Valpo Joins Internationalization Project

Valparaiso University has been asked to join a national organization focused on internationalization efforts, reports Inside INdiana Business.

The school is one of eight institutions invited to be a part of the American Council on Education's 2010-2011 Internationalization Laboratory Cohort. Valparaiso will help develop strategies for campus internationalization by forming campus leadership teams to work on strategic planning and student outcomes. It will also attend three community meetings in Washington, D.C. and conduct site visits and peer reviews.

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Kinder Lernen Deutsch

German classes will be offered again this academic year to first-grade children at Valparaiso University's Kade-Duesenberg German House and Cultural Center.

Beginning 27 September and ending on 25 April, Valpo's "Kinder lernen Deutsch" classes emphasize learning German through fun activities, games and songs, and are taught by undergraduate students of German.

The weekly classes meet for one hour, beginning at 4 p.m., for a total of 19 sessions.

Jennifer Bjornstad, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures and director of the German House, supervises the program and said approximately 300 children have enrolled in "Kinder lernen Deutsch" over the past decade.

Children who begin taking German in the first-grade program can continue for two additional years in "Kinder lernen Deutsch." In fourth and fifth grades, children then have the option of continuing their German or starting a new language in the "Bridges to World Languages" program, a separate after-school program offered by Valparaiso Community Schools in partnership with Valparaiso University.

Registration will continue until the class is full. To register a child, call 219:548-1569 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. The registration fee for the full year is $60 and is due on the first day of class.

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Indiana Latino Conference

More than 250 high school and college students are expected to attend the Indiana Latino Leadership Conference next month in Valparaiso, reports Inside INdiana Business. La Casa, the Latino Culture Center at Indiana University in Bloomington and Ivy Tech Community College are co-sponsoring the event, which is designed to cultivate leadership among Latino students.

The 11th annual conference take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. 27 February at Ivy Tech's Valparaiso Campus (3100 Ivy Tech Drive, Valparaiso). For more information about the conference go online. The fee for students is $10.

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