Staff, faculty and alumna participate in global education conference

Elon University and the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center were well represented at the annual conference of The Forum on Education Abroad, held on April 6-8 in Atlanta.

Bill Burress, associate director of study abroad, co-led a presentation with Grace Martin ’14, a School of Communications graduate, and Óscar Ceballos, resident director of the communication, new media and journalism program, CIEE Study Abroad, Seville, Spain. Martin, a strategic communications major, is currently a graduate student at The Creative Circus, an award-winning portfolio school in Atlanta.

The trio’s session, titled “The road less travelled: Reversing traditional narratives of education abroad,” explored ways to help students in global education programs to better connect with their host communities. The session emphasized the use of written and audiovisual reporting tools to foster more reciprocal exchanges, and featured the story of Martin’s experience in Ceballos’ journalism class during her semester in Seville. The presenters demonstrated ways that educators can promote experiential education abroad. They explained that providing students with the proper tools enables them to build personal relationships with communities, rather than simply engaging in transactional relationships.

Derek Lackaff, assistant professor of communications, was recently appointed to The Forum’s curriculum committee. He co-presented a session titled “The heart of what we do: Request for Brilliance (RFB) from the Curriculum Committee.” The interactive session aimed to drive the global education field forward with regard to academic resources and tools.

Other Elon faculty and staff members in attendance included: Woody Pelton, dean of global education and assistant professor; Rhonda Waller, director of study abroad; and Paul Geis, senior associate director of study abroad.

The Forum on Education Abroad is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, membership association recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission as the Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the field of education abroad. The Forum provides training and resources to education abroad professionals and its “Standards of Good Practice” are recognized as the definitive means by which the quality of education abroad programs may be judged.