Internationalization Initiative

2018-19 internationalization activities

Internationalization Steering Committee Activities 2018-19

Fall 2018
  • Information Tables for Internationalization were held during Fall 2018 District in-service in Cascade, Rock Creek, and Sylvania Campuses. Amber Hicks gave a presentation about internationalization to SAC Chairs during In-Service week.
    Fall 2018 In-Service table at Rock Creek Campus
    President Mitsui and Internationalization Steering Committee Members
  • Lyla Bashan, a Foreign Service Officer with the US Agency for International Development serving in Armenia as US Diplomat in Armenia, spoke at Southeast Campus Community Hall on October 1, 2018, on Diplomatic Service in Armenia and how to pursue International Studies as a career.
  • Internationalization Steering Committee co-sponsored the Portland Women In Art Lectures PWAL in hosting Monica Mayer, a Mexican feminist artist and activist, for the annual lecture series in November 2018. Read the PWALS Monica Mayer article.
Winter 2019
  • The Internationalization Steering Committee streamlined an annual application process for professional development opportunities in the area of internationalization and a link was added to opportunities for funding.
  • Applications received from faculty towards Internationalization staff development were reviewed by Internationalization Steering Committee members and the following faculty received partial funding for attending conferences and later shared their experiences and takeaways with the college community:
    • Kim Smith (Sociology) – 11 Global RCE Conference (Philippines)
    • Carolina Selva (Business Administration) – Institute of International Education Annual Conference, NY
    • Payal Roy (Mathematics) – Winter Institute of Intercultural Communication, Santa Fe, New Mexico
    • Sarah Bauer, Diana Lease, and Davida Jordan (ESOL) – TESOL 2019 International Convention, Atlanta, GA
    • Morgan Lindberg (World Languages/Japanese), Susan Watson (Computer Applications and Web Technologies), and Debra Galba-Machuca (Biology) – Forum on Education Abroad, Denver, CO
    • Elona Casady (Health Studies) – NAFSA Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.
    • Zapoura Newton-Calvert (English) – NCORE
    • Usha Ramanujam (Business Administration) – Community Colleges for International Development 2019 Annual Conference, San Diego, CA
    • Dr. Kim Smith says about her experience: “International experiences come in many forms. Often, the most meaningful for me are when I can meet with academics and change agents around the world who strive to advance educational initiatives for a sustainable future. I am grateful to have received staff development funds to support part of the expenses to attend the Global RCE Conference, in Cebu, Philippines, where PCC and our partners won three awards for our sustainability outreach efforts.”
  • The internationalization Steering Committee worked on mapping internationalization efforts to the college’s YESS initiatives and goals. The results were presented to Dr. Rob Steinmetz, Vice President of Student Affairs, in December 2018 and to Dr. Katy Ho, Vice President of Academic Affairs, in January 2019.
  • International Women’s Day celebrations were held at Rock Creek Campus on March 7, 2019, with a panel discussion on Women of Leadership, Action, and Politics. The internationalization Steering Committee co-sponsored this event.
  • Speed Culturing between an ESOL and Writing class at Rock Creek Campus in winter 2019Speed Culturing was promoted successfully with over 350 students participating at all four campuses. Eighteen classes comprised of ESOL, CTE (Biotechnology, Engineering, and Business), and non-CTE (Psychology, Communication Studies, Career Guidance, Writing, Health, German) collaborated in this fun and learning activity.
  • Holi festival posterHoli Festival of Colors was co-sponsored by the Internationalization Steering Committee and was held on March 21 at the Rock Creek Campus. Math instructor Payal Roy introduced the PCC community to this global celebration through a presentation followed by a fun paint activity. Several students, faculty, and staff participated.
  • Three new Anthropology courses were presented by Mary Courtis, anthropology faculty, and the Internationalization Steering Committee approved the following courses to be added to the Global Studies Focus Award list.
    • ATH 165 (Sexuality and Culture)
    • ATH 162 (Introduction to Medical Anthropology)
    • ATH 220 (Comparative Cultures)
Spring 2019
  • The internationalization Steering Committee and the Business Department jointly invited two business faculty, Prof. Chonghui Zhang and Prof. Kecheng Liu from North East Normal University (NENU) to explore collaboration between the institutions. The faculty visited Business classrooms in Rock Creek and Sylvania Campus on April 24 and spoke on global topics. Business faculty had an opportunity to discuss teaching practices and developing courses with a global focus.
    April 24, 2019 pictures taken at Rock Creek Campus with Business faculty from North East Normal University, China
    April 24, 2019 pictures taken at Rock Creek Campus with Business faculty from North East Normal University, China
  • The Asian Studies/China Studies/Global Studies Focus Awards ceremony was held on May 23, 2019, at Sylvania Campus. Dr. Katy Ho, Vice President, Academic Affairs welcomed the audience. It is notable that the Global Studies Focus Awards have increased almost four times since its inception three years ago. A North Indian classical Kathak performance by students of Rhythms Dance Academy and a presentation by artist Sabina Haque were a part of the event.
  • A workshop titled “Sharing Best Practices In Internationalization Related Teaching” was held on May 31, 2019, at Sylvania Campus. Dr. Katy Ho, Vice President, Academic Affairs, and Dr. Lisa Avery, Sylvania Campus President welcomed the audience.
    • Keynote speakers, Dr. Allison Blizzard (Director, International Student Services and Fulbright Scholar) and Dr. Heather Mayer (TLC Coordinator, Rock Creek, and History faculty) spoke on the intersection of internationalization, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
    • The following faculty presented to smaller groups about internationalizing their courses and shared examples of infusing global and intercultural competencies.
      • Rachel Siegler – Art (Digital Photography)
      • Karen Embry – English
      • Payal Roy – Mathematics
      • Linda Fergusson-Kolmes – Biology
      • Luciana Diniz – ESOL
      • Peter Gramlich – Architecture
      • Mary Courtis – Anthropology
      • Elona Casady – Health Studies
    • Fifty faculty and staff attended the event and gave positive remarks including suggestions to make it an annual event.
    • Read the internationalization in teaching article on the PCC news site.
  • Northwest International Education Association (NIEA) Association’s mini-grant opportunities were advertised PCC-wide via the internationalization Committee. The purpose of the mini-grants is to encourage faculty to internationalize their curriculum. Two PCC faculty were awarded the mini-grants during spring 2019:
    • Peter Gramlich (Architecture)
    • Rachel Siegel (Art)
  • Speed Culturing continued to be promoted to increase global cultural awareness of students and staff during spring 2019. Overall, during 2018-19, Speed Culturing was held at all the campus and 738 students (from 19 ESOL classes and 28 non-ESOL classes) participated signifying an increase of over 40% from the previous year. Read the speed culturing article on the PCC news site.
  • INTL 201 (Introduction to International Studies) was offered during fall 18, winter 19, and spring 19.
  • Internationalization newsletters on grants and staff development opportunities, events, and activities at the college and beyond were sent at least once a month raising the visibility and awareness of the Internationalization Steering Committee’s work across the college.