Diversity Programs
The Summer Institute for Outstanding European Students in Education was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and directed at “Lehramtstudierende” from several European countries. Six education students from Germany were joined by aspiring teachers from Denmark, Norway, Spain, France and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the program was to give European students the opportunity to expand their knowledge of the United States and its system of education through academic coursework and related activities, including cultural and historical site visits and engagement in community service activities. For the first time, Eastern Washington University hosted this institute, previous programs had taken place at the University of Alaska at Anchorage. Eastern Washington University, a regional higher education institution in the Pacific Northwest organized a challenging, yet fun program which offered the students the opportunity to learn about the American public and private systems of education in a beautiful setting. Coursework focused on the U.S. systems of primary, secondary, and higher education and how they evolved, American pedagogical practices, U.S. education policy, and integration and diversity in American schools. The institute received much praise and was found to be a most rewarding experience, both personally and professionally.
Twenty more students from different academic backgrounds took part in the Fulbright Diversity Institute set up by the University of Kentucky at Lexington (UK). The program enabled the students to take part in University classes, develop and expand intercultural communication and presentation skills, join in community service activities, refine English language skills and interact with American students. The start of the institute coincided with the beginning of UK´s academic year 2009-2010 and immediately involved our diversity students in all the excitement and the campus activities for the new students on campus. They experienced the bustle of UK´s FUSION Week, the University´s Welcome in the football stadium, and had lots of opportunities to get to know other UK students.
- The participants of the Fulbright Diversity Institute at the University of Kentucky at Lexington
In the weeks to follow the diversity students had special classes emphasizing communication skills, including instruction in cross-cultural communication, oral presentations, formal writing skills as well as TOEFL preparation. Other lectures covered themes such as U.S. History, American literature, Sociology, U.S. Politics and Government. Extracurricular activities introduced the visitors to baseball matches, voluntary engagement in the Lexington community, and included educational excursions to the Mohammad Ali Museum in Louisville, the Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnati and trips to Chicago. The students' program feedback has been extremely positive; they were particularly impressed by the strong campus spirit shared by all of the students at the UK and making the UK community so very special.