Global Studies Center to focus on ‘internationalization’ of SMCC
SMCC would have expanded study-abroad opportunities, offer more international courses and recruit more international students under goals set forth by the newly created Global Studies Center.
The Center, which is set to launch this fall, seeks to “internationalize” the College with a three-pronged approach:
- Increase education-abroad programming, an initiative that’s been dubbed The Global Classroom at SMCC
- Develop more international courses, including foreign-language and non-Western cultural studies classes
- Recruit more international students and events to SMCC
The result could be up to five study-abroad opportunities a year, a class in Mandarin Chinese and an enhanced international flavor on campus.
Assistant Professor of Fine Arts Jeff Badger, who is co-chair of the Fine Arts Department, has spearheaded the effort to create the Global Studies Center.
For the Global Classroom initiative, he proposes that the college offer semester-long online courses that include a week or two of international travel during spring break or immediately after the end of Spring Semester.
Badger himself plans to offer a course focused on the Italian Renaissance next spring that would include a week of travel and study in northern Italy. The goal is for SMCC to add one course per year, ultimately offering five courses every spring that include foreign travel.
Some possible courses, Badger says, include a “Global Security” course with travel to the United Arab Emirates; a finance course with travel to London; a European history class with travel to Berlin; or even a “Sports & Society: Baseball in Context” course with travel to the Dominican Republic.
Studies show that college students who study abroad have higher grades, improved graduation and retention rates, and more self-confidence compared to peers who do not go abroad.
“My whole goal is to open up access for SMCC students,” Badger said. “I think a lot of our students think study-abroad is not an option for them, and I want to make it an option.”
Another goal of the Center is to offer more courses and student support that fit under the Global Studies umbrella while also encouraging faculty to incorporate more international elements into their existing curriculums.
As part of that effort, Badger says SMCC could offer a Mandarin Chinese course as early as next spring, and possibly a class in Arabic on down the road.
He further recommends recruiting more students from abroad to come to SMCC. SMCC now has about 30 international students.
Lobsters, fruit flies, zebra fish — science students delve into research
Marine Science and Biotechnology students and recent graduates are spending part of their summer in research labs at well-known Maine institutions, performing research on lobsters, zebra fish, fruit flies and more.
The students are participating in fellowships at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland; the University of New England; St. Joseph’s College; Bates College; Bowdoin College; Maine Medical Center Research Institute; and at a company called Prairie Aquaculture.
Many of the students will present their research findings later this summer at a symposium at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory.
The participating students are:
- Rene Roth, researching the behavioral response of fish to environmental contaminants, at the University of New England.
- Lauren Hayden and Jennifer Foss, surveying fish populations in the Gulf of Maine, at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
- Emily Johnson, studying the response of lobsters to alternative lobster baits, at St. Joseph’s College. She’s also conducting research at a zebra fish rearing facility at Bates College.
- Chris Mullen, working on a collaborative project studying the growth and survival of brown trout, at Prairie Aquaculture.
- Zyrah Giustra (in photo above), researching tick viruses, at Maine Medical Center Research Institute.
- Arnold Kandolo (in photo above), researching pathogenic bacteria, at the University of New England.
- Romeo Kimpwene, researching hormone control in rats, at Maine Medical Center Research Institute.
- Theo Martin, researching the regulation of genes in fruit flies, at Bowdoin College.
- Julie Moulton, looking at the use of fruit flies as a model to study chronic pain and pain relief, at the University of New England.
- Derek Theriault, researching genetic control of embryonic ear development using the model system of zebra fish, at Bates College.
SMCC coaching staffs taking shape
It’s been a busy summer for SMCC’s Athletics Department, hiring four new head coaches and an assistant athletics director.
Please welcome:
- Women’s basketball coach: Katie Bergeron played hoops at Bowdoin College and overseas and has had coaching stints overseas, at Emmanuel College and South Portland High School.
- Softball coach: Ray Magnant previously served as head softball coach at Biddeford High School and Massabesic High School. The Maine Sunday Telegram this month named him the Maine high school softball coach of the year.
- Baseball coach: John Flanders has previously served as head coach at Dean College and in other coaching capacities at Curry College, Stonehill College and Salem State University.
- Golf coach: Ethan Wells, who previously worked in the athletic department at Post University, is also SMCC’s new Assistant Athletics Director.