Spring Break
Legislature passes international education bill
Whitney Haynes
Issue date: 3/12/07 Section: News
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"I teach in a study abroad program in Oxford and Cambridge every summer, and I have seen how it changes students' lives for the better," Smith said. "I've watched them grow intellectually and emotionally in just a few weeks. I knew we had to get this resolution passed in Arkansas."
On the steps of the state capitol, international students Oleaga and Constantin-Manuel Bosancianu of Romania snapped pictures, their stomachs full of black-eyed peas and the fried green tomatoes they had tried for the first time at lunch.
"Coming from a country where there is barely any ethnic, religious or racial diversity, meeting members of other cultures while studying in Arkansas has been incredibly positive," said Bosancianu, who has been studying political science at the UA since August. "And I choose my words carefully. I really mean that."
The study abroad programs distinguish the UA from other institutions, and it means a lot for the school's recruitment process, said Gary Standridge, a special assistant to Chancellor John White and an adviser to UA Bodenhamer fellows.
The Walton Foundation's $200 million contribution to help establish the Honors College was instrumental in strengthening the UA study abroad program. With the new Arkansas World Trade Center in the works-one of the first centers of its kind to be linked to a university-and a new Walton gift that will provide about $400,000 a year for study abroad programs in the Walton College of Business, more UA students than ever before will have the opportunity to get an international education, Long said.
Long was more than pleased with the day's outcome, she said, waving a miniature foreign flag in the public gallery of the Senate after the resolution was passed unanimously.
"This [resolution] is what you call a small victory," Long said.
On the steps of the state capitol, international students Oleaga and Constantin-Manuel Bosancianu of Romania snapped pictures, their stomachs full of black-eyed peas and the fried green tomatoes they had tried for the first time at lunch.
"Coming from a country where there is barely any ethnic, religious or racial diversity, meeting members of other cultures while studying in Arkansas has been incredibly positive," said Bosancianu, who has been studying political science at the UA since August. "And I choose my words carefully. I really mean that."
The study abroad programs distinguish the UA from other institutions, and it means a lot for the school's recruitment process, said Gary Standridge, a special assistant to Chancellor John White and an adviser to UA Bodenhamer fellows.
The Walton Foundation's $200 million contribution to help establish the Honors College was instrumental in strengthening the UA study abroad program. With the new Arkansas World Trade Center in the works-one of the first centers of its kind to be linked to a university-and a new Walton gift that will provide about $400,000 a year for study abroad programs in the Walton College of Business, more UA students than ever before will have the opportunity to get an international education, Long said.
Long was more than pleased with the day's outcome, she said, waving a miniature foreign flag in the public gallery of the Senate after the resolution was passed unanimously.
"This [resolution] is what you call a small victory," Long said.
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