LASPAU: Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas

LASPAU Staff Represent Organization at NAFSA Annual Conference: Three LASPAU staff members attended the NAFSA 2009 Annual Conference in Los Angeles, which took place May 25-29, 2009. As part of the week-long conference, Program Coordinator Amy Whitish was a presenter on a session entitled “Your Campus Needs More Latin American Students” along with María Mercedes Salmon from the Fulbright Commission in Ecuador (pictured left with Amy), Fanny del Rio from the Fulbright Commission in Uruguay, and Hodgie Bricke from the University of Kansas. LASPAU’s Associate Director for Programs Craig Hastings chaired a session entitled “Attract Fulbright Grantees from Outside Major Cities in Colombia and Mexico” along with Ann Mason from the Fulbright Commission in Colombia and Maggie Hug from COMEXUS.

Representatives from Chilean Universities Participate in MECESUP Sponsored Curriculum Innovation Workshop:

From April 13-22, 2009, 20 representatives of 15 public universities in Chile participated in the Program on Curricular Innovation, which was organized by LASPAU through its Initiative for the Development of Academic Innovation (IDIA). The Program, which was funded by MECESUP, a higher education initiative of the Chilean government, took place on the campuses of Harvard University and MIT and included interactive sessions on student-centered teaching, curricular reform, trends in higher education in the United States and throughout the world, student mobility, systems of accreditation, outcomes measurement and quality assurance, and the experiences of teaching and learning centers at U.S. universities.

Former Fulbright Grantee Publishes Second Novel: Giovanna Rivero, a Fulbright Faculty Development alumnus from Bolivia who received her master’s degree in Spanish language and literature from the Univ. of Florida in December 2008, published her second novel, Tukzon, historias colaterales (Grupo Editorial La Hoguera), in July of that year. The book, whose title alludes to the challenges of language structure through its spelling of the word Tucson, is a novel made up of 14 individual stories with a unifying theme. In Rivero’s own words, the book is “a hybrid novel about the immigration process in which the two women protagonists cross the desert looking to fulfill their dreams, but surprises are waiting for them everywhere. Readers can find science fiction, drama, and a good mood in Tukzon."

UAI Faculty and Administrators Come to Cambridge for Teaching and Learning Seminar: From June 7 to June 11, 2008, 24 deans, directors, and professors (pictured left) from the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (UAI) participated in the Seminar on Effective Teaching and Learning on the campus of Harvard University. The seminar, which was organized by LASPAU as a part of the Initiative for the Development of Academic Innovation (IDIA), was designed to help strengthen UAI’s educational model, promote the implementation of a student-centered learning framework, and provide the participants with information, tools, and methodologies oriented toward enhancing their teaching skills. The seminar presenters, who were experts in different areas of higher education, were from Harvard University and other prestigious universities in the United States and Latin America.

LASPAU Founder Dies at Age 89: David Henry, former director of admissions and director of the Office of International Students at Harvard University, and the founder and first chair of LASPAU, passed away on June 27, 2008. Through LASPAU and an earlier initiative, the African Scholarship Program of American Universities, Henry recognized the need to provide educational opportunities for youths of limited economic means in fields that would contribute to the development of their home countries. His vision, which inspires LASPAU’s activities to this day, has led to significant advancements in Latin America and the Caribbean in areas ranging from higher education to sustainable development to community leadership. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. Boston Globe Obituary for David Henry