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In our annual holiday video card, KU International Affairs students, faculty and staff send their holiday greetings from around the world and in several languages. We wish you a joyous and peaceful season and best of luck in the new year. 

KU International Affairs has updated its international agreements and contracts process to make it easier to navigate, ensure alignment with KU policies and reduce risk to the University of Kansas.

Internationalization is a central pillar of KU’s mission, and international engagement often requires agreements or contracts that establish partnerships with universities, government agencies or other organizations outside the United States. While these collaborative activities present opportunities for connection abroad, international partnerships can also create vulnerabilities.

By following KUIA’s established procedures for developing formal partnerships, KU units ensure that their international agreements and contracts align with KU policies, encourage careful stewardship of university resources and mitigate risk.

To begin the international agreement or contract process, visit the KUIA website for guidance on what to consider before forming an international partnership and the steps to take to get started.

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Earlier this month, the Applied English Center celebrated its 60th Anniversary with a reception in Lippincott Hall. In 1964 KU opened the Intensive English Center as a  requirement of the 1963 Ford Foundation grant. The center was just the 13th university intensive English language program in the country.

The IEC's first location was at the corner of 12th and Louisiana streets in the now-gone Foster Hall. Since then, it has been housed in Carruth-O'Leary Hall, Blake Hall Annex and at 1400 Louisiana St and moved to Lippincott Hall in 1982. In 1976, the center's name changed to the Applied English Center. Over the years, more than 100 faculty have taught at the AEC and since 1981, the AEC has taught more than 30,000 student.

A leader in the field, the AEC was a founding member of the prestigious Consortium of University and College Intensive English Programs in 1967. In 1988 KU created the permanent-employment status position of language specialist. In 1992, an innovative listening test was launched as part of the now-retired English proficiency test. A dedicated computer lab, Learning English Online, opened in 1995 with 12 Macintosh computers. At the time, the LEO website of resources for language learners was nationally recognized. In 1999, the AEC was one of the first programs to have the university award degree credit for certain courses and was also among the earliest programs to receive accreditation from the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation in 2002.

The AEC is excited to start its seventh decade by helping international students learn the language they need to achieve success at KU and beyond.

The KU delegation to the University of Regensburg is pictured with University of Regensburg president Udo Hebel, second on the right.

A group of six KU administrators visited the University of Regensburg in Germany earlier this month. KU has a long-standing institutional partnership with the German university. Over the years, relationships have been built between KU departments of biology, American Studies and German languages and literature. 

During the most recent visit, the delegation explored opportunities for partnerships in other fields and growing faculty and student exchanges between the two schools. The delegation included:

Mark Algren and Joe Potts, pictured in the right corner of the back row, joined leaders from 40 other U.S. academic institutions at the Saudi-U.S. Higher Education Forum. In this photo, they are visiting King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal. 

In November, Joe Potts, associate vice provost for strategic partnership and innovation, and Mark Algren, interim director of the Applied English Center, traveled to Saudi Arabia to attend the Saudi-U.S. Higher Education Partnership Forum in Riyadh. An invitation-only event, KU was one of 40 American higher education institutions, ranging from community colleges to top-tier research universities, to attend the forum.

The forum explored opportunities to grow partnerships in education, scientific research and bilateral student researcher exchanges with the more than 40 Saudi universities in attendance. As part of the forum, Potts and Algren had the opportunity to visit universities in Jeddah, Dhahran and Riyadh.

Melinda Lewis, professor of the practice in the School of Social Welfare, gave a presentation on Nov. 22 about her international work and partnership with the University of Costa Rica's Social Work Department. 

Lewis was the winner of the KU International Affairs Advisory Board International Teaching Award. 

She spoke about alignments between her domestic and international teaching, the critical importance of a global perspective in social work practice, and how innovations and continued investments in comprehensive internationalization can make a difference for students, faculty and community partners around the world. 

>> Watch Presentation

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