International and Area Studies Joining Forces to Broaden Minds

Dana Ponte first visited Russia when she was sixteen years old. Her exposure to the country’s culture and history while it grappled with intro-ducing democracy made a lasting impact. Ponte, who received the 2000 Dorothy Jane and William Green Foreign Languages Scholarship, now majors in Russian and Eastern European Studies at the University of Oregon. "A thorough understanding of other cultures and nations, particularly areas like Russia with which the U.S has had a complicated past history, is integral to maintaining peaceful foreign relations. Area studies programs help foster this understanding," she says. The UO’s area and international studies programs strive to help students widen their world views and experiences. "So much of what students learn is U.S. based. We’re hoping to really put the rest of the world on the map," says Linda Fuller, professor of sociology and director of the International Studies Program (ISP). Students interested in expanding their world knowledge now can start at just one place, thanks to the recently formed International Programs Council (IPC). The IPC began in the spring of 1998 when program representatives for Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, European Studies, International Studies, and the Russian and East European Studies Center (REESC) met to discuss departmental cross-campus moves. They proposed to consolidate the programs by creating one central office and entity -- the IPC. Last fall, the IPC moved into 175 Prince Lucien Campbell, where information about all five programs is housed. Pending the approval of the State Board of Higher Education, the IPC hopes to become known as the University of Oregon Center for International and Area Studies. "We want to protect what is unique and distinct about each program, but we want to explore every opportunity for constructive interrelationships," says professor Alan Kimball, who is the IPC chair and director of REESC. He says the new arrangement offers the programs the opportunity to share resources such as office staff, web site maintenance, and advertising materials, whereas previously, programs may have struggled to maintain such resources independently. Working together also provides funding advantages. "When we’re talking about scheduling a big event, such as some kind of symposium, we can work cooperatively. When we’re applying for grant support for aspects of the life of any one of the units, we can cooperate in strength and reinforce one another," he says. Linda Fuller agrees that the IPC offers opportunities for inter-program cooperative efforts. "There’s more communication between area programs. We knew very little about one another before. We hope now to act more jointly," says Fuller. The IPC also offers advantages for the nearly 280 undergraduates and 80 graduate students -- including about one-third who are international students -- who work for degrees and certificates within the IPC. The new location will "provide students interested in international studies with a single place to find all the different academic units with international degrees," notes Leonardo García-Pabón, director of Latin American Studies and a recent recipient of the Reinhold Foundation Faculty Support Fund in the Arts and Sciences. Course overlap commonly occurs among international and area studies programs; for example, an international studies student who wants to focus on a Latin American issue can address questions about both programs in one place. Kelly Baumgartner ’97, M.A. ’99, would have enjoyed that convenience. A graduate of the International Studies Program, he also earned a certificate in the European Studies Program (ESP). Now working as an intern in a security and defense non-governmental organization (NGO) in Brussels, Belgium, he anticipates returning to the U.S. in July 2001 to work for the General Accounting Office in Washington, D.C., as an international affairs analyst. "The ESP served as a ladder for my further educational and career development," says Baumgartner. "An international or area studies degree, especially one that requires study abroad, opens a student’s intellectual, cultural and personal horizons."

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