Monterey Institute News

Student-Driven Symposium to Celebrate Foreign Language Education

Angela Quesenberry aquesenb@miis.edu — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:55:07 +0000

Language education is one of the cornerstones of the Monterey Institute curriculum.

Student-Driven Symposium to Celebrate Foreign Language Education

February 9, 2012

The student-driven event “Celebrating Foreign Language Education: A Monterey Bay Symposium” will take place on Saturday March 10, 2012, at the Monterey Institute campus. This symposium will bring together local teachers, students, administrators and other professionals from the Monterey Bay area to discuss current trends and issues in the field of foreign language education.

Students from the Teaching a Foreign Language (TFL) and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) degree programs had the idea to bring together local professionals and members of the Monterey Bay community to share ideas and insights about foreign language education. With the support of MIIS faculty and staff they now have a full schedule of exciting presentations and discussions set for March 10.

The keynote speaker will be Monterey Institute Professor Dr. Leo van Lier. Dr. van Lier joined the TESOL/TFL program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in 1986 and has authored a number of essential books and articles in the field of second language acquisition and applied linguistics. He has been the editor-in-chief for the Modern Language Journal since 2007 and is on the board of numerous other journals.

Visit the symposium web site for more information and to register.

Author Reza Aslan and Kiva Co-Founder Jessica Jackley to Lead MIIS Executive Ed Course on Social Media

Anne-Marie Steiger asteiger@miis.edu — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:45:06 +0000

Jessica Jackley and Reza Aslan, instructors for “Harnessing the Power of Social Media, Youth Movements and Dynamic Markets.”

Author Reza Aslan and Kiva Co-Founder Jessica Jackley to Lead MIIS Executive Ed Course on Social Media

February 2, 2012

On February 17-18 the Monterey Institute and Aslan Media will host a two-day executive education course offering insights on “Harnessing the Power of Social Media, Youth Movements and Dynamic Markets.” The course will be held at the Monterey Institute and will offer training in:

Leveraging the current dynamic of online activism and global youth movements.
Engaging, informing, and educating the public through social media.
Increasing brand awareness
Increasing an organization’s capacity for action and change through social media.
Identifying untapped niches in the marketplace that can be leveraged to extend an organization’s reach.

Author, activist and Aslan Media founder Reza Aslan and Kiva co-founder Jessica Jackley will lead this training, with special guest lectures and presentations by leaders in the nonprofit, business, marketing, and technology sectors.

For more information or to apply, visit the Executive Education page or contact program manager Carolyn Taylor Meyer at ctaylor@miis.edu or 831.647.6417.

MIIS Alumna Shares Her Kabul Experience in NY Times

Rebecca Walters rwalters@miis.edu — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:55:16 +0000

Jaala Thibault (MATESOL ’07) (right) in her Kabul classroom.

MIIS Alumna Shares Her Kabul Experience in NY Times

January 31, 2012

Jaala Thibault (MATESOL ´07) was one of only two U.S.-sponsored English Language Fellows (ELF) in Afghanistan in 2010; the other was fellow MIIS alumna Tara Bates (MATESOL ´07). Being selected into the U.S. State Department English Language Fellows program is “one of the most prestigious positions a recent MA graduate in TESOL or TFL can receive,” according to MIIS TESOL professor Kathleen Bailey.

In “Changes in Kabul Classrooms,” an article recently published by the New York Times, Jaala talks about her experience teaching in Kabul, where she continues to travel regularly to conduct teacher-training workshops. “Though I always knew I’d become a teacher, I never planned to use my ability to educate as a tool for building nations. But then the attacks of Sept. 11 happened—and just as they changed many lives, they changed my life, too.” She adds: “I desperately wanted to go there to help educate the girls and to learn about a culture that had been hidden for so long.”

In her second article published by the New York Times, “A Teacher’s Learning Curve in Kabul,” Jaala writes about learning to be patient with the pace of progress. She had arrived in Kabul a year and a half before with the big plans to help reform an education system, but came to embrace the proverb: “Patience is bitter, but it has a sweet fruit.”

By 2010, there was a mixture of boys and girls learning side by side in the classrooms at Jaala’s school, and women teaching a variety of subjects. But the stories of a different time are still fresh in memory and being shared every day. Recently Jaala confronted a new problem—not the lack of heating or proper supplies and not the fear of retribution—but rather not having enough chairs for all of the students. For a teacher, that is a wonderful problem to have.

In Memoriam: Longtime Friend of MIIS Laurence P. Horan

Anne-Marie Steiger asteiger@miis.edu — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:58:06 +0000

Laurence P. “Larry” Horan, 1929 – 2012

In Memoriam: Longtime Friend of MIIS Laurence P. Horan

January 26, 2012

Laurence P. “Larry” Horan, former chair of the Monterey Institute Board of Trustees and a friend of the Institute through five decades of service to the Monterey community, passed away on Monday, January 23. He will be missed by his many good friends among the MIIS campus community.

Larry graduated from Boalt Law School at UC Berkeley and in 1960 was a founding partner in the Monterey law firm known today as Horan, Lloyd, Karachale, Dyer, Schwartz, Law & Cook. The firm was originally called Farr and Horan, after Larry and his partner Fred Farr, who went on to become a state senator and whose son is U.S. Representative Sam Farr. Larry took a three-year leave from his practice in the mid-1960s to be a Peace Corps country director in Costa Rica, Peru and Colombia, where Sam Farr served as a volunteer on Larry’s team.

Through the Peace Corps and his work on the Special Olympics, Larry became close with Sargent and Eunice (Kennedy) Shriver, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver. In 1995, Sargent Shriver called on Larry to establish and chair the Northern California Chapter of the Special Olympics. Larry and his wife Jean also became friends with author Maureen Orth, widow of the late TV journalist Tim Russert, who joined Larry in speaking at the Monterey Institute’s celebration of the Peace Corps’ 50th anniversary last October.

While serving on the Monterey Institute Board of Trustees, Fred Farr invited Larry to join the board in 1969. Larry served as board chair in 1975-76, and as a trustee until 2005. His service to the Institute continued through this past year, when he served on the steering committee of the Institute’s community outreach group eMIISsaries.

Larry’s consistent, generous support of the Institute included founding the Peace Corps Scholarship fund at MIIS in 2000. The Peace Corps Scholarship is awarded annually to a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer accepted into or studying in a master’s degree program at the Institute. The Horans also gave a collection of pre-Columbian artifacts to the Institute, which continues to be displayed in the campus library.

Larry is survived by his wife, Jean, five children and 12 grandchildren. In Larry's memory the family has invited donations to several charities, including the Jean and Larry Horan Peace Corps Scholarship Fund at the Monterey Institute of International Studies.

37 MIIS Students Heading Off to Immersive Learning Programs in 18 Countries

Bergthora Gudbergsdottir evag@miis.edu — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:21:52 +0000

Student Sean Brownlee (MBA ´12), horseback riding close to the pyramids with MIIS alumnus Moaness Tahoun (MBA ´03) during his IPSS assignment in Egypt in fall 2011.

37 MIIS Students Heading Off to Immersive Learning Programs in 18 Countries

January 24, 2012

The Monterey Institute takes pride in its success in preparing students for a professional international career so that they can hit the ground running after graduation. A large part of that success can be attributed to the many immersive learning opportunities offered to students in all degree programs, varying from smaller projects involving the local Monterey community to longer-term internships with non-profit and international organizations around the world.

This year 37 students participated in intensive winter term training courses designed to prepare them for assignments as part of the International Professional Service Semester (IPSS), the Frontier Markets Scouts (FMS) or the Development Management Project Institute (DPMI) Plus program. They are now heading off to test their skills and theory in a real-life setting, and if the past is any indicator, working for organizations where they may find employment after graduation.

Seventeen students are heading off to work for an international organization as a junior professional as part of the International Professional Service Program. Another fourteen students are heading off to assignments working for non-profit organizations, higher learning institutions and international organizations in the United States and seven other countries building on the skillset they started building in the three-week intensive DPMI course. Finally, six students are heading off to Nicaragua, Brazil, India and Mexico where they will work to connect local entrepreneurs with investors under the guidance of the Frontier Market Scout program. We wish them all the best in their endeavours!

Rebecca Walters rwalters@miis.edu — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:10:10 +0000

December 31, 1969

MIIS Alumni Make Waves with Launch of “Local Catch Monterey Bay”

Bergthora Gudbergsdottir evag@miis.edu — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Local Catch entrepreneurs Oren Frey (MAIEP ’11) and Alan Lovewell (MAIEP ’10).

MIIS Alumni Make Waves with Launch of “Local Catch Monterey Bay”

January 18, 2012

The week of January 16 saw Alan Lovewell (MAIEP ’10) and Oren Frey (MAIEP ’11) successfully launch “Local Catch Monterey Bay” – their new venture combining their love for the ocean with a penchant for practical solutions to real world problems. Local Catch Monterey offers weekly “shares” of fresh, sustainable seafood to members. Consumers sign up for a weekly delivery and then pick up their box of fresh-off-the-boat seafood at one of the eight delivery sites in Santa Cruz, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Carmel and Carmel Valley.

The endeavor has already generated a lot of positive buzz, including a feature in Edible Monterey and the Monterey County Weekly. Alan and Oren have created a business model with benefits to the local economy, consumer health and the environment. “By investing in our local fishing industry, we can create a collaborative system of consumers and fishermen, industry and conservationists working together to share the ocean resources our area has to offer,” they say on their Web site localcatchmontereybay.com, where you can find more information and sign up.

Alumni Gifts Bolster New Scholarship Fund in Honor of Professor Stephen Garrett

Bergthora Gudbergsdottir evag@miis.edu — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:50:51 +0000

Professor Stephen A. Garrett

Alumni Gifts Bolster New Scholarship Fund in Honor of Professor Stephen Garrett

January 12, 2012

The Monterey Institute community mourned the loss of long-time professor Stephen A. Garrett last summer. Professor Garrett joined the faculty at MIIS in 1974, and specialized in teaching courses on U.S. foreign policy, ethics and international affairs. He was a beloved member of the MIIS faculty, inspiring students with his knowledge and wonderful spirit for over 37 years.

The indelible mark he left on our community was strongly felt in the weeks and months after news of his passing spread through the international MIIS community when alumni and former colleagues responded with a deluge of messages, sharing fond memories and gratitude to a true mentor and friend.

In acknowledgment of Professor Stephen Garrett’s dedication to the Monterey Institute and his strong belief in service, the Garrett Family and the Monterey Institute established the Stephen A. Garrett Scholarship Fund for Ethics and International Affairs. The Scholarship will honor the memory of Professor Garrett, who passed away on June 11, 2011, by encouraging students interested in pursuing the area which was the focus of much of Professor Garrett’s research and teaching career.

The Garrett family, who generously supported the founding of the scholarship, have now been joined by more than seventy alumni and a large number of faculty and staff, raising close to $65,000 in a short period of time. The goal is endow the scholarship with $100,000 and give awards in perpetuity. To give to the Stephen A. Garrett Scholarship Fund, click here. For more information about ways to support the Monterey Institute’s mission, visit miis.edu/giving.

MIIS Program To Go National with Launch of Middlebury-Monterey Summer Intensive College English

Bergthora Gudbergsdottir evag@miis.edu — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:54:15 +0000

Salve Regina University, site of the Middlebury-Monterey Summer Intensive College English program, is located in Newport, Rhode Island.

MIIS Program To Go National with Launch of Middlebury-Monterey Summer Intensive College English

January 4, 2012

The Monterey Institute has announced the launch of a new summer program offering intensive English training for international students attending college anywhere in the United States. The Middlebury-Monterey Summer Intensive College English program is based on the intensive English program that the Institute has for many years been offering to its own international students.

From June 28 to August 1, the program will offer international students who currently attend or are interested in attending undergraduate programs in the United States the opportunity to improve their English language skills while learning about American history and culture. The immersive program, to be hosted at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island for the next three years, will include content-based language courses as well as field trips to nearby Boston and New York.

“This new program grew out of the Monterey Institute’s long experience offering a summer intensive English program for our own incoming international students,” noted Dr. Renee Jourdenais, dean of the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation and Language Education at MIIS. “The Summer Intensive College English program is designed to take a well-established and very effective language training program at MIIS and make it available to a national audience.”

“The Intensive College English program will expand Salve Regina’s place in the world and enrich our community each summer,” said Dr. Dean de la Motte, provost and dean of faculty at Salve Regina. “We are delighted to be working with the two institutions best known in North America for the quality of their intensive training in language and culture.”