CIES Western Regional Conference in Fremont, California - October 2006

 By Rosalind L. Raby

 The CIES Western Region had its regional conference on October 5-7 in Fremont, California.  This conference was held in collaboration with the consortia California Colleges for International Education (CCIE) which represents 72 California Community Colleges.  The conference was also co-hosted by two California consortia whose memberships include representatives from the University of California, California State University, Private Universities in California and California Community Colleges: NCAGE: Northern California Advocates for Global Education and SOCCIS: Southern California Consortium for International Studies.  The purposeful blending of voices interested in comparative and international education resulted in a unique and powerful meeting of the minds. 
            The Conference theme “A World of Cultures United in Learning” was borrowed from the mission statement of Ohlone Community College.  The President of Ohlone was one of the featured speakers at the conference and Ohlone College hosted the event.  What emerged was not only a “world of cultures” in terms of international theories and perspectives, but a “world of cultures” in terms of educational constructs that saw a blending of institutional interests, needs, and programs.  In total, over 140 people attended from over 60 community colleges.  Attendees largely came from California, but were also from Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington State, and Washington D.C.  International attendees came from Canada, China, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam.
            While the interests of each individual group were unique to their institutional or work affiliation, the cross-interests prevailed.  University faculty and graduate students had opportunities to meet and dialogue with Community College faculty and administrators to see that while their institutions service different students, their interest and support of comparative and international education remain the same.  This also gave each an opportunity to learn what is being done in various sectors of post-secondary education and to perhaps even consider future forms of collaboration. Presentations provided perspectives from community college and graduate students, faculty, administrators, government officials and those who work in the Study Abroad field.
            Conference special speakers and break-out sessions attempted to mix community college and university speakers who shared strategies and lessons learned as efforts to advance comparative and international education.  This type of pairing has not been done before, and this conference showed how successful creating a forum for diverse perspectives could be.  Specifically the following themes were explored as they relate to changing the institution, be it the community colleges or the four-year institution: a) Internationalizing the Curriculum.  The emphasis on not only on bringing international perspectives into existing courses, but on how to establish Global/International Associate Degree programs that can then articulate into Four-year institutional B.A. or M.A. programs; b) Study Abroad: Logistical, Health, Safety and Legal Issues with an emphasis on making the opportunity for study abroad a democratic one in which all students have access to an educational format that is life-altering; c) International Student Programs and the Current Visa Situation - with emphases on Changes since 9/11; and d) Importance of Including International Education Programs on your Campus through a variety of academic, support and student initiated programs.  The key-note speakers were: Lou Albert, President, Pima Community College, Arizona; John Couch, VP, Education, Apple Computers; William B. Delauder, Executive Director, Lincoln Commission; Julia Furuta-Toy, Director of the Office of Public and Diplomatic Liaison for Visas Services in the Department of State; Robert Henry, California School and Colleges Legal Service; Val Rust, University of California, Los Angeles and past-CIES President; and Doug Treadway, President, Ohlone College.
            Finally, those attending took an opportunity to help design a more formalized structure for the CIES Western Region.  Guidelines for a virtual office, virtual banking, and three-year stream of officers were defined. A petition will soon be electronically shared among CIES Western Regional members to help make this region an official CIES Chapter.  For more information on how you can be involved in the new CIES Western Region, please contact Rosalind Raby rabyrl@aol.com, Gustavo Fischman, gustavo.fischman@asu.edu, or Andrea Clemons, aclemons@usc.edu

CIES Western Region Planning Group will meet at the National Conference in Baltimore and we invite everyone to join us. Several of the special speaker addresses will soon be put on-line.  For additional information on this program, please visit the web-site at www.ccieworld.org and click on Conference.  You can also contact Rosalind Raby at rabyrl@aol.com

The next CIES Western Regional Conference will be hosted by Gustavo Fishman at Arizona State University and will be held in Fall, 2008.