Upcoming Speaker: Ambassador Thomas J. Miller on 9/29 at 7:00 pm

The Monterey Bay Chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA presents:

Our New President Comes to Town!
The Obama Administration Foreign Policy
Challenges and Opportunities – A Practitioner’s Perspective –

Speaker: Ambassador Thomas J. Miller
President/CEO of the United Nations Association of the USA
Former US Ambassador to Bosnia & Herzegovina
Former US Ambassador to Greece

When: Tuesday evening, September 29 at 7:00 pm Irvine Auditorium

Admission is free … everyone is welcome. Please arrive early to assure a seat a meet-the-speaker dessert reception will follow the program

For more information about this event: www.unamontereybay.org or 831-625-9414

About our speaker: Ambassador Thomas J. Miller
In May 2009, the United Nations Association of the USA welcomed its new President/CEO, former US Ambassador Thomas J. Miller, following the retirement of former US Ambassador William H. Luers, who had led UNA-USA for ten years.

A native of the Chicago area, Tom began his career with a BA, two Masters degrees and a PhD in Political Science, all from the University of Michigan. He then entered the US Foreign Service, and had diverse postings of increasing responsibility in Thailand, Greece and at the State Department in Washington, where he focused on North Africa and the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In 1999 he was named US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the post-conflict period, and then US Ambassador to Greece in 2001, his service there including a focus on the security concerns of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

At the end of 2004 he retired from the Foreign Service, and assumed the position of President/CEO of Plan International, a $650 million global humanitarian program based in London, which works to improve children’s lives in developing countries throughout the world. He left that  position in early 2009 and moved back to the United States, just in time to be considered for the UNA-USA Presidency. The UNA-USA Transition Committee recommended him unanimously and enthusiastically to the UNA-USA Board of Directors.

Also, please mark your calendars for our next UNA event:

Our 10th Annual International Film Festival
12 outstanding international documentary films!
Thursday, November 5, at 7:00 PM
Friday, November 6, at 7:00 PM
Saturday, November 7, at 7:00 PM
Sunday, November 8, at 2:30 PM
at the beautiful Golden State Theatre in downtown Monterey Admission: $5.00 per session, free for all students with student ID For more information, see: www.unamontereybay.org

CROSSCULTURAL LUNCHES ON WED, THUR!! DRINKS, DESSERT FREE!

The next two cross cultural lunches will be at 12:15 on Wednesday, Sept 23
and Thursday, Sept. 24 in the courtyard in front of the Holland Center.
Dessert and drinks are free! Everyone is welcome! There will only be three or
four more cross-cultural lunches during the next month and that will be all for
the rest of the academic year.

As you may know, we place six students to a table, mixed by by  nationality
and academic program and so it is a wonderful opportunity to meet students
from other countries and specializations. A professor at each table will
facilitate a crosscultural question, which always leads to a great discussion.

Last year, around 250 students took part in the crosscultural lunches. You can
sign up in the advising center on the third floor of McCone.
Again, everyone is welcome!

Kind regards,

Peter

Professor Peter Grothe, Ph.D.
Director of International Student Programs
tel. 831-647-4129
email: pgrothe@miis.edu

Make your appointment for the Graduate Writing Center beginning Monday, September 21st!

Visit us on the web at: http://www.miis.edu/academics/resources/writingcenter

From blank sheet of paper to polished copy, the Graduate Writing Center loves to help bring beautiful words into the world. Do you have punctuation problems?  Development dilemmas? Writer’s block? Grammar headaches? Word choice worries?  Never fear! The Graduate Writing Center is here!

You can find us on the west wing of the Simoneau house at 456 Van Buren Street.  We offer one-hour appointments (limited to one per student per week), but if  there is an open slot that no one is using, you can just drop in!

The grand opening for the fall 2009 semester will occur on September 28th, but  you can begin making appointments on September 21st using the sign up sheet outside the GWC. The writing center will be open from 2-8 Monday through Thursday and from 10-4 on Fridays. Spanish Tutoring is offered Monday and  Tuesday from 2-3. Chinese tutoring is offered Monday and Thursday from 7-8.  Arabic is available Monday 6-7, Thursday 4-7, and Friday 2-4.

We look forward to another great semester working with you!

Find out more about the 2010 Team Monterey El Salvador Development Practicum

Are you interested in finding out about the 2010 Team Monterey El Salvador Development Practicum? Then come to one of our upcoming Info Sessions!

What: Team Monterey El Salvador Development Practicum- a 3 week J-term opportunity to work on on-the-ground development projects & enhance your Spanish skills

When &:   Wednesday, September 16, 2009 – 6-7pm @ MG102
 Where     Tuesday, September 22, 2009 – 12-1pm @ B104

Contact:   EquipoMonterey@gmail.com
                 http://tlc.miis.edu/equipomonterey

Come to find out about the history of Team Monterey El Salvador, La Coordinadora-Asociación Mangle, the communities of the Bajo Lempa in which we work, program deliverables, project scope and strategy, and the application process and timelines moving forward. See you there!

An inspiring event that will change the world: The Faces of Hope Gala

 Rising International, an international non-profit, is looking for women with  developing country backgrounds to attend and be their honored guest for their upcoming  gala, Faces of Hope, on Saturday, October 10th at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach. 

 Rising International’s mission is to end world poverty in this lifetime by empowering  the world’s poor, especially women. They are a non-profit based in Santa Cruz, California  and partner with multiple international and local community networks with a focus on fair trade distribution and education.  They bring together all corners of the world in individual’s living rooms to realize the potential ofending poverty and preserving artesian heritage and craftsmanship.
 
The Faces of Hope event on October 10th will be their annual gala fund raising event.  They will be honoring 37 women from various international backgrounds to be ambassadors  of their home country or indigenous background.  Each woman will be honored by receiving a complimentary dinner (a $250 comp value) and chance to speak about their background and experiences in a supportive, giving, and nurturing environment. They are expecting more than 400 local leaders, business executives, politicians, celebrities, dignitaries, authors, filmmakers, and community members including Sam Farr and Clint and Dina Eastwood. Partial proceeds will support entrepreneurial training for low-income women (mostly single mothers) living right here on the Central Coast.

For current information and photos of the last event please visit their website at: http://risinginternational.org/facesofhope.html 
            
If you will be able to attend, or would like more information, please contact  Courtney Cruzan, ambassadors4rising@hotmail.com or via phone: 831-402-6903.

CROSSCULTURAL LUNCHES NEXT TUES, THURS. A Great MIIS Tradition Returns! Drinks, desserts free!!

The great MIIS tradition of cross-cultural lunches returns this next Tuesday
and Thursday, September 15 and 17. They start at 12:15 sharp in the Holland 
Center courtyard.

For the last five years, about 250 students and 30 faculty and staff have
taken part each fall. There will be  5 or 6 crosscultural lunches during the first half of fall semester and no more this academic year.

One needs to sign up at the Career Advising Center on the third floor of the
McCone Building at the reception desk. Students are placed six to a table,
mixed up by nationality and academic program and a cross-cultural question is
facilitated by a faculty member. The feedback is that the discussions are
lively, informative  and entertaining! Everyone is welcome!

Professor Peter Grothe, Ph.D.
Director of International Student Programs
tel. 831-647-4129
email: pgrothe@miis.edu

CROSSCULTURAL RETREAT AT BIG SUR REDWOODS Two choices–Sun, Sept 13 or Sun, Oct 4

For the fifth year in a row, there will be an exciting cross-cultural retreat
at the magnificent redwood tree park at Big Sur. You can choose to go this
Sunday, Sept 13 or you can go on Sunday Oct. 4th. The crossrcultural
interacting experiences will be facilitated by Professor Peter Grothe, who
teaches intercultural communications courses at MIIS.

The bus leaves at 10 am sharp and the cost for the bus is $20. The
participants will be guests of Dr. Grothe for a Chinese dinner and dinner
should be finished by 6 pm. Participants are asked to bring their own lunches
and one artifact (or a picture of an artifact) that says something about their
culture, or the culture of a country they lived in.

If you wish to come, email Dr.Grothe  (jgrothe@exchange.miis.edu) and mention
which date you wish to come and which country you come from. All students are
welcome! The limited number of places are filling up quickly and so reserve
your place soon.

Celebrating the first Fall 2009 Happy Hour!

Student Council & Team Monterey El Salvador  would like to welcome new and returning students to join us in celebrating the first Fall 2009 Happy Hour!

Event Details:

*Free to all MIIS Students and their Guests

Time: 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Location: Our Green Thumb Garden (Next to the Morse Building)

Bring the following two items:
Your Photo I.D. (You must be 21 to drink here!)
Your own reusable cup (Help us reduce waste)

Snacks, Beer, Wine, Non-alcoholic drinks  and Music will be provided

YOU are responsible for bringing the FUN!

http://tlc.miis.edu/equipomonterey

happy hour

Submit a Nomination for the Fall ’09 Student Council

Positions up for nomination:
Vice President
Secretary
1st Year Student Reps For: IEP, IPS, MPA, MBA, T&I, TLM, TESOL/TFL, CI& BA
2nd Year Student Reps For: IPS, ITP & CI

Important Info:
Nominations Sept. 4-11 (Check MIIS Online Calendar for link)
Speeches Sept. 15 (Samson Center)
Elections Sept. 15-18 (Student Affairs)
Election Results Announced Sept. 18 (at Happy Hour)

Please note: One nomination per person (one person can be nominated for more than one position, BUT can only run for one position in the elections).

Please direct all questions to Student Affairs.

Attachment: SC Nomination Poster