{"id":1555,"date":"2007-11-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2007-11-19T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.emu.edu\/blog\/news\/?p=1555"},"modified":"2007-11-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2007-11-19T05:00:00","slug":"emu-celebrates-cross-cultural-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2007\/emu-celebrates-cross-cultural-anniversary\/","title":{"rendered":"EMU Celebrates Cross-Cultural Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

EMU paused to quietly celebrate 25 years of “life-changing experiences” in a chapel service Wednesday, Nov. 14. <\/p>\n

Several EMU faculty members who helped to shape the school’s cross-cultural study program<\/a> reflected on the vision and process that led to the university formally making cross-cultural study, either stateside or abroad, a required part of its general education curriculum in 1982. <\/p>\n

“EMU’s program was on the ‘cutting edge’ when it became a required general education component for incoming students,” said Marie S. Morris, vice president and undergraduate academic dean<\/a> in introductory remarks. We are honored to have some of these early visionaries reflect on the program as part of this International Education Week<\/a> ‘Celebrate the Vision’ chapel<\/a>.” <\/p>\n

\n

\"crosscultural
L. to r.): Vernon Jantzi, Ann Graber Hershberger, Kenneth J. Nafziger, Calvin E. Shenk and Marie S. Morris enjoy a lighter moment in reflecting on and celebrating the 25th anniversary of the cross-cultural study program at EMU. Photo by Jim Bishop <\/div>\n

\n

Vernon Jantzi, professor of sociology at EMU<\/a>, noted that the school offered cross-culturals as electives for some 11 years prior to this date. <\/p>\n

Dr. Jantzi credited Albert N. Keim, long-time history professor who was serving as academic dean during this period, with “really helping faculty brainstorm the best ways to package the program to make it truly international and a two-way learning experience. The entire faculty was deeply involved in the whole process.” <\/p>\n

He also noted that Calvin E. Shenk, professor emeritus, wrote a paper on cross-cultural learning, many components of which are part EMU’s program today. <\/p>\n

Dr. Keim appointed Jantzi, Shenk, Kenneth J. Nafziger, professor of music<\/a>; and Ann G. Hershberger, professor of nursing<\/a> to work at implementing the program. All four had earlier spent considerable time serving and leading study seminars in other countries. <\/p>\n

“At that time, 70 percent of the EMU faculty had studied or worked in other countries,” Jantzi noted. <\/p>\n

“We spent considerable time hashing out some thorny questions,” Jantzi noted. “How long should the experience be? Several weeks? A year? What countries to be involved? Should there be a service component?” <\/p>\n

Today, EMU offers three-and-a-half week cross-cultural seminars during May-early June along with semester-long programs and the year-long Washington (DC) Community Scholars Center program<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Twenty-one students, led by Harlan De Brun and Audra Baker, are in South Africa<\/a> the fall semester. EMU faculty will lead seminars in Latin American and the Middle East the spring 2008 semester. <\/p>\n

“I think back and realize that I was just 27 years old when this planning process was under way,” Dr. Hershberger said. “But this involvement, along with many years of church-related service in Central America, has dramatically shaped my world view.” <\/p>\n

Dr. Nafziger, who has led study-seminars to Germany and Poland and took the EMU Chamber Singers to Cuba twice, believes that learning takes place best when a group “stays in one place and concentrates on learning the language.” He would like to see a proposal from Mennonite World Conference leaders on “what they would like EMU’s focus to be in the future.” <\/p>\n

Several speakers reinterated that some students enter the experience reluctantly but return saying it was the most meaningful, memorable part of their educational experience at EMU. <\/p>\n

“In more recent years, we’ve been working at making stronger connections between what students experience in their cross-cultural immersion experience and what they are learning\/experiencing on campus and in the local community,” Dr. Morris said. “We want to do a better job of integrating this life transforming experience into the overall educational experience at EMU.” <\/p>\n

Dr. Shenk closed the session with prayer, giving thanks for what has happened in the cross-cultural program in the past 25 years and entreating God’s guidance and blessing for the future. <\/p>\n

The audience left the auditorium pondering this comment from Ann G. Hershberger: “The critical question we must keep asking is, what do we do with what we’ve learned from the peoples and cultures we’ve spent time with – do we remain tourists on the balcony or fellow travelers on the road?” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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