KU News Release

KU to host international faculty members as they learn about higher education in U.S.

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas is the site for an orientation program for 69 junior faculty members from the Balkans and former Soviet republics Jan. 7-13.

At the request of the U.S. Department of State and the American Councils for International Education, KU’s International Programs office is coordinating the week-long Junior Faculty Development Program orientation that will help the fellows acclimate to the United States and its higher-education system before they go to their host institutions for the semester. Orientation activities include presentations about intercultural conflict, higher education and American society. Participants will experience an evening of bowling and a contra dance.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the development program increases access to academic resources and new educational perspectives and promotes the development of a growing network of academics in the United States and the countries represented. Staff members from the American Councils for International Education, which coordinates the program, will participate, along with more than 40 KU faculty and staff members.

Four fellows will stay at KU to work with faculty members in the School of Law, the Department of Communication Studies and the School of Education.

KU has hosted fellows since the development program began in 1991. This is KU’s second time to host the orientation. The Applied English Center hosted 19 of the fellows for a month before the orientation for language and culture instruction. This is the third year the center has provided this part of the program.

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