International Visitors
Harper College Welcomes Ugandan Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence
Harper College is pleased to welcome Mr. Jimrex Byamugisha of Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda to our campus and college community as a Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence for the fall 2015 semester. Mr. Byamugisha will add an international perspective to a variety of courses and other programs on campus by guest lecturing in classes on specific topics and making both general presentations on East African topics. He will also offer more specific presentations on issues significant to the College’s goal of increasing non-western curriculum infusion and conduct faculty workshops on curriculum development.
Through the Office of International Education and its programs, Harper College is committed to internationalizing its curricula and globalizing its students’ educational experiences. The mission of the Office of International Education is to effectively prepare students for careers and citizenship in an increasingly interconnected world.
According to Dr. Richard Johnson, Director of the Office of International Education, “It is vital for Harper students to understand a region of the world that will grow in global significance during the careers and lives of our students. The probability that our students will work for employers with business interests or connections to emerging markets (including Africa) is high. Through the Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence program, Mr. Byamugisha’s visit affords the College a unique opportunity to offer transformative educational opportunities to our students.”
Since 1997, Harper College has had the honor of hosting five Fulbright Scholars. The objective of the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program is to bring scholars and professionals from abroad to U.S. colleges and universities to significantly internationalize host institution campuses and curricula. Under the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Program, accredited U.S. institutions of higher education request scholars for one or both terms of the academic year. Scholars teach and consult in area studies programs, interdisciplinary programs that focus on global issues, or courses where participation of a foreign scholar can provide a cross-cultural or international perspective.
For more information about Mr. Byamugisha’s visit, please contact Dr. Richard Johnson, Director of International Education, or visit the Events page of the Office of International Education’s website: http://dept.harpercollege.edu/international/events.html
Harper College Visiting Scholars and Faculty Exchange Programs
International Studies and Programs at Harper College has a long history of hosting visiting international scholars from colleges and universities around the globe. We have also had the opportunity to send some of our distinguished faculty as exchange scholars to many of these institutions.
Fulbright Programs:
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to “increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” With this goal as a starting point, the Fulbright Program has provided almost 300,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
The term "Fulbright Program" encompasses a variety of exchange programs, including both individual and institutional grants. For further information, please visit http://fulbright.state.gov/.
The Fulbright US Scholar Program sends approximately 1,100 American scholars and professionals per year to approximately 125 countries, where they lecture and/or conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.
The Fulbright Specialist Program, a short-term complement to the core Fulbright Scholar Program, sends U.S. faculty and professionals to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development, institutional planning and related subjects at overseas academic institutions for a period of 2 to 6 weeks.
The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program provides grants to approximately 850 foreign scholars from over 95 countries to lecture and/or conduct postdoctoral research at U.S. institutions for an academic semester to a full academic year.
The Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence (SIR) Program enables U.S. colleges and universities to host foreign academics to lecture on a wide range of subject fields for a semester or academic year. Preference is given to institutions developing an international agenda and/or serving a minority audience, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges, small liberal arts colleges and community colleges. Approximately 50 grants are awarded annually.
For more information on these and other Fulbright opportunities, contact Rich Johnson, Fulbright Campus Representative.
Harper College - Beijing University Faculty Exchange:
This unique exchange program was initiated and negotiated by then Co-Coordinators of International Studies and Programs at Harper College, Dr. Janet Friend Westney and Professor Martha Simonsen,and Dr. Yi-qing Liu, Professor of English at Beijing University. Dr. Jihui Wang of the English Department, Beij ing University, was the inaugural scholar for the exchange. Dr. Richard F. Johnson of the English Department, Harper College, was the first reciprocal scholar to visit Peking University. To read about their respective experiences, click on the appropriate tag to the right.
Dr. Wang Jihui, Associate Professor in the Department of English of Beijing University, was a visiting scholar at Harper College for three weeks in April, 2002. A medievalist by training, Dr. Wang has published a book on the concept of kingship in the Anglo-Saxon epic poem Beowulf and articles on various other aspects of Old English poetry. Dr. Wang is the inaugural visiting scholar in a new exchange program between Harper College and the College of Foreign Languages of Peking University.
While visiting Harper, Dr. Wang guest lectured on a range of topics, including Asian history and art, and Chinese mythology and literature. In a formal lecture, “,” he discussed the differences between Eastern and Western conceptions of tragedy. He also participated in a symposium entitled “China in the New Millennium: Confucius vs. Bill Gates,” focusing on globalization and industrialization in China. During his visit, Dr. Wang was housed by several faculty from the English Department, providing an excellent opportunity for intercultural exchange.
As the reciprocal exchange scholar, Dr. Richard Johnson, Assistant Professor of English and Chair of the Humanities Department, lectured in the English Department of Peking University for two weeks in May, 2002. Dr. Johnson gave three lectures on topics ranging from teaching grammar in the composition classroom, the poetry of W.B. Yeats, to the application of web-based technologies in the field of medieval studies. He also discussed current methodological and theoretical issues facing medievalists in Asia with a graduate student group interested in medieval studies. In addition to lecturing, Dr. Johnson also gave a demonstration of the Grendel and Rievaulx web sites, two multi-media and interactive web sites he is developing with Professor Kurt Neumann of the English Department. Dr. Johnson also had the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with graduate faculty and students.
