New director of international services chosen

Christopher Viers is the new associate dean for international programs and the director of the Office of International Services. Viers replaced retiree Kenneth Rogers on July 1. A committee narrowed a nationwide search to four candidates, and they chose Viers unanimously, said Patrick O'Meara, dean of international programs. \nViers comes to IU from Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich. where he was director of the Office of International Students and Scholars.\n"I am thrilled I was offered the opportunity to come (to IU)," Viers said.\nAccording to a recent press release, before working at Wayne State University, Viers served as the director of the Office of International Education at Central Michigan University and worked in the Office of International Scholars and Students at Ohio State University. He has a master's degree in higher education and student affairs from OSU and a bachelor's degree in sociology from Wheaton College.\nViers' primary responsibility is to oversee and direct the programs and services provided to IU's population of international students and visiting scholars. IU has approximately 3,300 international students from over 100 countries and several hundred visiting scholars, Viers said. He said his goal is to make this a home away from home for students and scholars.\nViers will not only serve students and visitors on the Bloomington campus, but he will also be available for consultation on the other IU campuses, O'Meara said.\nO'Mera said the Office of International Services has become a very important one after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He thinks Viers is the right person to direct the office.\n"I'm confident that he comes with excellent experience. He headed an office as large as ours at Wayne State. He had outstanding experience at Ohio State," O'Mera said. "I feel we will have very good and sensitive leadership in this important job."\nToivo Raun, professor of Central Eurasian Studies, headed the search committee for the position. \n"We were pleased with the pool of candidates. Chris was certainly outstanding," he said. "We were very impressed with his qualifications, his experience at Wayne State and what he's done up to now." \nAccording to a recent press release, Viers is replacing Kenneth Rogers, who served in the position for a quarter century. \n"We wanted to be sure we got someone appropriate and worthy to take his place, and I think we did," Raun said. "We are delighted we were able to get him; I think everyone is really pleased with the choice."\nViers' adjustment from Wayne State to IU has been a relatively smooth one. Wayne State has about 31,000 students, which is similar in size to IU, he said. He had about two and a half months to prepare for his new job.\n"Fortunately, we were able to find a home quickly and make arrangements to make the transition," Viers said. \nHe spent his first week on the job meeting with staff members and learning more about their individual roles. \n"I absolutely love (IU). I'm joining a program that has a very rich history; these people are dedicated and committed to the work they do," Viers said.