From its founding in 1955, the Institute faced the biggest challenge of all: survival. But it did survive, working out of makeshift classrooms in borrowed space for six years, until it acquired the former Monterey Public Library—now the Segal Building in 1961. It became the first building on a campus that has since grown to include more than 20. In the ensuing years, programs thrived, times changed and, in 1979, the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies (as it had been known since 1955) adapted again, becoming the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

Though the 1980s and ’90s, the Institute established new academic programs and transformed others, even as its global reputation steadily grew. After 9/11, the Institute faced a major challenge as international student enrollment declined sharply for several years. A search for a partner school that could help MIIS achieve long-term financial stability led to a strong match with Middlebury, and the affiliation in 2005 ushered in a new era of growth and innovation for the Institute.

Founded in 1800, Middlebury had, by 2005, transformed itself from a quintessential New England liberal arts college into a globally focused institution of rare ambition. The Middlebury Language Schools, Schools Abroad and Bread Loaf School of English were leaders in their fields, and the undergraduate college was among the nation’s most prestigious.

In 2012, in the wake of Middlebury’s most recent reaccreditation, Middlebury President Ron Liebowitz and the Middlebury Board of Trustees launched two related initiatives. The first, outlined in our Winter 2014 cover story, updated Middlebury’s governance structure to better serve each of Middlebury’s academic programs and the broader institution as well. The second initiative sought to provide a more unified identity that would clarify the relationship of the individual schools to the larger institution and help those outside the institute understand the breadth of its programs.

That second initiative, which involved more than a year of research and consultation with faculty, staff, students and alumni, has produced a new identity system for Middlebury. Approved unanimously by the Board of Trustees in September, the system formally adds “Middlebury” to the official name of each school. Starting in January 2015, the Institute will be known as the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

“We believe a closer association with Middlebury that respects and honors the academic mission and traditions of MIIS ultimately will enhance the profile of all of our degree programs,” said President Sunder Ramaswamy. “While change can present short-term challenges, we are excited about the new opportunities and horizons this change promises to open up for MIIS.”

Plans for the name change and rollout of the new unified Middlebury naming system were outlined in a message from President Liebowitz to all Middlebury and MIIS faculty, staff, and students in early September. “I think it’s a great plan,” responded student Molly Sterns (MBA/MAIPS ’15).

While this latest adaptation will prompt change across campus, in publications, and on the Institute’s website in the New Year, many things will not change going forward. The Institute will maintain its mission and academic philosophy; MIIS will continue to be an internationally focused professional graduate school with world-class programs and research centers across multiple disciplines. And the Institute will continue to be known informally as MIIS, and to be closely identified with its unique physical location in Monterey.

“The effort to unify and coordinate the many disparate brands under the Middlebury umbrella is a good idea that, if done well, will pay great dividends,” added Conference Interpretation professor Barry Slaughter Olsen (MACI ’99). “As much as I am attached to the Monterey Institute brand, I think this is the right thing to do.”

Nearly 60 years into its remarkable story, and today on a firm footing as part of a dynamic larger institution, MIIS continues to adapt and innovate, preparing our graduates to do what they are uniquely equipped to: be the solution.

See connected stories:

Faculty See Benefits in Name Change

New Name Will Not Change Identity

Professor Lynn Goldstein, program chair for the MATESOL/MATFL programs, shared her thoughts on the issues: “For those of us who’ve made our careers at the Institute, we’ve certainly seen quite an evolution of both campus space and campus programs. We’ve also have been through a number of name and logo changes, changing from ‘Foreign Studies’ to ‘International Studies’ and then adding ‘an affiliate of…’ and then ‘a graduate school of Middlebury College’ to our name.”

Prof. Goldstein, a member of the TESOL/TFL faculty since 1986, went on to say that “from the language perspective, the opportunities for collaboration under the Middlebury umbrella are unparalleled and we have only begun to scratch the surface of what’s possible. Middlebury’s focus on immersive foreign language education and technology-assisted language education has given us opportunities to explore these areas in more depth. Similarly, our focus on ESL education has opened Middlebury’s eyes to opportunities for English language education. And students from Middlebury have discovered the broad range of careers that their language skills can lead to. The magnitude of what we can accomplish as the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey is remarkable.”

Professor Ed Laurance, former dean of what was once known as the Graduate School of International Policy Studies, offered this assessment of the name change: “The name ‘Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey’ says to me that Middlebury really wants to go global, beyond where they are already. That is a definite benefit for us here at Monterey. That increased collaboration with Middlebury will only reinforce and strengthen our mission of educating the next generation of global professionals.”

Professor (and alumnus) Barry Slaughter Olsen (MACI ’99) noted the “great potential to leverage this cumulative network of programs for the benefit of all of the stars in the Middlebury constellation, including for the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education.” Prof. Olsen added, “I feel our merger with Middlebury was one of the best things to happen to MIIS, and that a more unified branding message is a logical extension of this new reality.”

Photos show former GSIPS Dean Prof. Ed Laurance and TESOL/TFL Program Chair Prof. Lynn Goldstein with GSTILE Dean Renée Jourdenais

Monterey Institute students traveled to over 30 countries this summer for internships and other professional development opportunities where they were able to build on their course work and apply their learning.  Between 86-100 percent of students from all programs were able to secure an offer for relevant summer experience, most often through the Center for Advising and Career Services, or other MIIS connections.

This fall MIIS staff decided to host an event on campus and online called “Own Your Pin,” in the attempt to uncover some of the stories behind those colorful pins on the library map. Many students stopped by to add their name to their pins and share some of their exploits and lessons learned. Here are some of our favorite stories:

• Jordan Bowlby (MAIEM ’15) spent the summer working on a Conservation Biology Program for High School and College in South Africa. He will never forget the moment when he was being chased by a male elephant while in an open vehicle with students. But the greatest lesson he took away from the experience was about the complexity of conservation issues and how each situation needs its own solution.

• John Goad (MPA ’15) worked with Fundacion Mision Gaia in Minca, Colombia on issues related to education, sustainability, and animal welfare. He is quick to answer when asked what his greatest lesson was: “If you don’t have a hammer, use a rock”—in other words, learn to work with the resources you have.

• The international language of sports was on the mind of Julia Benson (MAIPS ’15) after spending the summer at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. Her favorite moment was playing basketball with NBA stars Brook and Robin Lopez during their “diplomacy through sports” trip. “It was great to see how sports can break down barriers.”

• Then there was the very useful lesson we learned from Phil Robinson (BAIS ’15) who worked as a security liaison in Sochi, Russia: “when you are negotiating a bribe – start low!”

In 1976, Tim Dwyer (MAAS ’76) graduated from the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies (MIFS) with a master’s degree in Asian Studies. To satisfy the language requirement, in 1973 Tim attended the Institute’s summer language session in Chinese with Dr. Claude Buss as his thesis advisor. Those were the days when the president of MIFS was former Ambassador Fulton Freeman, old Mr. Campbell was the groundskeeper, and the very old and beautiful “People’s House” (now known as the Holland Center) was a gathering place for all, day or night, with great tacos cooked downstairs in the kitchen by the ever present and mind-filling Eloy Duran. Tim says: “If it was like the Andrew Lloyd Weber play Cats, and we were the cats, Eloy was Old Deuteronomy.”

Tim graduated from MIFS in 1976, and then attended Hastings Law School in San Francisco, earning his J.D. and then passing the California bar exam. After a brief time as a deputy district attorney, he embarked on a fulfilling 24-year career with the U.S. Department of Justice, retiring in 2004.

To further the Mandarin skills that had been developed at MIFS, in the midst of his federal career in 1985, Tim attended the Language Schools at Middlebury College. It was an extraordinary experience. “Because of the language pledge, there was no place to hide,” Tim says. After MIFS became MIIS, and then become a graduate school of Middlebury, Tim became a “double alumnus.”

Photo: Tim Dwyer at MIIS in the 1970’s

But the story does not end there. Emily Dwyer, now 17, is Tim and Wendy Dwyer’s youngest daughter. Emily has already seen much of the world, traversing the globe with her parents and her older siblings, brother/sister twins Cameron and Kelly. She spent four years at the American Embassy School New Delhi and then four years in Singapore at the Singapore American School, before returning to San Francisco where she now lives.

And this is where the “double” becomes a “triple”—in the combination of the energy and experiences of father and daughter.

In 2014, Emily joined Tim and family for Reunion 2013 in Monterey. During that visit Emily learned what MIIS and Middlebury are all about—a passion for languages and international learning. The reunion was a success and, as Tim notes, the class of ’75 was still irrepressible and going strong.

Photo: Tim Dwyer catching up with friends at the 2013 MIIS Reunion

Encouraged by her family and also by MIIS alumni and staff friends, Emily applied for the Middlebury Language Schools summer program. Although still in high school, by virtue of her maturity, enthusiasm, keen interest, and existing experience in French from her high school French studies, Emily obtained an age exception that enabled her to attend the college-level program.

Emily completed the summer of ’14 still smiling, and with her love of languages not just intact, but redoubled. “I formed some incredibly strong
relationships with other students in the French school that will be hard to forget,” Emily shares. “Leaving the campus at the end of this summer was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, not because those friendships will end, but because I know it would be next to impossible to replicate an experience as
rich as this one.”

Emily is back to complete her senior year in high school in San Francisco, but her father is now overseas, serving currently as a legal advisor in Afghanistan, in Paktiya Province. Tim is not using his Mandarin much at the moment, but he is practicing Dari/Persian with his Afghan counterparts (judges, prosecutors, and border police) on matters pertaining to Rule of Law.

Emily on the other hand has started a new language course… Chinese! As Tim says, we might not have seen the last of this dynamic duo yet. So far, father and daughter together form a “triple”… perhaps one day to become a “quad”?

Photo: Emily Dwyer at Middlebury in the summer of 2014

Shannon, who had been teaching in Paris before coming to Monterey, was drawn to MIIS for its Master of Arts in Teaching a Foreign Language (MATFL) degree, which could be combined with the Language Program Administration (LPA) program.  Joe had been teaching English in Prague, and came to MIIS to further develop his pedagogical skills and advance his knowledge of German.

After graduation, Joe went back to Germany as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant, splitting his time between a Gymnasium (a secondary school for 5^th to 13^th-graders) and a Berufsoberschule (an upper level vocational school), which gave him the opportunity to have contact with different groups of both students and teachers.  Along with one of his colleagues in the Berufsoberschule, he started offering Internet-based English language presentations to local schools—an exciting project that would eventually turn into his dissertation research.

In true MIIS Match tradition, Shannon went across the world to Shanghai, China, where she joined up with fellow MIIS alumni Laura Burian (MATI ’95) and Teresa Pargeter (MATESOL ’97) to teach an eight-week intensive English program for the People’s Liberation Army, before returning to France to teach English at the primary level.

Following their year in Europe, the couple married in Prague, two years to the day from when they were engaged, also in Prague. After honeymooning in Croatia, they settled in Shannon’s hometown of Kansas City. As has been observed for centuries, the process of learning and teaching is mutual rather than one-directional, and for Joe and Shannon that has meant a career of teaching and continued learning.

Days before he defended his dissertation in April, Joe and Shannon welcomed their second daughter Madeleine. Annabelle was born in 2011. Joe has already begun a tenure-track position as assistant professor of German at Georgetown University.  His doctoral thesis examines the development of requesting behavior in American learners of German for professional purposes as they engaged in a series of synchronous web conferences with German speaking professionals in Germany.

Shannon and the girls will stay in Kansas City this academic year while she completes her dissertation. She is currently collecting data in relation to her research on teacher identity and their interactions with non-native English speakers in the community college writing classroom.

By next summer you can expect to catch up with the whole family in Washington, D.C., where we have no doubt they will quickly be embraced by the vibrant MIIS alumni community!

Photo: Narsay Bello with his uncle, the mayor of Nineveh, at City Hall

The following are excerpts from Narsay’s article:

For 5,000 years, Assyrians have lived in the ancient town of Alqosh in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq. Alqosh, whose name is derived from the Akkadian words meaning “God of might,” embraced Christianity in the early second century and became the seat of the Patriarch of the Church of the East for many decades. For centuries, it has survived countless attacks and wars while remaining true to its Assyrian Christian identity and serving as a safe haven for persecuted Assyrians in Iraq and Turkey. That is, until ISIS began its rampage in Northern Iraq, causing the inhabitants of Alqosh and the surrounding Assyrian towns to flee for their lives. My uncle, the mayor of the district of Tel Keppe and the second highest authority in Nineveh Province, was one of those who fled with his family. After the fall of Mosul, Alqosh became the seat of the Nineveh Province government, given that it is the only town in the province outside of ISIS control.  

Thus far, ISIS atrocities in Iraq have shocked the world, resulting in countless condemnations, but virtually no intervention by the international community until the recent limited U.S. air strikes protecting only the Kurds. Media coverage has largely focused on the power struggle between the Shi’ite, Sunni, and Kurdish sects while ignoring the indigenous people of Iraq, the Assyrians. Meanwhile, the Kurds moved forward with their national aspirations for an independent country by moving southward towards Mosul, illegally annexing Assyrian and Yazidi lands. 

U.S. foreign policy favors the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG). In the past decade, Assyrian Christians in the Nineveh Plains were forcefully brought under the control of the KRG as a result of a dubious constitutional claim that our lands were “contested areas,” thereby negating our basic right to self-determination. Nonetheless, the Kurdish annexation of the Nineveh Plains did provide a degree of security for the Assyrians, giving us the impression that we had become an indispensible part of Iraqi Kurdistan. It was this assumption that led the Assyrians to remain in their homes and towns after ISIS took over Mosul, the largest city in Northern Iraq, a mere 20 km away from the nearest Assyrian town of Tel Keppe. Not even when ISIS expelled the Assyrian Christians from Mosul in the most humiliating and brutal way, did the Assyrians in the Nineveh Plains leave their homes, believing the KRG’s assurances that the Nineveh Plains were an integral part of Kurdistan.  

On August 3, ISIS began shelling the largest Assyrian towns of Baghdade (Qaraqosh) and Karmlesh, causing their inhabitants to flee. Kurdish Peshmerga forces withdrew towards Erbil without firing a single bullet, thereby abandoning these Assyrian towns to the barbarism of ISIS… 

Weeks later, Assyrians remain in Dohuk awaiting the mercy of the international community to intervene on their behalf so they can return to their homes. In the wake of these events and the evident unwillingness of the Kurds and Iraqi government to fight for the Nineveh Plains, the time has come for an autonomous Assyrian government in the Nineveh Plains. The U.S. should lead the effort through an expansion of air strikes, provision of defensive arms to Assyrians, and political pressure on the KRG and Baghdad government to create an Assyrian Regional Government in the Nineveh Plains. Otherwise, the world will watch as this ancient people, language, and culture are ethnically cleansed from their historical homeland.        

Photo: The town of Alqosh, in the Nineveh Plains of Iraq

On June 10, 2014, only a year after his return, his beloved city of two million people fell under the control of ISIS, the Islamic State terrorist group. Adnan was teaching a class when he received a phone call from his brother warning him that a curfew had suddenly been imposed in parts of the city. After a long walk through a city that had suddenly become chaotic, he learned that ISIS had taken control of the city on the other side of the Tigris River and was preparing to move over to the side where Adnan and his family live.

The U.S.-trained Iraqi military forces did not stay to defend the city, but simply laid down their arms and fled, many of them asking the people for clothes so that they could shed their uniforms. Adnan was able to send us an e-mail update when we wrote to check up on him, but power and connectivity have been spotty, as well as access to food, gasoline, and other necessities.

“Life is paralyzed and nothing seems to be promising,” he writes. Schools are closed and so are most businesses. Nobody in his family has been able to continue working and many of his relatives have left the city, which is difficult as the city is under siege. “I just want to get back to teaching, and complete the mission I started,” says Adnan. “The situation is only getting worse, especially now that fall and winter are coming.”

Starting in Monterey, Washington, D.C. and the San Francisco Bay Area, these events have become a great hit. Typically planned by alumni volunteers in the community, events are held at a variety of venues. If you are interested in starting the tradition in your area (either as a monthly or a one-time event) check out the resource document on the new alumni website at http://alumni.miis.edu.

Photos show Third Thursday events held in Mountain View, California, Monterey, California and Washington, DC.

Photo: Jordan Sanchez (MAIEP ’15, far left) with Assemblymember Paul Fong (2nd from left) at the California State Capitol. 

Monterey-Salinas TV station KSBW ran a feature in late April spotlighting the unique story of Sanaz Tofighrad (MAIPS ’10), who ran in the Big Sur International Marathon. Growing up in conservative Iran in the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Sanaz resorted to disguising herself as a boy in order to pursue her passion for running. “I cut my hair short, I wore a baseball cap, and I wore baggy clothes so my body wouldn’t reveal I was a female,” she said. Eventually her family was allowed to emigrate to California, where Sanaz studied at the University of California, Berkeley and then at MIIS. Today, Sanaz teaches Persian and Farsi at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey.

In introducing the winner of this year’s Leslie Eliason Excellence in Teaching Award, Provost Amy Sands cited translation and interpretation professor Julie Johnson’s (MATI ’89) record of excellence in teaching, adding that she has “dedicated her career at MIIS to providing our students with a challenging and dynamic learning environment that motivates them and excites them about their chosen career paths.” Congratulations to Professor Johnson, who will serve as the December 2014 Commencement speaker.

Photo: Prof. Julie Johnson

A trio of MIIS students earned raves from the International Student & Scholars Office at the University of California, San Francisco this spring for their work developing a proposed curriculum and lesson plans for English as a Second Language (ESL) students at UCSF. “This far exceeds my expectations and also is an extraordinary tool for outreach on our ESL needs,” said Director Brian Groves of the work done by MIIS students Daurie Mangan-Dimuzio (MATESOL ’14), Anita Krishnan (MATESOL ’14), and Matt Loehrer (MAIEP ’15).

James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies Founding Director Dr. William Potter’s busy summer included serving as a technical advisor to the Kyrgyz Delegation to the 2014 NPT Preparatory Committee Meeting at the United Nations in New York; co-chairing the Inaugural Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Diplomatic Workshop on Verification Challenges and Opportunities in Baden, Austria; and co-organizing a pilot Summer School on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Mexico City for young diplomats from 20 countries in Latin America.

Photo: UN High Representative for Disarmament Angela Kane, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano, Dr. William Potter, & Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo at the Vienna Center workshop.

As any Spanish-speaker will tell you, making the linguistic move from Spanish to Portuguese is not as easy as some might think. It’s easier now than a few months ago, though, thanks in part to Prof. Barry Slaughter Olsen (MACI ’99), co-creator of the new iPhone/iPad app “Sound Brazilian!” Barry worked with two colleagues from Kansas State University and the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth to identify 54 of the most common differences and pitfalls between Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish. The resulting app was released on the Apple App Store in May. “This app will help fluent speakers of Spanish learn how to avoid the most common mistakes in Portuguese for Spanish speakers and jumpstart their Portuguese conversational skills,” says Barry. Fantástico!

Prof. Vicki Porras shared this photo of her colleague Sabino Morera (MATI ’89) with his former professor and friend, Luis Guillermo Solís, who was recently elected president of Costa Rica. Sabino traveled up to San Jose, California in June to see President Solís speak about how his country has evolved into a high technology leader in Latin America and is continuing to foster foreign direct investment.

Photo: Sabino Morera (MATI ’89) with his former professor, President Luis Guillermo Solís of Costa Rica.

Adjunct professor Esther Navarro-Hall (MATI ’91) was recently elected chair of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT.org). Congratulations to Esther on achieving this prestigious honor! Esther was also quoted in a June article in the New York Times about legal interpreters.

Esther was in fact one of many faculty, staff, students and alumni quoted in notable places in recent months. For example:

• Nonproliferation and terrorism studies student Zachary Kallenborn (MANPTS ’15) was quoted in a San Francisco Examiner article on bomb-making toxins found during a recent police raid.=

• The Economist cited a paper co-authored by Professor Tom Hout of the Fisher MBA program on “A Chinese Approach to Management” that had previously been published in the Harvard Business Review.

• A Washington Post story on tracing small arms quoted not one, but two MIIS alums—Jonah Leff (MPA ’07) and Rachel Stohl (MAIPS ’97). Rachel was the consultant for the Arms Trade Treaty recently passed by the UN, while Jonah works for Conflict Armament Research. Jonah also recently hired two MIIS alumni, Shawn Harris (MPA ’13) and Tim Michetti (MAIPS ’14).

• Professor Michael McGinniss of the International Environmental Policy program was interviewed for a PBS Newshour piece on the issue of bycatch from gill-net fishing. “If we’re really interested in protecting sharks, and mammals, and dolphins, and turtles, we need to work together,” said Michael.

• President Sunder Ramaswamy spoke at the World Affairs Council (WAC) in San Francisco this June as part of a panel of experts discussing the outcome of the recent elections in India. The session, “Modi’s India: Thinking About the Future,” is viewable on the WAC’s website (www.worldaffairs.org).

Earlier this year, Pei He (MACI ’14) was selected from nearly 1,500 contestants as a winner in the Many Languages, One World Essay Contest, which invited students from around the world to compose an essay on multilingualism and global citizenship. As a winner, she traveled to New York to participate in a five-day Global Youth Forum that culminated with the contest winners convening at UN Headquarters to make presentations based on principles of the UN Academic Impact program.

After several years as a citizen activist in Monterey, MIIS alumnus Timothy Barrett (MATESOL ’00) recently took his civic participation one step further, declaring his candidacy for the Monterey City Council. Tim was previously active in Occupy Monterey and chaired a local symposium on homelessness. “I believe that self-government only works if ‘we the people’ roll up our sleeves and get to work,” Tim told the Monterey County Weekly. “I want to reach out to neighborhoods and ensure that their voices are heard.”

Photo: Timothy Barrett on the campaign trail

On July 24, The Women’s International Perspective (a publication of MIIS) and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies hosted the first Twitter chat for both organizations. Inspired by three CNS fellows—Maria Syed and Nidaa Shahid of Pakistan, and Abdulmajeed Ibrahim of Nigeria—the conversation centered on the perceptions of Muslims perpetuated in the West, particularly in the mass media. Search #LocalVoicesTalk on Twitter or visit TheWIP.net for more information on this first-of-its-kind event.

Former provost Amy Sands—who assumed her new role as senior advisor for nonproliferation and international security on July 1—was recently appointed by Under Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller to a two-year term on the Secretary of State’s International Security Advisory Board (ISAB), which provides the department with independent insight and advice on all aspects of arms control, disarmament, international security, and related aspects of public diplomacy. The ISAB is chaired by the Hon. Gary Hart, and board members are national security experts with scientific, military, diplomatic, and political backgrounds.

Beginning in January 2015, MIIS will offer a fast track to professional interpreting positions in bilingual Spanish-English communities through its new six-month Spanish Community Interpretation Certificate program. The new program is designed as a hybrid, low-residency program that begins with an on-site, four-week module on the Institute campus in January, continues with an online module through the spring, and culminates with a seven-week summer module back in Monterey. Participants who complete the certificate will be eligible for many freelance or staff positions at courts, law firms, hospitals, clinics, school districts and other public service centers.

Adjunct Professor (and former Translation & Interpretation Dean) Bill Weber sent word of a gathering of MIIS Conference Interpretation alumni working at the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games that included Pablo Chang-Castillo (MACI/MATI ’02), Angela Yin (MACI ’90), and Ekaterina Mostovaya (MACI ’10). Bill served as chief interpreter at the Games and, in Pablo’s words, “continues to support MIIS alumni throughout the world.

Photo: Pablo Chang-Castillo, Angela Yin, Bill Weber & Ekaterina Mostovaya at the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games.

The Monterey Institute’s Fisher MBA in Global Impact Management is consistently highly ranked in Net Impact’s annualBusiness as UNusual guide, which surveys more than 3,000 students across nearly 100 campuses to gain their perspectives on impact trends and programs. This year, the Monterey Institute was ranked in a tie for 23rd among the top 50 social impact programs, and in a tie for 27th among the top 50 environmental sustainability programs. Net Impact describes Business as UNusual as “the social & environmental impact guide to graduate programs” for students who “want to leave their programs fully equipped to create social and environmental change in the workplace and the world.”

In late August, the Institute signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) that will make Linguistics and Language Studies majors who complete specific courses at UCSC automatically eligible for the Institute’s Advanced Entry MATESOL and MATFL programs. Enrollment Manager Carol Johnson worked with Prof. Lynn Goldstein, program chair for the MATESOL/MATFL programs, and UCSC Linguistics Dept. Chair Sandy Chung to develop the MOU.

Photo: Carol Johnson, UCSC Linguistics Chair Sandy Chung, UCSC Prof. Grant McGuire, MIIS Prof. Netta Avineri.

The Monterey Cyber Security Initiative (MCySec) recently welcomed Dr. Linton Wells II as a distinguished senior research fellow. “I’m delighted and honored that Lin has chosen to join us,” said MCySec Director Dr. Itamara Lochard. “His reputation, dedication, and collegiality match his superb resume. His capacity to address both the hard security and humanitarian aspects of cyber makes him a perfect match for our interdisciplinary approach.” Dr. Wells has held positions at the U.S. Department of Defense including chief information officer (CIO) and acting assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration.

For the fifth year in a row, MIIS was named a “Military Friendly School” by G.I. Jobs, signifying that it ranks in the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America’s military service members, veterans, and spouses as students and ensure their success on campus.

What happens when a Frontier Market Scout meets the World Cup? You get a social venture like Favela Experience—founded by Elliot Rosenberg, who holds a certificate in Social Enterprise and Impact Investing from the Monterey Institute’s Frontier Market Scouts (FMS) program—which connected the people of the favelas of Rio with World Cup fans seeking an authentic Brazilian experience and safe, affordable accommodations. Said Elliot: “We’re like Airbnb for Rio’s favelas — and eventually the rest of the world!” Elliot and Favela Experience were featured in national and international media leading up to the World Cup, including the Christian Science Monitor, NPR, International Business Times, and the Guardian.

Photo: Elliot Rosenberg in Rio

As always, Monterey Institute faculty, staff, students, and alumni were busy writing and publishing this summer:

• Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress, CNS scientist-in-residence and MIIS adjunct professor, had a paper on “Local Health Department Planning for a Radiological Emergency” accepted for publication in a special issue of Public Health Reports.

• Haaretz published an op-ed piece by Prof. Avner Cohen (also a CNS senior fellow) examining Israel’s “special means” defense budget. Avner also co-authored a piece for Foreign Policy describing the revelations offered by recently declassified materials that chart deliberations inside the Nixon White House regarding Israeli nuclear policy in 1969.

• The Institute at the Golden Gate published a report by Julia Townsend (MAIEP ’09) on “Parks: The New Climate Classroom Insights for Climate Change Communication & Education.”

• Alumna Beril Unver (MAIPS ’08) co-authored an op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times on the upcoming presidential elections in Turkey with Dr. Soner Cagaptay of the Pacific Council on International Policy, a former colleague.

• CNS Senior Research Associate Chen Kane celebrated the publication of Regional Security Dialogue in the Middle East: Changes, Challenges and Opportunities, a book she co-edited with Egle Murauskaite.

• The Carnegie Forum on Rebuilding U.S.-Russia Relations published CNS Director William Potter’s paper “The Shock of Unintended Consequences.”

• Prof. Jason Martel had a chapter on Language Teacher Identity published in the new Routledge Handbook of Educational Linguistics.

• CNS East Asia Nonproliferation Project Director Jeffrey Lewis continues to serve as a regular columnist for Foreign Policy, publishing two or three columns each month on the foreignpolicy.com website.

• Alumna Darlene Christopher’s (MPA ’97) book The Successful Virtual Classroom was published in September by the American Management Association.

The internship was exactly the missing piece Michael had been searching for. “I have always been amazed at the breadth of experience many of my fellow students bring to class,” he shares, adding that he is a “California boy” who is really interested in conflict resolution as it relates to development issues, but before this summer had no experience working in a developing country. “It changes everything,” he says. Despite having studied poverty, development, and conflict case studies for many years, he now says he finally understands what issues such as lack of access to potable water really means.

Michael learned about the internship opportunity through the Center for Advising and Career Services (CACS). They in turn heard about it through recent alumnus Mohammed Makhlouf (MAIPS ’13), who had encouraged the president of the organization to hire MIIS students and notified CACS staff of the position.

Back in Monterey, where he has just started his third semester of studies, Michael has plans to build on his Cameroon experience as part of his class projects. His language of study is French and during his time in Cameroon he says he was able to greatly improve his language skills. “Being able to talk to people in French really helped me a lot in my job because I was able to communicate directly with people and establish rapport with them.” Michael admits the experience was not without its challenges, but he learned a lot about himself and the field he aspires. “My main takeaway,” he says earnestly, is that “the world is full of opportunities, and we have the ability to make a big difference if we do things right.”