2009 GATE Fellows: [back row, l. to r.] Sherick Hughes, Lisa Swayhoover (OII grad. asst.), Mariam Jean Dreher, Paula Beckman, Lawrence Clark, Jim Greenberg (Director, International Initiatives); [front row, l. to r.] Lea Ann Christenson, Beatriz Quintos, Victoria-Maria MacDonald

Administered by the College's Office of International Initiatives (OII) and funded by the Longview Foundation, the GATE Fellows program is designed to address the knowledge gap in research on global education, especially in the area of curriculum development for pre-service teacher preparation.

Awarded a stipend and a modest budget for curriculum development, the Fellows will conduct individual projects geared toward increasing attention on global perspectives in our teacher education program. Their projects will also collectively contribute to the College's goal to increase its international profile and engagement.

L. to r.: Barbara Finkelstein (Director, ICTE), Jim Greenberg (Director, International Initiatives), Elizabeth Davis-Russell (President, Tubman Technical College), Steve Koziol (Interim Associate Dean), Donna Wiseman (Dean, College of Education), P. Bai Akridge (Director, Global Diversity Leadership Institute) and Bernice Bass de Martinez (Director, TC Foundation)

The former provost and vice president for academic affairs at SUNY Cortland, Davis-Russell left her position last summer to take over the helm of Tubman Technical College after Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf asked her to help rebuild it. The only higher education institution that serves the remote region of Maryland County, Tubman has been devastated by nearly 15 years of civil war. It is scheduled to re-open in September 2009 as the William V.S. Tubman University. It will consist of four colleges, including a College of Education that houses majors in primary and secondary education.

College of Education representatives with the University of the Ryukus delegation: [back row, l. to r.] Yukako Tatsumi (CoE Ph.D. student), Dawn Marie Smith (Asst. Dir., Undergrad. Advising, EDCI), Lea Ann Christenson (PDS Coordinator), Hiroshi Endoh, David Cooper (Interim Associate Dean), Jim Greenberg (Director, International Initiatives), Minoru Kobayashi, Barbara Finkelstein (Director, ICTE) [front row, l. to r.] Tomoko Tokunaga (CoE Ph.D. student), Mika Yamashita, Temyo Chaviz

The visitors were here to learn about the College's teacher education programs, with particular interest in the field experience portions and its relationship of theory to practice.

The delegation met with the following College representatives: Interim Associate Deans David Cooper and Steve Koziol; Jim Greenberg, Director of International Initiatives; Professor Barbara Finkelstein, Director, International Center for Transcultural Education; Lea Ann Christenson, Professional Development Schools (PDS) Coordinator; and Dawn Marie Smith, Assistant Director for Undergraduate Advising (Dept. of Curriculum and Instruction); Yukako Tatsumi, Ph.D. student; and Tomoko Tokunaga, Ph.D. student and Fulbright Scholar.