UA’s Model UN Team, Members Ranked Among the Best

• June 12th, 2020
• in International Main

June 9, 2020 | From UA News

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama’s Model UN team ranked on Best Delegate’s list of the Top 25 Collegiate Model UN teams in the World Division for the first time.

UA ranked No. 25 for strong performances throughout the 2019-20 academic year. According to Best Delegate, UA’s showing at the McGill Model United Nations Assembly in Montreal in January, the second largest Model UN conference, was among the top performances in an evenly matched field.

UA’s Model UN team is comprised of 42 students. Unlike most top-performing universities that train one group of students within its team to compete at conferences, UA’s team encourages all of its members to compete and gain experience.

“Model UN team members come from various majors and interests across campus and compete at a world-class level through dedicated training outside of their regular studies,” said Megan Wagner, assistant director of international partnerships and scholarships at UA’s Capstone International Center. “They’re practicing the problem-solving and critical thinking it takes to be engaged leaders in a global society.”

Best Delegate awards recognize both individual students and college teams as a whole for their accomplishments in leadership, research, public speaking, resolution-building, negotiation and diplomacy. According to the organization, this year’s team rankings were more competitive than ever.

In addition to the team’s honor, members Russell Puffer of Marietta, Georgia, and Andrew Smith of Haslet, Texas, were named to the first team of the North American Collegiate Model UN All-Star Team. Puffer and Smith are the first UA delegates to make the team that consists of the top 12 delegates in the nation.

The purpose of the North American Collegiate Model UN All-Star Team is to recognize exemplary individuals in the college Model UN community who make a difference inside and outside of committee.

UA’s Model UN team is part of the Capstone International Center’s Alabama International Relations Club. The Model UN is the cornerstone of the AIRC, the premier student-led global affairs organization at UA that continuously provides opportunities for its members to learn, develop, find community and make an impact at the Capstone and the world beyond.

Twelve UA Students Win Fulbright Awards

• June 12th, 2020
• in International Main

May 20, 2020 | From UA News

Note: The story was updated June 3 to reflect the addition of Joshua Kirks as a Fulbright Student Research Award recipient. 

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Three University of Alabama students received Fulbright Student Research Awards and nine have won Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Awards for the 2020–2021 academic year.

The Fulbright Program is the most prestigious U.S. international exchange program, offering opportunities for students, scholars and professionals. The Fulbright Award of the U.S. Department of State offers one-year grants for independent study and research, and for English teaching assistantships overseas.

The highly competitive program selects about 1,500 award recipients from over 11,000 applicants each year. UA has received national recognition as a Top Producing Institution for Fulbright U.S. Students four of the last five years.

“We applaud every Fulbright 2020–2021 student applicant for their interest in furthering the Fulbright mission of mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries,” said Dr. Teresa Wise, associate provost of international education and global outreach. “As the world unites in solving the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, that mission is more important than ever.

“We congratulate our awardees and know that they will represent UA and the U.S. with distinction in the coming year.”

Fulbright Student Research Award recipients:

• Julia Coursey, of Washington, D.C., received a Fulbright Award to Hungary to conduct research at the University of Debrecen and in Budapest for her novel, “The Bathers.” She holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from UA and a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from St. John’s College.
• Joshua Kirks, of Kennesaw, Georgia, received a Fulbright Award to research, “Hollow Cathode Development and Testing,” at Dresden University of Technology in Germany. He is a UA graduate student in aerospace engineering and mechanics who holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from UA and memberships in Sigma Gamma Tau and Delta Phi Alpha honor societies.
• Ashley Tickle Odebiyi, of Tuscaloosa, received a Fulbright Award to Italy to research, ”Gender, Authority, and Liminal Space: Roman Bizzoche, 1400–1500,” at LUMSA University and Sapienza University in Rome. She is a UA doctoral student in history with language study in Latin and Italian, earning a Bachelor of Arts from James Madison University and Master of Arts in religious studies from the University of Iowa.

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award recipients:

• Christine Jane Allen, of Auburn, a leader in Model United Nations, an experienced debate tutor, chief justice of the Academic Honor Council, Honors College member, fellow of the Blackburn Institute and 2019 summa cum laude graduate in political science and environmental policy with advanced competency in Spanish language, was chosen to teach in Spain.
• Mason Olivia Blanke, of Tuscaloosa, a UA Presidential Scholar, Honors College member and 2020 graduate in electrical engineering and physics with a certificate in teaching English as a foreign language, was chosen to teach in Poland.
• Camille Constance Nealey Carr, of Wake Forest, North Carolina, a fellow of the Blackburn Institute, Blount Interdisciplinary Scholar in the liberal arts, Honors College member and 2019 summa cum laude graduate in Spanish and political science with fluency in the Spanish language, was chosen to teach in Colombia.
• Isabella Rose DeSheplo, of Washington, D.C., a fellow of the Blackburn Institute, member of the Carl A. Elliott Community Service Honor Society, Honors College member and 2020 UA graduate with a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and a minor in public policy studies, was chosen to teach in Bulgaria.
• Lota Erinne, of Peachtree City, Georgia, a poet, winner of the 2019 Greer Marechal Memorial Prize in Fiction, managing editor of The Marr’s Field Journal literary magazine, Honors College member and 2020 graduate in English and finance with fluency in Spanish, was chosen to teach in Spain.
• Amelia Wyant Gaither, of Hickory, North Carolina, a writing center tutor, UA English Language Institute instructor, founder of the UA Chinese Conversation Hour and a Global Café ESL conversation partner, with a bachelor’s degree in English from Davidson College and Master of Arts in applied linguistics and teaching English to speakers of other languages from UA, was chosen to teach in Taiwan.
• Robert “Chad” Hankins, of Mobile, a Blount Interdisciplinary Scholar in the liberal arts, member of the Mallet Assembly and White Rose Society, certified teacher of English as a Foreign Language and 2018 graduate in political science with a minor in German, advanced German language competency, and Global Studies Certificate, was chosen to teach in Germany.
• Katherine Lightfoot, of Northport, a discussion facilitator with the UA English Language Institute, active leader in Model United Nations and German Club, Delta Phi Alpha German Honor Society member, Honors College member and 2019 graduate in international studies and foreign languages and enrolled in graduate studies in German at UA, was chosen to teach in Germany.
• Ian Samlowski, of Madison, a teaching assistant in the department of modern languages and classics, translator for the Birmingham Holocaust Education Center and fluent German speaker who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in German from UA with membership in Delta Phi Alpha German Honor Society, was chosen to teach in Germany.

In addition, 11 students were awarded alternate status in this year’s national Fulbright competition. They will be invited to serve should more openings become available to the national Fulbright Program.

UA alternates include Emily Adams (Bulgaria), Austin Blair (Germany), Olivia Brick (Laos), Logan Fenhouse (Spain), Asia Hayes (Spain), Ekaterina (Katya) Khvatkova (Russia), Meredith Moore (Bulgaria), Austin Olivier (Germany), Rebecca Paholski (Spain), Caroline Smith (Spain) and Trey Sullivan (Bulgaria).

“Our campus is proud of these 23 exceptional student leaders in international engagement,” said Dr. Beverly Hawk, director of global and community engagement. “We appreciate the dedicated faculty, staff and administrators who advised our students in application for these awards.”

A team of Fulbright advisers from UA’s Capstone International Center, modern languages and classics department and Center for Community-Based Partnerships helps students polish applications for success in the Fulbright competition each year.

Students interested in applying for next year’s Fulbright Program can learn more at https://international.ua.edu and https://us.fulbrightonline.org, or by sending an email to UA’s Fulbright advisers Megan Wagner at megan.wagner@ua.edu, Dr. Matthew Feminella at mfeminella@ua.edu or Dr. Beverly Hawk at beverly.hawk@ua.edu.

Students Win Gilman Awards for 2019-2020 Study Abroad

• June 8th, 2020
• in Education Abroad International Main

Two UA Faculty Members Named Fulbright Scholars

• May 20th, 2020
• in International Main

May 19, 2020 | From UA News

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Two University of Alabama faculty members will receive Fulbright Scholar Grants for the upcoming year.

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers approximately 470 teaching, research or combination teaching and research awards in more than 125 countries.

The faculty members are:

Dr. Subhabrata Chakraborti, professor, department of information systems, statistics and management science, Culverhouse College of Business

Chakraborti was awarded a Fulbright Teaching and Research Scholar Award to the Federal University of Sao Carlos, in Brazil. He will be hosted by the production engineering department and will be involved in research, teaching and mentoring.

The collaboration will focus on capacity development in teaching and research, with a research focus on modern process monitoring in the era of analytics and big data. Research will involve developing and applying advanced statistical methods, including nonparametric methods, in a number of industries within and outside Brazil where process monitoring is vital.

Chakraborti will also help mentor and guide research and publication efforts, and to that end, will deliver seminars covering state of the art research techniques using his 2019 co-authored book, “Nonparametric Statistical Process Control” published by John Wiley. Teaching, research and mentoring activities are expected to open new doors and form the basis of a broader relationship between the two universities and various programs.

Dr. Glenn Tootle, associate professor, department of civil, construction and environmental engineering, College of Engineering

Tootle was awarded a Fulbright Teaching and Research Scholar Award to the University of Trento in Italy. He will teach courses in paleohydrology and hydroclimatology, focusing on Alpine watersheds in the region.

Tootle will collaborate with UniTrento faculty and students to evaluate critical water resources challenges including the development of tree-ring based reconstructions of streamflow and snowpack; identification of climatic drivers of streamflow and snowpack; and long lead-time forecasting of streamflow for water supply. He will concurrently conduct research in these areas and work on developing an exchange program with students from UniTrento, UA and the nearby University of Innsbruck where he has led a study abroad program since 2012.

World Friends Day

• May 6th, 2020
• in English Language Institute International Main

A student from Ukraine teaches elementary students about her culture.

World Friends Day is a fun and exciting event that happens twice a year in the Fall and Spring Semesters. Students from the English Language Institute (ELI) visit elementary schools to present their cultures in the form of games, songs, dances, costumes and language activities. In Fall 2019 ELI went to University Place Elementary, and in Spring 2020 to Faucett-Vestavia Elementary. These two forums reached over 600 local school children. World Friends Day is a favorite event for everyone, and we hope to continue it in 2020 – 2021.

Students from Argentina share their music.

A Brazilian student gets elementary students involved in her culture.

A group of South American students participate in World Friends Day.

A South Korean ELI student teaches an elementary student how to use chopsticks.

Japanese students join World Friends Day.

Students from Argentina plays a game with elementary students.

Students create materials for the elementary school students.

Students from Colombia and Venezuela interact with students.

A student from Saudi Arabia teaches the Arabic alphabet.

A Turkish student plays a game with elementary students.

Turkish students show a painting technique using string.

Chinese students watch an elementary student play a game.

A group of Middle Eastern students share their culture at World Friends Day.

World Friends Day

Four UA Students Win Critical Languages Scholarship Award

• April 14th, 2020
• in Education Abroad International Main

Four UA students were selected as recipients of the Critical Languages Scholarship Award to participate in overseas language study during the summer of 2020. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CLS has unfortunately suspended all summer language institutes for 2020. Despite this disappointing news, we wish to congratulate our winners, who will be eligible to reapply for the award for the 2021 application cycle.

David Ewing, a finance major, was selected to study Chinese in Tainan, Taiwan.

Elena Guerra, a Romance Languages and Spanish double-major, was selected to study Russian.

Katie Lightfoot, a German major, was selected to study Turkish at Ankara University TOMER in Bursa, Turkey.

Bria Samuels, a German MA student, was selected to study Turkish at Ankara University TOMER in Bursa, Turkey.

The Critical Language Scholarship program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. CLS scholars gain critical language and cultural skills that enable them to contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.

The program provides scholarships to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to spend eight to 10 weeks overseas studying one of 14 critical languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish or Urdu.

The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains. CLS scholars are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future careers.

Students interested in Critical Language Scholarships, Boren Scholarships or Fulbright Awards may contact the Capstone International Center at cic@ua.edu for more information.

Fulbright Scholarship Students at the ELI

• March 9th, 2020
• in English Language Institute

Fulbright ELI Students Outside of B.B. Comer

This spring the English Language Institute (ELI) at UA is welcoming five Fulbright scholarship students.

The Fulbright students come from Guinea, Haiti, Laos, Namibia, and Rwanda. The students will study English 20 hours a week for five months, as well as participate in seminars and cultural activities. After completing the ELI, they will begin graduate studies in the United States in August.

One of the current Fulbright students, Akser Mpugulu from Namibia, said of the program, “Now that I got a Fulbright scholarship, I am very honored and I look forward to help reduce poverty in my community if not eradicate it.”

This is the third year the ELI has been selected to host Fulbright Long-Term English Placement students. The ELI is pleased to partner with the Fulbright organization to support international exchanges.

Alabama Model UN Team Sweeps at McMUN and MUNE

• February 17th, 2020
• in International Main

Alabama Model UN Team Sweeps at McMUN and MUNE

• February 17th, 2020
• in International Main

The Alabama International Relations Club’s traveling Model United Nations team has continued their dominant performance streak at the McGill Model United Nations Assembly (McMUN) January 23^th -26^th and the Model United Nations at Emory (MUNE) February 6^th-9^th.

The 12 delegates selected to represent Alabama at McMUN travelled to Montreal to compete in a wide range of committees ranging from the United Nations Environmental Program to the European Court of Human Rights. Competing against over 1,000 delegates from across the world, the team was successful in securing eight awards over the course of the weekend.

Sophomore Catharine Del Carmen came out on top winning Best Delegate (1^st place) representing Kenya in the 2020 African meeting on Science and Technology, advocating for the spread of sustainable methods of technology. Head Delegate (team captain) Andrew Smith also secured a 1^st place finish winning Best Delegate in the innovative Formula 1 Committee.

In the divisive International Organization for Migration, junior Madalyn Frazior won Outstanding Delegate (2^nd place) debating in the interests of South Africa. Sophomore Camden Lethcoe represented the university in the Furthest Shore space committee earned an Honorable Mention (3^rd place). In Moneyval, junior Sarah Conrad was awarded an Honorable Mention for her work on anti-money laundering policy. The Double-Delegation composed of senior Russell Puffer and freshman Brett Bonikowski also awarded with a Verbal Commendation (4^th Place) representing Mexico in the 300-person Special Political and Decolonization Agency (SPECPOL). This performance earned the team a top 5 finish at the most competitive conference of the spring semester.

Just two weeks later, the team travelled to Atlanta for the Regional Model United Nations at Emory Conference with 16 delegates, including several first-time competitors. The topics debated included a range of both historical and contemporary committees.

The weekend ended in triumph as the team earned five awards. Senior Russell Puffer was selected as Best Delegate in the OAS Special Mission debating 1982 Honduran Politics and the strengthening of Honduran Institutions. In the fantasy joint crisis committee Morningstar, based of the series of the same name, Alabama Delegates brought home two awards. Sophomore Victoria Carl was awarded Outstanding Delegate, and, in a breakout performance, freshman Alexandra Nabity secured an Honorable Mention. Head Delegate Andrew Smith continued his awards streak with an Honorable Mention in the 24-hour Chernobyl Committee and Sophomore Andrew St. Charles was awarded an Honorable mention in the Crisis of the 3^rd Century exploring the tumultuous politics of Ancient Rome.

After finishing the fall 2019 semester ranked Top-50 in the World Division of Collegiate MUN, the team has started the spring semester with two exceptionally strong performances. The goal is to secure a Top-25 ranking by the end of the 2019-2020 school year.

Next up for Model UN team is WorldMUN hosted by Harvard University in Tokyo, Japan from March 16^th-20^th, the Virginia International Crisis Simulation by the University of Virginia from March 26th-29^th, and the University of Chicago Model United Nations Conference from April 9^th-12^th.

Students interested in learning about Model UN can attend a meeting of the Alabama International Relations Club in 340 Bidgood on Thursday evenings at 7:00pm to learn more about the club and its opportunities. Information can also be found at https://international.ua.edu/airc/.

ELI welcomes students from Chiba University in Japan

• February 14th, 2020
• in English Language Institute International Main

Chiba University nursing students at a welcome reception held at the Capstone College of Nursing

This spring the ELI welcomed 34 Japanese students from two Chiba University programs.

One of the programs is a two-week English + Nursing Program. The ELI partnered with the Capstone College of Nursing to offer observations of nursing classes, clinical immersion, simulator tutorials, tours of medical facilities, and assistance with the WellBAMA program. The students also take English classes with a focus on medical terminology. It has been 20 years since UA and Chiba University’s School of Nursing established this program.

The other program is a four-week Language & Culture Program offered through the ELI. The students attend three hours of English language classes each day. The classes focus on writing, speaking and American culture. In addition, the students experience university life and activities, as well as visit various southern cities including Atlanta and New Orleans. The ELI has offered this program to Chiba University students for over 25 years.

Before coming to UA, the Japanese students in both programs collaborated online with UA students in the Capstone College of Nursing and with the Applied Linguistics/TESOL program. These are two of four programs between UA and Chiba University which incorporate Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) components.

Later this month, another group of Japanese students from Chiba University will come to Tuscaloosa to visit local schools in coordination with the College of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

Chiba University Language and Culture students in front of B.B. Comer