South Shore Orchestra Heads to China

Valparaiso University’s Confucius Institute will continue building artistic and cultural exchanges between the United States and China during the holiday season as it leads the South Shore Orchestra on a tour through several Chinese cities 26 December through 5 January.

Valpo violinist and music professor Dr. Gregory Maytan will join the orchestra as a featured soloist during its tour, which includes seven performances in music venues renowned throughout China. Leading the tour are Jianyun Meng, a Chinese instructor and director of Valpo’s Confucius Institute, and Jiangang Liu, associate director of the institute.

More than 70 musicians from the South Shore Orchestra will participate in the tour, which will include performances in Beijing and Zhejiang Province, Indiana’s sister province. The orchestra will perform a combination of Chinese and American music during its tour. Dr. Maytan, who has performed extensively throughout the United States and Europe, will be featured on pieces including “The Butterfly Lovers” violin concerto by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang during the upcoming tour.

Valpo is the first faith-based university in the United States to host a Confucius Institute, a non-profit institute established and funded by the Chinese government to promote cultural, business, educational, artistic and government exchanges.

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US Ambassador-Designate to Serbia Speaks at Valpo

The United States Ambassador-designate to the Republic of Serbia will present the commencement address at Valparaiso University's ceremonies honoring mid-year graduates, reports the Valpo news bureau.

Ceremonies for students expected to complete requirements for undergraduate, graduate and law degrees begin at 2:30 p.m. 13 December in the Chapel of the Resurrection.

Mary Burce Warlick (pictured), a Valpo alumna and a career member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service, was nominated to the ambassador post by President Barack Obama in September. Her experience at the U.S. Department of State began in 1983 and she has served in several posts at U.S. embassies in Asia and Europe and as minister-counselor for economic affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. During that assignment, she traveled extensively in Russia and worked on a wide range of trade, investment and energy issues, including Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization and the protection of intellectual property rights.

Warlick's assignments in Washington, D.C., include serving most recently as acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia policy. Prior to that, Warlick served as acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and NATO policy, special assistant to the president and senior director for Russia at the National Security Council, director of the State Department's Office of Russian Affairs and as director of the Office of Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus Affairs.

Warlick graduated from Valpo in 1979 with a degree in political science and humanities, and was a Christ College (honors college) scholar. She later earned a master's degree in international relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. In 2006, she received the Secretary of State's Award for Public Outreach and she has received eight Superior Honor Awards from the State Department.

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Growing Number of International Students at Valpo

This fall, the number of international students on the northern Indiana campus of Valparaiso University rose to 345 (304 on non-immigrant visas), an 18 percent increase from last year's record setting population of 292 students (245 on non-immigrant visas).

Valpo's international student population has more than tripled since fall 2003, when it hosted 109 students (90 on non-immigrant visas).

There's more information about the university's global learning programs online.

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Valparaiso Adds China to Engineering Programs

Students in Valparaiso University's College of Engineering have a new opportunity to study abroad, reports Inside INdiana Business. The Valparaiso International Engineering Program in China is a five-year program that will provide students with a bachelor’s degree in one of four engineering disciplines and a minor in Chinese. Students would study and work in China during the fourth year of the program.

Valpo currently has international engineering programs in Germany and in France. More information on the engineering programs overseas is online.

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Foreign Language Opportunity for First-Graders

A Valparaiso University program that introduces first-grade children to German language and culture is being offered for the 10th consecutive year.

Valpo’s “Kinder lernen Deutsch” program, sponsored by the Kade-Duesenberg German House and Cultural Center, emphasizes learning German through fun and games. Classes begin 21 September, with weekly one-hour sessions taught by undergraduate German and elementary education students at Valpo. Dr. Sarah Glenn DeMaris, professor of foreign languages and literatures and director of the German House, supervises the program.

Children who begin taking German in the first-grade program can continue for two additional years in “Kinder lernen Deutsch.” Fourth and fifth-grade children then have the option of continuing their German or starting a new language through the “Bridges to World Languages” program, another after-school program taught by Valpo students and offered by the Valparaiso Community Schools.

Registration of first-grade children begins today (25 August) on a first-come, first-served basis until the class is full. To register a child, call 219:548-1569 on weekdays between 1 and 5 p.m. The registration fee for the full 22 sessions is $60, and is due on the first day of class. Sessions begin at 4 p.m. on Mondays, with a total of 22 sessions in the program, which concludes 19 April 2010.

Valpo's Engineers Without Borders Work in Tanzania

A team of Valparaiso University students recently returned from a 10-day trip to Tanzania, where they launched what will be at least a five-year relationship with a village facing health and land degradation due to problems with its water canal system.

Alex Williams, president of Valpo’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders and a junior civil engineering major from Fargo, N.D., traveled with seven other students and an engineering professor to the village of Masaera, where they assessed the scope of the project and sought to gain the support of its people.

Over the next year, the chapter will research the best designs for improving the canal and create an educational program so the community is prepared to maintain the canal network themselves.

Valpo’s chapter will return to Masaera next May to begin implementing its canal improvement plan and education program.

Masaera is the second community in Africa that Valpo’s EWB chapter has worked with. In 2008, the chapter completed a five-year project constructing drinking and irrigation water systems for the village of Nakor in Kenya.

EWB-VU was the first university chapter to begin a project in Kenya and it was named a Friend of Kenya by the country’s ambassador last year. Valpo’s chapter won the Engineers Without Borders-USA Educational Achievement Award in 2005 and members have presented information about its Nakor project at several conferences, including the World Education Colloquium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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Windiana Performs at National Chinese Language Conference

Valparaiso University’s Confucius Institute is sponsoring a performance by Windiana concert band at the closing session of the National Chinese Language Conference (NCLC) in Chicago on 2 May. Thousands of educators from across the United States are attending the conference – an annual meeting promoting Chinese language education and fostering global competence among U.S. students.

Led by Dr. Jeff Doebler, associate professor of music and director of bands at Valpo, Windiana will perform several arrangements of Chinese folk songs during the conference’s closing plenary session at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Chicago. During each of the past three summers, Dr. Doebler has led Windiana on tours of China that received national media attention.

NCLC is co-sponsored by the College Board, Asia Society and Confucius Institute Headquarters.

The Confucius Institute is a non-profit institute established and funded by the Chinese government to promote cultural, business, educational, artistic and government exchanges. Valpo’s Confucius Institute is working to develop exchanges between northern Indiana and the province of Zhejiang – which became Indiana’s sister province in 1989.

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Asian Festival at Valpo on 4 April

Asian culture will be celebrated during an event organized by Valparaiso University students featuring the diverse food, music, languages and culture of the world's largest continent.

“Taste of Asia,” sponsored by Valpo's Asian American Association, will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. 4 April in Harre Union on the campus in Valparaiso. The event is open to the public and tickets may be purchased for $2 at Harre Union Welcome Desk.

Samples of food from the Middle East, India, China and Mongolia will be served periodically throughout the event, and students will perform songs from India and the Philippines, a Middle Eastern scarf dance and a skit about Saudi Arabia.

Several interactive activities also will be available, including henna body art and a booth where people can have their name written in different languages, including Arabic and Hindi.

For more information, send an e-mail to Jessiemarie White, or call the Harre Union Welcome Desk at 219:464-5415.

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High School Students to Test Chinese Language Skills

Students from five Indiana and Illinois high schools will match their proficiency in the Chinese language during a Valparaiso University-sponsored speech event on 29 March.

Valparaiso’s Chinese and Japanese Studies Program and the Confucius Institute are sponsoring the first Indiana-Illinois High School Chinese Speech Contest to give students an opportunity to demonstrate their skill speaking a language increasingly important to American businesses, said event organizer and Chinese professor Dr. Benjamin Ridgway.

Approximately 50 students will participate in the speech contest, with students coming from Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, Naperville North High School, Benito Juarez Community Academy in Chicago, Northridge High School in Middlebury and Brownsburg (Ind.) High School.

Students with one or two years of high school Chinese will participate in small group dialogues on topics related to everyday life, while students with more than two years of Chinese language study will present individual speeches.

Each student’s performance will be evaluated by panel of Chinese language teachers and native Chinese speakers from the community: Jianyun Meng, director of Valparaiso’s Confucius Institute; Yueqin Wang, visiting Chinese instructor at the Confucius Institute and an assistant professor of English at Zhejiang University of Technology; and Ning Schultz, instructor of Chinese at Culver Academies.

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Saudia Arabian Official Visits Valpo

The Saudi Arabian cultural attaché to the United States will visit Valparaiso University 20 and 21 March to discuss on the role of Saudi Arabia in the Middle East as well as participate in meetings with the University’s Saudi students and community leaders, reports the Valpo news bureau.

Dr. Mohammed Aleissa (pictured), an expert in educational technology who has served as Saudi Arabia’s cultural attaché since 2007, will speak with students in Valparaiso’s International Commerce and Policy program and School of Law on 20 March, followed by a dinner with University officials and attendance of a Saudi Student Fair in Harre Union.

Dr. Aleissa also will talk with Valparaiso community leaders during a 21 March lunch and meet with Saudi students attending Valpo during his two days on campus.

The Saudi Student Fair will take place from 4 to 8 p.m. 20 March, and is free and open to the public. Displays at the fair will include Saudi culture, its economy, educational system and business climate.

Dr. Aleissa earned his Ph.D. and master’s degree in educational technology from Indiana State University.

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Valpo Brings Water to Chinese Village

Students at Valparaiso University are launching an effort to bring clean water to a rural Chinese village as part of an annual effort that supports a sustainable community development project.

The University’s Social Action Leadership Team will work to educate the campus and local community about the importance of water issues to people throughout the world during “Shui 2 Go! Pipeline to the People,” its 2009 World Relief Campaign.

By the end of the spring semester, the student-led social justice ministry aims to raise at least $15,000 to fund the development and construction of a pipeline system that will bring clean water year-round to nearly 900 people living in Saihan, a village in China’s Yunnan province. SALT is partnering with Concordia Welfare and Education Foundation to carry out the project.

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Valpo Celebrates International Connections

Valparaiso University, which set a record for international student enrollment during the fall semester, will celebrate the culture and traditional foods of its diverse student body during the 29th annual World Banquet on 7 February.

The banquet (formerly known as the International Dinner) begins at 5 p.m. in Harre Union. Tickets are $20 and must be purchased in advance from the University’s Office of International Programs. For details, go online or call 219:464-5333.

This year’s buffet-style dinner includes hummus; Baba Ghannouji; tabouleh; Greek Orzo salad; Thai iced coffee; Maraq Al-Bamiya; Chinese “Beggar’s Chicken”; baklava; “Noah’s Pudding,” and chocolate-dipped apricots. Recipes were submitted and selected by international students and will be prepared by Valparaiso’s Dining Services staff.

Following dinner, there's a talent show featuring some of the 245 international students from 55 countries attending Valparaiso, along with students from Valparaiso’s language clubs. Entertainment will include a fashion show displaying the ethnic dress of students’ homelands, musical performances, skits and dances.

The World Banquet is sponsored by the Office of International Programs and the Valparaiso International Student Association.

In 2008, Valparaiso was one of five institutions in the United States to win the Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization and be cited as a model for other institutions of higher education is preparing students for a global economy and an interconnected world.

International students now make up more than seven percent of Valparaiso’s student body, and the University maintains Study Centers in China, England, Germany and Mexico and participates in 10 other study abroad programs which host approximately 200 students annually.

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Year of the Ox Celebrated at Valpo

Valparaiso University will celebrate the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ox, on 27 January with a dinner and musical performances as part of grand opening week events for the Harre Union.

The Chinese New Year Celebration begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Harre Union Ballroom on campus. Tickets are $15 for the general public (children under 6 are free of charge) and may be purchased at the Harre Union Welcome Desk, by calling (219) 464-5415 or online.

The menu includes Gongbao chicken, Chinese ribs, spicy tofu, traditional Chinese vegetable dishes, fruit and Chinese desserts.

The dinner program will feature a slide show of photographic highlights of the University’s interactions with China in 2008, skits written and performed by Valparaiso’s Chinese studies graduate students and Chinese music performed by students.

The Chinese New Year Celebration is co-sponsored by Valpo’s Chinese and Japanese Studies Program and Confucius Institute.

Valpo President Headed to China

Valparaiso University President Mark Heckler (pictured) will travel to China 6-11 December at the invitation of the Chinese government, according to the Valpo News Bureau.

He will participate in the third annual Confucius Institute Conference, a gathering of hundreds of international delegates and Chinese officials who will examine global education and building relationships with China. Heckler’s travel expenses are being paid for by the Chinese government.

During his time in China, Heckler also will meet with representatives of China Agricultural University, Beijing Jiaotong University and North China University of Technology.

Valparaiso’s Confucius Institute focuses on the development of exchanges between northern Indiana and the province of Zhejiang – which became Indiana's sister province in 1989.

Justice in Ethiopia and Air Pollution in China

Two Valparaiso University faculty members have been named University Research Professors and will receive support for projects on traditions of restorative justice in Ethiopia and assessing the impact of Chinese air pollution.

Selected by the University's Committee on Creative Work and Research were Dr. Charles Schaefer, associate professor of history, and Dr. Gary Morris, associate professor of physics and astronomy. Each receives a $4,000 grant to support his scholarly work along with one semester of full-time leave or two semesters of half-time leave to focus on his research projects.

Dr. Schaefer will research various methods of restorative justice employed by Ethiopia’s emperor and imperial court to resolve conflict and bring about peace and reconciliation.

Dr. Morris will use his grant and leave to review measurements of air pollution being carried by wind currents from China to Japan.

Valpo Visits Nigeria

Two Valparaiso University academic administrators will travel to Africa next week, reports Inside INdiana Business.

During their 12 day stay, they'll meet with Nigeria's first lady and a number of education and government officials. The goal of the trip is to explore opportunities to build connections between Valparaiso and the African nation.

Celebration of International Cultures

Valparaiso University will host a Celebration of International Cultures tomorrow (16 October) in honor of the inauguration of the University's 18th president, Mark A. Heckler, according to the Office of University Relations.

The showcase of Valparaiso's international study programs, international students and international service projects and research will take place from noon to 3 p.m. in the Christopher Center for Library and Information Resources and is free and open to the public.

During the Celebration of International Cultures, organized by Valparaiso's Office of International Programs, the public is invited to talk to students and faculty involved with Valparaiso's Confucius Institute, German and French clubs, International Student Association, medical mission trips to Central America, water quality research in China, and other international organizations and study programs. An alumna and Valparaiso business owner also will discuss her native country of Macedonia.

Music and dancing of various cultures will be performed throughout the event and photographs taken by students participating in Valparaiso's study abroad programs will be displayed. Refreshments highlighting the food of various cultures will be offered, including pita bread with minted cucumber and hummus dips, Ethiopian honey bread, baklava, vegetable pot stickers, spanikopita and Chinese almond cookies.

Valparaiso has won national recognition as a model in preparing its graduates with strong cross-cultural skills and global awareness, receiving the prestigious Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization earlier this year. This fall, the University also set a new high in international student enrollment, with 245 students on U.S. student visas registered from more than 50 countries.

Egyptian Scholar Visits Indiana

An internationally-respected expert on terrorism will participate in a panel discussion at Valparaiso University Thursday (16 October) as part of a two-week visit to campus through the Fulbright Scholar program.

Dr. Abd El-Aziz Shady, a political science professor and director of Cairo University's Program on Terrorism Studies, will discuss "The Future of Terrorism: A Look at Current Middle East Affairs" at 6:30 p.m. in the Christopher Center for Library and Information Resources. The panel discussion is free and open to the public.

Responding to Dr. Shady's remarks will be Dr. Chuck Schaefer, an associate professor of history whose scholarship and teaching interests include modern African and Middle Eastern political and social history; Dr. Nelly van Doorn-Harder, Patheja professor of world religions and ethics and one of the world's leading scholars on Muslim-Christian relations; and Dr. Susan Shearer, an adjunct assistant professor of political science whose research and teaching focuses on international relations and U.S. foreign policy.

Dr. Shady's research has focused on religion and democratization in the Arab world, the nation-state's absence and terrorism in the Middle East, and Christian perceptions of Islam in the United States. He is spending six weeks in the United States discussing those issues and others as part of his participation in the Fulbright Scholar program.

Dr. Shady will speak on “Women in Muslim Society” during the 21 October gathering of the Indianapolis Committee on Foreign Relations. The event begins at 5:45 p.m. in the Woodstock Club, 1301 West 38th Street, Indianapolis. Guests are welcome by reservation only; contact Courtenay Weldon. Cost is $35-45.

Northwest Indiana Business Leaders Head To China

Valparaiso University is organizing a trip to China for Northwest Indiana business leaders, reports Inside INdiana Business.

The aim is to facilitate business connections between Northwest Indiana and Zhejiang Province, which is Indiana's sister state. The trip is also designed to promote economic development and investment in Northwest Indiana. It is tentatively set for 20-29 October.

Valp Joins Global Reporting Initiative

Its news bureau reports that Valparaiso University has become the third institution of higher education in the nation and fourth in the world invited to participate in the Global Reporting Initiative’s Matchmaker program, a new initiative that connects corporations with professors and students learning about and critiquing sustainable business practices.

GRI provides the world’s leading standard in sustainability reporting guidelines, used by two-thirds of Fortune 1000 companies to share their economic, environmental and social performance achievements and deficits affecting various stakeholders. The Matchmaker program strengthens that reporting by having a university critique the reports of both the company and an independent engineering or financial auditor that has assessed that company.