IU receives $25,000 for global education

The Goldman Sachs Foundation and the Asia Society selected IU to receive this year's Goldman Sachs Foundation Prize for Excellence in International Education.\nPatrick O'Meara, dean of the Office of International Programs, will accept the award on behalf of the University in Washington, D.C., tonight. The award, which was granted to IU because of its Center for the Study of Global Change, East Asian Studies Center and School of Education's Overseas Student Teaching Project, includes a $25,000 prize.\n"From every perspective, IU is committed to international teaching, research and outreach," O'Meara said.\nThe three departments had applied separately, but the committee chose IU because of the culmination of the three. The panel of 17 judges included government and military officials, ambassadors and current and former governors. In five categories, the panel considered almost 500 applicants.\nO'Meara said IU's dedication to international studies began with Herman B Wells.\n"We received the award because of a mixture of things," O'Meara said. "It's the long history of international studies at IU, the rich resources for international studies at IU and the interest of reaching out to the state."\nThe panel cited IU's dedication to K-12 outreach programs as evidence of IU's excellence in international studies. Roxana Newman, assistant dean of the Office of International Programs, said IU participates in a number of outreach activities. \nThe International Studies in Schools program creates activities for social studies and foreign language teachers to use with their students. These often include interactive videos, sometimes \nhosted by international IU students.\n"It's become very popular throughout the region," Newman said. "We're reaching out to education below the university level. We want to enable teachers and students, particularly (in) the state of Indiana, to have a little more firsthand knowledge."\nChris Williams, press officer for the Goldman Sachs Foundation, said it is recognizing IU not just for its strengths in international studies, but for its efforts in international education. \n"The Goldman Sachs Foundation has a firm commitment to helping the development (of) a new generation of leaders," Williams said.\nThe idea of international education includes introducing future educators to knowledge of international studies, like the School of Education's Overseas Student Teaching Project. This project allows education majors to fulfill their student teaching requirements in English-speaking foreign countries.\n"Students want to study abroad, even as teachers," Newman said. "If you think about it, there are many more English-speaking countries besides Scotland and Wales."\nThe East Asian Studies Center is also known for its efforts in international education. It often provides workshops in the summer for social studies teachers.\nIU's dedication to international relations enhances the classroom experience, O'Meara said.\n"I love to teach the graduate international courses because of the kinds of students in those classes," O'Meara said. "Think of all the thousands of international students who have studied at IU."\nO'Meara said the school has not yet decided what specifically the $25,000 will be used for, but he said the three units will share it, using it for activities or specific parts of the missions of these departments.