SPRING IS HERE AND SO IS RENEWED ENERGY FOR GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT AT UNCG! 

It’s always great when time feels like it’s flying by because that means our work is exciting, engaging, and fun! That’s how the semester has been so far for global engagement at UNCG!  

We recently held an IPC staff retreat the purpose of which was to look over the academic year so far and review our work. We used the Appreciate Inquiry method to map our year’s efforts against our internal strategic and tactical plan. Using this method, we recognized the challenges we currently face, but we concentrated on what we do well, what we accomplished so far, and how we would like the future to look like. We dared to dream about all the great things we can do to support student success and faculty and staff at UNCG through global engagement.  We are actively working towards that dream, and I cannot wait to share more next time!  

I hope you enjoy reading the stories in this iNewsworthy issue and I hope to see you at some of the activities planned for the rest of the semester. 

- Dr. Maria Anastasiou, Associate Provost 

March 18:      BIPOC Study Abroad Lunch and Learn, RSVP required (Alumni House, 11-1pm) 

March 21:      Everything Fulbright! (EUC Alexander, 4 - 5:30pm) 

March 23:      Study Abroad Orientation for Fall 2024 Cohort 

March 26:      Holi Color Celebration (EUC Lawn, 3-6pm) 

March 29:      Spring Holiday, University Closed 

April 1:          IPC Staff Self Care Day, IPC Office Closed 

April 2:          Beyond OPT Workshop (Virtual, 4-5pm) 

April 3:          Immigration Attorney Consultations (Virtual, 9-4pm) 

April 10:        OPT Participant Panel (Virtual, 6-7pm) 

April 11:        International Coffee Hour: iPals Celebration Social (EUC Dogwood, 3pm) 

April 14:        Bengali New Year Celebration (EUC Kirkland, 12-6pm)

April 17:        Brown and Abroad (EUC 062, OIE Center,  3:30pm) 

April 18:        LGBTQ+ and Abroad (EUC 062, OIE Center,  3:30pm)  

April 30:        Spring International Farewell Party (EUC Alexander, 4pm-6pm) 

                                Contact IPC for more information about the events listed above. 

DEREK HOLMGREN

International Programs Coordinator

Derek joined the IPC in 2023 as the International Programs Coordinator, supporting internationalization efforts at all UNC System campuses. Derek reports on system-wide international programs to the University Council on International Programs, and he works with the Council to identify and address members’ priorities. In addition, he serves as the UNC System’s liaison for the Baden-Württemberg / UNC System Exchange Program. Derek has previously worked as a non-profit grants writer and has taught European history classes at Wake Forest University, Greensboro College, and UNC Greensboro. He participated in undergraduate education abroad programs in Bosnia and Greece, and he has held two Fulbright grants to Germany. He earned a PhD and MA in History from UNC Chapel Hill and a BA in History from the University of Denver.

djholmgr@uncg.edu

DAFNE SANCHEZ

Administrative Support Associate

Dafne joined UNCG as an administrative support associate in 2022. She is passionate about making higher education accessible and welcoming for all, and enjoys collaborating with colleagues across the University community. Influenced by her experiences growing up an immigrant in the United States and working in Germany, she finds facilitating intercultural exchange for incoming and outgoing students, faculty, and international visitors highly valuable and deeply rewarding. In her free time, Dafne enjoys travel, art, biking, and birds.

Contact Dafne for travel registry questions and general or specific administrative assistance relating to International Programs.

dgsanche@uncg.edu

TINA VANN

Financial Coordinator

Tina joined the IPC in late 2023 as the Business Service Coordinator. Tina has a bachelor's degree in business administration with a Minor in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She has over 20 years of experience as a quality and service professional. Tina has a willingness to learn, problem solve, and is an excellent team player. She is an active member of her church. In her spare time, Tina enjoys sleeping, creating budgets, playing board games, meal prepping, working out, watching movies, and spending time with her family and friends.  

tmvann2@uncg.edu

Dr. Jeremy Rinker (Peace and Conflict Studies) has spent many years conducting research in India, including his two times as a Fulbright Scholar at different Indian institutions. Most recently, Dr. Rinker collaborated with faculty from Mizoram University to exchange ideas around peace education in India and the US, two very different educational and cultural settings.  

With financial support from the Government of India’s Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) initiative, UNCG welcomed a delegation from Mizoram University for a week in February. The delegation included Dr. Lokanath Mishra, Dr. Mikael Chuaungo, & Dr. Rashmirekha Das. They research peace education theory and practice from pedagogical, structural, and institutional lenses. Their insights into the critical work of peace education help interrogate how we better teach peace and create change.  

During their time at UNCG and Greensboro, the group spent time sharing perspectives with students, faculty and staff on the educational system in India, how peace education is implemented in K-12 settings, and strategies for teaching peace effectively and fostering change. They facilitated a discussion entitled “An Indian Peace Education Perspective” on Feb. 6th in School of Education Bldg. They also visited Guildford County Schools with which Dr. Rinker partners to observe peace education in practice. Finally, the delegation participated in a workshop on circle process and a discussion on their usefulness to the issues plaguing the diverse Greensboro/Triad community.  

The SPARC grant also supports the visit of Dr. Rinker and a Peace and Conflict Studies graduate student, Boukari Saidou, to Mizoram University. We look forward to learning more about their visit and the outcomes of this partnership upon their return.  

Collaborative efforts with our newly formed partnerships with the University of Hamburg (UHH) and the UNCG Schools of Education and Health and Human Sciences were booming this spring! Three initiatives were successfully implemented with hopes of continuing to deepen our partnership.   

INCOMING FACULTY-LED PROGRAM 

UNCG was pleased to host 5 students from UHH who completed a 10-day faculty led program in Greensboro. They visited classes at UNCG and engaged in conversations with their peers, they visited several Guilford County Schools that offer diverse programs particularly in special education among other academic things. They also learned about Greensboro’s history and culture by visiting the Greensboro History Museum and the Civil Rights Museum. The group was led by Dr. Wiebke Langer who spent six weeks at UNCG in spring 2023 collaborating with Dr. Ben Dyson and Dr. Judy Fowler from Kinesiology and Dr. Jane He from Teacher Education and Higher Education. Dr. Fowler will take a group of UNCG students to UHH for a similar faculty led program in April of this year.  

JOINT WORKSHOP  

Hosted by UNC Greensboro, the Spring 2024 International Dialogues Exploring Partnerships between Research and Practice workshop was a collaborative effort among Indiana University Bloomington, University of Hamburg, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and University of North Carolina Greensboro. It offered a learning exchange platform for both researchers and practitioners to share and explore partnership efforts between research and practice in various educational contexts. The two-day workshop was designed for teacher educators, in-service teachers, and preservice teachers interested in engaging in international dialogues. Participants were able to join the sessions in person or online. In person participants also had the opportunity to visit Brooks Global Elementary and UNCG Middle College at the end of the workshop. The dialogues are continuing through collaborative platforms for the development of future research and other collaborative initiatives. 

INTERNSHIP AT BROOKS GLOBAL ELEMENTARY  

Two UHH students completed their 4-week teacher practicum at Brooks Global Elementary this semester. This was the first time that UNCG supported internship placement for UHH students, and we look forward to supporting more of them in the future. The students reported having a very rewarding academic program at Brooks Global and a great cultural experience in Greensboro.    

Many thanks to everyone who supported these efforts and for the future efforts already planned! Special thanks to the principals and administrators at Brooks Global Elementary and UNCG Middle College, and the deans of the School of Education and Health and Human Sciences, Dr. Penfield and Dr. Mattacola respectively.  

Left to right: Radu Russu, Cynthia Gibson, Dr. Snyder, Dr. Anastasiou, Gene Parker.

On February 3, the NC Secretary of State and Chair of the NC-Moldova Bilateral Partnership Committee convened a meeting in Raleigh to celebrate the successful partnership. The UNCG delegation that attended the meeting included several faculty who have been instrumental to the success of this partnership, especially Dr. Audry Snyder who has led many initiatives over the years and Drs Hoffart and Lekan who co-chair the NC-Moldova Collaborative. Dr. Hoffart spoke at this event about the impactful work of the nursing collaborative over the years.    

Gene Parker, Secretary of the Greensboro Rotary Club, introduced Dr. Radu Rusu and his family at this meeting. Dr. Rusu from Moldova State medical University is funded by the Greensboro Rotary Club as a visiting scholar at UNCG and has been closely working with Dr. Maryanne Perrin, Department of Nutrition.