All Things International

October 22, 2007

Fran Simon
fsimon@tulane.edu

Richard Watts, executive director of the Tulane Center for Global Education, also is an associate professor of French. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)

The Center for Global Education at Tulane is the place for students wishing to study in other countries, as well as for international students and scholars studying at Tulane. The ultimate goal of the center is the “internationalization” of Tulane University, says Richard Watts, the center’s executive director.

Located in Tate House behind the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, the new center incorporates the Office of Study Abroad (formerly the Center for International Studies) and the Office of International Students and Scholars (formerly the Center for International Students and Scholars). Under the new structure, both offices in the center are under the guidance of the provost’s office.

The Center for Global Education holds regular coffee hours on the Tate House patio for international students and scholars, students returning from study abroad and students interested in studying abroad. The next coffee will be Nov. 8 from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Tate House backyard.

This year, the center is sponsoring International Education Week Nov. 12–16 in New Orleans in collaboration with Loyola University. The New Orleans celebration of this national event will include film screenings, panel discussions about non-traditional study abroad and experiences of international faculty at Tulane, and an international fashion show.

Watts says, “My hope is that, through the initiatives we pursue, we will give faculty and students the sense that they can come to us when they need help organizing, planning, executing and promoting anything in the area of global education.”

An associate professor of French, Watts knows first-hand the value of studying abroad. As a student, he studied in Paris.

“Not only did it change my life,” Watts says, “It confirmed for me that I wanted to become a professor of French and Francophone literature, with the direct contact I had with an incredibly rich intellectual life. I wanted to continue to live that.” In the spring semester, Watts will teach a 300-level French course at Tulane on Francophone African and Caribbean literature in translation.

Tulane has a long tradition of Junior Year Abroad study. The program has sent students to Paris for more than 50 years, Watts says.

“Back in the day, students would get a letter from their host families telling them they’d be allowed to use the bath once a week and would receive one bar of soap each month,” Watts chuckles. “Life is different in Europe, but international study isn’t like that anymore.”

The revamped Study Abroad programs at Tulane allow undergraduates (not just in their junior years) to spend a full year or only a semester in international study. Tulane offers more than 70 programs in 25 different countries. New programs include study in China, Singapore, Jordan, Egypt, Senegal, Poland, Russia, Mexico, Uruguay and Brazil. Students may reside in residence halls with other students from all over the world, apartments or a home-stay option.

For the past month, Watts has devoted the bulk of his time to shepherding candidates in the process of applying for the Fulbright U.S. Study Program Grant, a highly competitive program for graduating seniors and graduate students. He provides advice to all the students on their applications, helping them refine their research and personal statements.

Last year, of the 22 Tulane candidates, four received Fulbright grants. This year, Watts hopes a higher percentage of the 19 candidates will receive Fulbright grants. He urges undergraduates to begin planning for the 2008 Fulbright grants, with a university deadline next October. Watts also advises doctoral students in language and area studies who are applying for Fulbright-Hays grants.

To reach out to international students studying at Tulane, the Center for Global Education will host a Thanksgiving dinner with the Office of Multicultural Affairs. The meal, in the ballroom of the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life, will treat about 600 people to turkeys provided by Sodexho, the company that provides food services at Tulane.

For more information about the Center for Global Education, call 504-865-5339.