 2007, Ms. Dutra received her Master’s degree in Social Anthropology of Development from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. While in London, she established and directed a nonprofit society teaching yoga and meditation courses to over 250 students.

With this excellent team of professionals, I am confident that the business of GSIPM is in good hands and that we are a significant step closer to realizing our shared vision for the new School and the Institute. I am simply thrilled to be part of this team.

— Yuwei Shi

Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education

On June 1, 2009, the Graduate School of Translation & Interpretation and the Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics will officially combine to become the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education (GSTILE). The new school will be organized around its degree and language studies programs:

The Program in Language Studies
The Program in TESOL/TFL (MATESOL/MATFL)
The Program in Translation and Interpretation (MATI)
The Program in Conference Interpretation (CI)
The Program in Translation and Localization Management (MAT/MATLM)

I am very enthusiastic about the faculty who have agreed to serve as GSTILE Program Chairs.  Each of these individuals has a record of demonstrated leadership, enthusiasm for their respective programs, and successful collaboration both within and across programs.

The Program Chair of Language Studies will be Naoko Matsuo.  Naoko is a graduate of the TESOL program at MIIS and has been a faculty member in the Graduate School of Language and Educational Linguistics since 1995.  She has taught all levels of Japanese, from complete beginning to highly-advanced content courses. She has participated in a number of Monterey Model courses, collaborating with colleagues in language studies, international policy studies, and translation and interpretation.  She has served as the head of the Japanese Studies program since 1998, and has been involved with summer and winter intensive language programs and numerous custom language programs.

The Program Chair of TESOL/TFL will be Dr. Lynn Goldstein.  Lynn has been a faculty member at the Institute since 1986.  During this time, she has served as the founder and program head of the EAPP, Campus Writing, and EAPP Bridge programs, and has been an active participant in numerous TESOL initiatives and campus faculty committees. Her areas of expertise include sociolinguistics, intercultural communication, applied linguistics research, second language writing, second language writing assessment, second language writing program administration, and English language structure and discourse.  She has been an active participant in the Monterey Way/Academic Excellence process, and is currently teaching a Monterey Way course entitled “Intercultural Communication in Multilingual/Multicultural Settings” for students from the IPS, IM, and T&I programs.

The Program Chair of Translation and Interpretation will be Dr. Kayoko Takeda.  Kayoko received an MA in Translation and Interpretation from MIIS and a PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies from Universitat Rovira i Virgili. She has been with the Institute as a faculty member for 12 years, and currently teaches interpreting research and English-Japanese interpreting courses. As a freelance interpreter, she primarily works in the areas of international conferences, corporate litigation, and investor relations. She has organized two internationally-attended Monterey Forums for Translation and Interpretation, the most recent of which will be taking place at the beginning of April.

The Program Chair of Conference Interpretation will be Barry Slaughter Olsen.  Barry received his B.A. in Translation from Brigham Young University, and his M.A. in Conference Interpretation at the Monterey Institute.  He has been working as a conference interpreter and translator since 1993. Before joining the faculty at MIIS, he was Translator in Residence at American University in Washington, D.C. He has taught numerous courses on simultaneous and consecutive interpretation in the United States and Latin America. His clients include the U.S. State Department, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of American States (OAS), National Geographic Society, C-SPAN Television, and other public and private sector clients.

The Program Chair of Translation and Localization Management is the subject of a current search and will be announced soon.  The Chair of this program will play an important role in helping both to articulate and to meet the growing professional needs for individuals with TLM experience.

The directors of the non-degree programs in GSTILE, which include Alicia Brent and Diane Williams in Intensive Language Studies (CLS, SILP, WILP), Patricia Szasz in Intensive English Studies, and Rachel Christopherson with Translation & Interpretation programs, will continue to report directly to the Dean. We are eager to explore ways of enhancing our short-term program offerings as we reach out to an expansive international community.

I am pleased to announce that Angie Quesenberry will be the Dean’s Assistant for GSTILE.  Angie has been working with the Language Studies and TESOL/TFL faculty since 2002.  She has also worked substantially with non-degree programs, and brings much experience to her new position.  Angie’s role as Language Requirement Coordinator will also make her a valuable liaison to the new Academic, Careers, and Student Services Center.

I am very excited to be working with such a distinguished and capable team as we continue to grow and enhance the excellent translation, interpretation, and language education programs here at MIIS.

— Renee Jourdenais

Office of Advising, Career, and Student Services

The substructure for the Office of Advising, Career, and Student Services includes three offices that, while separate, will link a student’s experience from his admission to her first job upon graduation in a seamless fashion — specifically, Records, Office of Student Services, and the new Center for Advising and Career Services.  There will be no changes in the personnel staffing of the first two of these organizations, but the Center is an entirely new entity that will rely on the expertise of several staff already working on academic advising, scheduling, and career services.

Specifically, it gives me great pleasure to announce that Sabrina Atwater, Jen Hambleton,  Edy Rhodes, Jennifer Tuman, Nathan Westrup, and Jeff Wood will be moving over to the Center as soon as our new space is ready for occupancy. Janet Lyon will also be a part of the team but will initially share her time between GSIPS/GSIPM and the Center.  Each person was selected based upon their area of expertise, overall experience, and their ability to deliver the highest level of advising to all Institute students.

There is currently a search underway for a new MBA Career Advisor who, once onboard, will also move into the Center.  Last but not least, at some point over the summer, Jacolyn Harmer will begin a part-time advising role in the Center.

Please join me in welcoming this new team to the Center. We are all looking forward to getting the Center up and running at the earliest possible date so that we can better serve the Institute-wide student community

— Tate Miller