2011

Great Success for 2011 CGE Annual Meeting, September 21-23rd hosted by Mercer University in Macon, GA

Speakers included President Michael Santos and Dr. Don Gardner representing ChinaCast Education Group; Dr. John Knapp, Director of Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership at Samford University; Professor Rami Gammoh, the Jordanian Director from CGE Jordan; Patrick Cosh, International Officer from Cardiff University; and Kimberly McClure, from the US State Department, Deputy Director of the USA-CHINA 100,000 Strong Program.

Dr. Diego Quiroga, Vice President of the University San Francisco Quito (USFQ) in Ecuador gave the presentation at the Thursday evening banquet and gave the attendees a "Wow" factor with his slides and reporting on the activities of USFQ and Ecuador as a strategic nation.

Vice President Junya Pookayaporn and Dean Chinda Tejavanija (both of Sripatum International College) spoke about our new CGE Thailand center program. Dean Chinda will also recruit CGE faculty to attend and present papers for Sripatum's November 10-12, 2011 ASAIHL (Association of Southeast Asia Institutes of Higher Learning) Conference in Bangkok to be hosted by Sripatum and supported by CGE.

Christopher Hatton and his wife Yulia, represented LCC International University in Lithuania. CGE faculty members are encouraged to consider this opportunity as a strategic location for sabbaticals and for promoting study abroad opportunities.

At the 2011 CGE Annual Meeting, attendees gained strategic value for campus internationalization efforts. CGE representatives from two new CGE Hub locations were present to outline the benefits of both CGE's presence in Beirut, Lebanon and Bangkok, Thailand. As these hubs have started cooperating with local educational partners, they also represent an ongoing resource for each of CGE's member universities.

General meeting times focused on strategic value and benefits that CGE provides to each member's international program. Breakout sessions this year included experts sharing information about important CGE programs and issues:

* Study Abroad 101: What's New, What's Successful, What's the Market, What's the Planning Strategy for Students

* Safety Management for Faculty and Students: Insurance, Preparation, Partner Selection, Campus Support

* Changing Trends for the "International College": Integration and Networking Study Abroad

* China's 100,000 Strong Initiative: program inbound and outbound for US and China led by US Embassy Beijing officer(s)

* Trends in Service Learning: Local or Expat Partners, Credit or Non-Credit, Faith or Community-based, Summer or Semester