Introductions

Summary of the Czech seminar

Planning for the Russia seminar in 2002

Travel grants in 2002

Phase II of Global Partners Project

2003 faculty seminar

Next Task Force meeting

Deadlines and dates

Meeting held: November 30, 2001 from 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the office of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, Chicago, Illinois.

Present:

Not present: Martin Farrell (Ripon College), Uliana Gabara (University of Richmond), Elizabeth Hayford* (President, ACM)

*member of the GPP Coordinating Committee

Introductions

Dan Sack welcomed the task force to Chicago and introduced himself as the Program Officer for the Global Partners Project in the ACM office. He extended greetings from Elizabeth Hayford, who was in Florence, and from former project coordinator Tanya Lee, who is now a graduate student at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois.

Summary of the Czech seminar

Todd Armstrong discussed the summer 2001 Central Europe seminar which was based in Olomouc, Czech Republic. The contacts that were in place there from the ACM undergraduate program proved very helpful, and "everything fell into place." He stressed the importance of the pre-departure meetings for making plans, sharing ideas, and beginning to build group relationships. The seminar was academically rigorous and the participants worked hard. Although the itinerary contained many valuable lectures and excursions, the pace was rushed at times, and Todd suggested that there be more relaxed independent time to process the experience as a group and do informal work.

A typical day on the seminar consisted of two lectures or one lecture and an excursion. The evenings were usually free for participants to make their own arrangements.

The faculty were adventurous and motivated, and they worked well together. The diversity of the group was beneficial because of the variety of perspectives that were shared. Non-specialists contributed significantly as well as those with a specialty in the area. The participants will be surveyed in December to determine the long-term effects of the seminar on the curriculum and/or research projects. More information about the seminar can be found in Todd Armstrong's report.

Some additional suggestions that came from the seminar were discussed. Todd proposed that faculty from the seminar site come to the US for the pre-departure meeting and perhaps some recruiting activities. He also recommended that participants be given more reading materials before the program to give background information and preparation for the experience. The task force discussed recruiting methods; information about the seminars does not reach all faculty on many campuses, and participation is directly related to the dissemination of information. Dan Sack requested that task force members determine the best contact person on campuses to distribute information.

Planning for the Russia seminar in 2002

Before the meeting, a subcommittee had met to select participants for the seminar. Subcommittee members Michael Hemesath and Diane Nemec Ignashev (facilitators of the seminar), Larry Penrose, Todd Armstrong, and Larry White had read the applications ahead of time. (Due to communications difficulties, Larry White and Todd Armstrong arrived after most of the decisions were made.)

We received 17 applications -- seven from ACM, six from ACS, and four from GLCA. (This contrasts to 35 applications for last year's seminar in Central Europe.) One applicant withdrew the day before the meeting. This relatively small pool made the selection process easier. Most applicants had some level of experience in Russia, most often in Moscow or St. Petersburg. This experience level led the committee to focus primarily on each candidate's proposed project, and its appropriateness for Krasnodar. In the end the committee decided to reject two applicants whose projects did not lend themselves to work in Krasnodar.

The final pool ended up being 14 participants representing 13 institutions. Six are from ACM, four from ACS and four from GLCA. Participants include five assistant professors, three associate professors and six full professors. There are eight men and six women. The unsuccessful applicants were encouraged to apply for travel grants for the coming year.

While the budget would probably have allowed for up to seventeen, the committee decided to chose fourteen and shape the budget to allow for a few days in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

During the meeting of the entire task force, Diane and Michael reported on the seminar plans. The seminar will be based in Krasnodar, the center for the ACM Russia program, but the three days in St. Petersburg and three days in Moscow will give the group a regional comparison. The program will begin with a few days in Gelendzhik, which is near Krasnodar on the Black Sea, during which they will have initial lectures, discussions, and orientation while recovering from jet lag. In Krasnodar, Diane and Michael are hoping to have participants stay with host families; they will also be matched with colleagues at the University to facilitate their projects. There will be a balance of group lectures, discussions, and excursions along with free time for independent research and exploration. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, there will be group activities that are optional for the more experienced participants; they can also make arrangements for research.

The seminar coordinators are attempting to meet the needs of all participants, both specialists and non-specialists, by being flexible with the itinerary for different levels of expertise. Some faculty will have a language barrier to overcome; Diane assured the committee that she is looking into arrangements for those participants. Michael and Diane will encourage participants to make some contacts in St. Petersburg and Moscow on the web before the seminar. Additional contacts, such as NGOs, may be interesting to the full group. Specific plans for the seminar itinerary are in progress, and the participants will be contacted shortly to begin their preparations.

Travel grants in 2002

Dan Sack surveyed the committee to determine the effectiveness of the travel grants and their continuation. It was agreed that the grants are beneficial to the goals of the Global Partners Project; there were, however, several suggestions for alterations to the call for applications. Larry Penrose proposed that students be included in the availability of grants and that priority be given to faculty who include students in their proposal. Including students may increase interest and the possibility of getting additional campus financial support for student collaboration. The task force discussed models for such collaboration and limits on the number of students per faculty member. No concrete number was defined, but the selection committee could use their discretion.

Barclay Ward suggested that more non-specialists be included to introduce them to the area. Helen Scott questioned the use of such grants for less experienced faculty, and suggested that they be encouraged to apply for the seminar, which provides more background and structure.

Larry White proposed that travel grants be made available for internationals to come to the US. The application would have to come from an American faculty member who is interested in working with someone from Central Europe or Russia. They could team-teach a course, work on research, and give additional lectures/presentations, which would bring the international focus to the campus. Previous seminar participants could be encouraged to invite contacts they had met at the centers; other faculty would be welcome to apply as well. Faculty members from the centers could also be brought to the US to recruit for the seminar and/or participate in the pre-departure meeting. The amount of such a "reverse grant" would have to be given special consideration.

It was also suggested that possible project ideas be included on the Call and the website where past project descriptions can be found. Dan Sack will revise the call for applications to include these points and send it to the committee in the near future. Depending on the applications received, the selection committee will try to distribute the budget ($14,000) in a balanced way to a diverse set of applicants in all of these areas.

Phase II of Global Partners Project

Dan Sack explained that the proposal for a second phase of the Global Partners Project has been submitted to the Mellon Foundation. The second grant would fund the project from January 2003 through December 2005. Dan requested ideas from the committee for future activities for the Central Europe/Russia Center that would support the goals of the GPP. Several ideas were brought up including:

Todd Armstrong described a project that he is working on at Grinnell which may be a model to share with the other consortial campuses. He is putting together a team-taught course with faculty from Olomouc, Czech Republic using video conferencing technology to bridge the geographical gap. The course would bring international experience on campus, and could be a good preparation for future program participants as well as other students.

The committee also discussed the need to include more scientists in the activities of the center to encourage their international interests and therefore be better advisors to students. It was proposed that the one of the future seminars be focused on scientific issues. Michael Hemesath stated that this could be problematic because of the vast differences in scientific and technological capabilities between the two areas. The faculty goals would have to be carefully developed and appropriate colleagues found in the region. It is important to get input from scientists; Dan Sack will be developing a questionnaire for science faculty concerning their interest in such a seminar.

2003 faculty seminar

It was agreed that another faculty seminar would be valuable if the Mellon grant is approved. The committee would have to announce the 2003 seminar sometime in the spring. The task force is interested in pursuing the possibility of a science focus. One possible topic would be the ecology and ecological policy of the Danube River; such a seminar could use both centers, traveling down the Danube River from Olomouc to Gelendzhik and Krasnodar. Another possible seminar topic is relationships in the European Union. These possibilities will be considered; Dan Sack will develop a proposal and distribute it by e-mail. A task force meeting may be necessary in the spring, perhaps in conjunction with one of the program advisory meetings.

Next Task Force meeting

Assuming the continuation of the grant, the committee will meet again in a year. Dan Sack asked the task force members to consider their participation and determine if they would like to continue serving for the next phase. It may be beneficial to bring in some new members, perhaps drawing from the seminar participants. This should be addressed during the spring. Dan thanked the task force for their input and the meeting adjourned.

Deadlines and dates

Russia seminar:

Travel grants for summer 2002 and AY 2002-03:

Central Europe seminar:

Submitted by Daniel Sack, 1/8/02