International Colloquium

About the International Colloquium

Each year, the CGDSD International Colloquium brings together scholars, practitioners, graduate students, and policymakers from around the world for a half-day or daylong program on pressing global issues within the profession. Each year's Colloquium takes a different focus on a substantive issue related to student success. Invited speakers present and lead discussion and dialogue.

2021 International Colloquium
Support for International Students During and After COVID-19: Best Practices From a Global Perspective

For the first time we are hosting a virtual International Colloquium at no additional cost. We hope that this will allow more of our members to participate in the International Colloquium. We are also offering a Certificate of Completion for our participants. The 2021 International Colloquium consists of four separate sessions related to the Colloquium topic. 

Description: While COVID-19 has greatly affected students’ lives and experiences on college campuses, international students may have experienced unique challenges and difficulties as they encounter this uncertain time in a foreign country while away from their support systems. The 2021 International Colloquium has invited speakers from around the world to offer insights on best practices and expertise in supporting international students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic on topics such as mental health, racism, career readiness, and well-being that international students encounter throughout the pandemic.

How to register:

• To register for the live webinars, click here. You only need to register once! The registration form closes at 11:59 PM (ET) on Thursday, April 22, 2021.
• Zoom link will be provided to those who signed up 2 hours before each webinar. Zoom recordings will be shared with folx who registered a few days after the session goes live. When they are available, recordings of all the webinars can be accessed in the Archived Webinars section of our website.

Here are the four (4) sessions we are offering at this year International Colloquium: 

• Date/Time: April 8, 2021 at 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Eastern Time (resource: Timezone Converter)
• Description: This virtual panel session will explore the impact of COVID-19 on international students in higher education and the ways that they were supported outside the U.S. 3 panelists who serve as primary student life contacts on their campus from United Arab Emirates, Ireland, and West Indies will share their experiences, best practices, and lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Panelists: 
  • Amanda Best-Noel, Manager of Guild Adminstrative Office, The University of the West Indies - St. Augustine campus
  • Dr. Nupur Goyal, Director of Residential Life and University Community Standards, New York University Shanghai
  • Karise Hutchinson, Professor of LEadership/Provost of the Coleraine Campus, Ulster University
  • (Moderator) Dr. Mindy Suzanne Andino, Interim Vice Provost/Associate Professor, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

• Date/Time: April 9, 2021 at 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Eastern Time (resource: Timezone Converter)
• Description: The presenters will share examples of programs and resources, along with contextual information, offered by career centers at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of California, Berkeley. They will also present success stories as well as unique challenges serving international students that they face during COVID-19. 
• Presenters: 
  • Un Yeong Park, Assistant Director of Career & Professional Development for International Students, University of of Illinois - Champaign
  • Jing (Jane) Han, Assistant Director for Career Center, University of California, Berkeley

Certificate eligibility & sign-up:

• You must attend, whether it’s live or recorded, at least 3 out of 4 sessions in the 2021 International Colloquium series to receive a Certificate of Completion
• You must fill out the “Certificate Sign-up” form for each session you attended/watched by 11:59 PM (ET) on Friday, April 30, 2021.
  • At the end of each session, whether it’s live or recorded, you will learn how you can sign-up for the certificate.
  • If you had multiple people watching the Webinars from the same account, please have each individual fill out their own “Certificate Sign-up” form.
• The certificate will be sent to you via email at the end of May 2021. If you do not receive a certificate, contact the International Colloquium Team at cgdsd@acpa.nche.edu
• Disclaimer: We rely solely on the certificate sign-up form to determine who meets the requirement to receive the certificate. Any questions please email cgdsd@acpa.nche.edu.

Past Colloquia

The 2020 International Colloquium, "Student Affairs Work Beyond the U.S. Context," in Nashville, TN was the first time we hosted during the regular convention time at no additional cost. We hope that this will allow more of our members to participate in the International Colloquium. The 2020 International Colloquium consisted of three separate sessions related to the Colloquium topic. While we encouraged and recommended everyone to attend all three sessions, you can can choose to attend any session depending on your plans for ACPA 2020.

The 2019 International Colloquium, "Mental Health and International Students: Addressing Mental Health Issues Across Cultural Contexts", in Boston, MA, was a half-day session geared toward practitioners from all functional areas, who interact with international students. The session included a quick overview of student mobility and then dove into mental health issues unique to international students. Presenters included practitioners, mental health professionals, and researchers who shared research and best practices and engaged participants in a discussion on ways that Student Affairs professionals can support international students and encourage utilization of mental health resources. A panel of international students shared their own experiences of dealing with mental health issues and supporting friends in the international community.

Presenters:

• Anne M. Hornak, Ph.D., Professor, Dept. of Educational Leadership, Central Michigan University & Faculty-in-Residence of the Commission of Global Dimensions of Student Development; Research Interests: Multicultural and diversity issues in higher education, transformational learning through global experiences
• Gudrun Nyunt, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, Dept. of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education & Chair of the Commission for Global Dimensions of Student Development; Research Interest: Internationalization, Intercultural Maturity; Practitioner Experience: Residence Life, Academic Advising
• Katie Koo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Higher Education and Learning Technologies, Texas A&M University Commerce; Research Interests: Mental health and Asian American college students, international students and mental health
• Ken Guan, Ed.D., Residence Life Coordinator, Indiana University Bloomington; Research Interests: international student experiences, intuitional efforts in international student integration; Practitioner Experience: International Student Advising and Life Coaching, Residence Life, Institutional Research, Instructional consulting. ​
• Felix F. Pizzi, M.S.Ed., LCMHC, CCMHC, Director of The Wellness Center at Southern New Hampshire University. Areas of Interest: integration and supervision of Medical, Mental Health and Health Promotion Services in College Health. Collaborative integration of health and wellness into the campus community to improve student wellbeing and retention.
• Darbi Roberts, Ph.D., Executive Director of International Student Services at Southern New Hampshire University. Research interests: comparative higher education; higher education practice & policy transfer; comparative student affairs; educational partnerships; quality assurance, accreditation, accountability, and governance; international student and scholar mobility.
• Elisa Zhai Autry, Ph.D, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Washington Center on International Education. Research interest: International students wellbeing, social and cultural integration, survey assessments of mental health and resilience.

The 2019 International Colloquium was later turned into a 4-part Webinar Series. Recordings of all the Webinars can be accessed in the Archived Webinars section of our Website.

Due to low attendance, the 2018 International Colloquium in Houston, TX, was cancelled.

The 2017 International Colloquium, "Concepts of 'Social Justice' Around the World" in Columbus, OH, was a half-day session designed to explore “social justice” through a cross cultural perspective. The workshop will provide participants an opportunity to unpack how “social justice” is done in the US and around the world, in the hopes that we can reconstruct an understanding of the work associated with justice and equity.

Professional Competency Alignment:

• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
• History, Philosophy, and Values

Presenters:

• Elizabeth Niehaus, University of Nebraska- Lincoln
• Lena Kavaliauskas Crain, University of Maryland, College Park
• Anne M. Hornak, Central Michigan University

The 2016 International Colloquium in Montreal (Canada) focused on Global Competence for Student Affairs Practice. The full-day session built on the recent revisions to the ACPA/NASPA joint Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators. 

The morning featured guest keynote speaker Joyce Osland, a leading expert on global leadership and global competence development, who explored with participants how they can develop their own global competence. Prior to the Colloquium all participants had the opportunity to complete a comprehensive self-assessment of global competence, and received their results during the morning session.

In the afternoon, participants turned to a discussion of how student affairs professionals can help students develop global competence, featuring a “table tour” of colleagues who are successfully promoting students’ global competence development across a wide variety of student affairs functional areas. The afternoon also featured a discussion of the global dimensions of the ACPA/NASPA joint competencies.

The 2015 Colloquium in Tampa (USA) took as its theme Global Professionals: Student Affairs and Practice Around the World. Our program included presentations by Denny Roberts and Susan Komives, two senior leaders of the field with experience working and consulting with student affairs and services divisions outside of the U.S. context. Colloquium participants also participated in a “table tour” of three countries, learning from a facilitator who works in student affairs or services outside of the United States. Table facilitators included:

• Ellen Broido, Associate Professor, Bowling Green State University (USA)
• Roy Chan, Doctoral Student, Boston College (USA)
• Peter Clegg, Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association (CTLPA)
• Beverly Ellis, Dean of Commuting Students, University of the Southern Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago)
• Emelie Helsen, Assistant Community Director, Michigan State University (USA)
• Catherline Lee, Deputy Head, Education, Anglia Ruskin University (UK)
• Allyson Logie-Eustace, Residence Hall Supervisor, University of the West Indies -- St. Augustine Campus and President, Caribbean Tertiary Level Personnel Association (CTLPA) (Trinidad and Tobago)
• Brenda Marina, Associate Professor and Director, Center for Global Education and Research, Georgia Southern University (USA)
• David Newman, Director, Student Life, University of Toronto (Canada)
• Angelica Pazurek, Professor, University of Minnesota (USA)
• Clayton Smith, Vice-Provost, Student Affairs, University of Windsor (Canada)
• Michelle Vital, Doctoral Candidate, Michigan State University (USA)
• Julie Walking, Director of Student Services, Anglia Ruskin University (UK)
• Johnston Wong, Chief of Student Affairs, United International College (China)
• Rich Zereik, Associate Director, Services for Students, McGill University (Canada)

The afternoon session included a panel discussion of student affairs and services professionals who have chosen to work in the field outside of their country of origin. Panelists included:

• Emelie Helsen, Assistant Community Director, Michigan State University (USA)
• David Newman, Director of Student Life, University of Toronto (Canada)
• Kevin Stensberg, Assistant Executive Dean, Semester at Sea

Panelists were invited to reflect on how they were socialized to the norms and values of the field in their home country and on the similarity and differences between these norms and values and those that undergird the work in their new country of employment. 

The 2014 Colloquium in Indianapolis (USA) focused on the opportunities and challenges in creating connections for meaningful learning between international and domestic students. Participating speakers included:

• Jenny Lee, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Arizona (USA). Currently a Fulbright Scholar to South Africa, Dr. Lee's research has contributed significantly to our understanding of international students' postsecondary experience and the role of domestic students in that experience.
• Kathy M. Collins, Ph.D., Director, Residence Education and Housing Services at Michigan State University (USA). Dr. Collins recently took a group of Michigan State resident assistants to China to gain a greater understanding of Chinese culture.
• Christopher Nyland, Ph.D., Professor of International Business in the Department of Management at Monash University (Australia). He co-authored the book, International Student Security, which examines the experiences of international students studying Australia and highlights the challenges these students face in terms of personal safety, language proficiency, finances, housing, loneliness and racism.
• Wincy Li, M.A. Student, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto (Canada). Ms. Li is originally from Hong Kong and was an international student for eight years in Norway and Canada. Her research interests focus on international students, student services, and career development.

The 2013 Colloquium in Las Vegas (USA) featured two panels, each dealing with a substantive student success issue. Panelists representing Canada, New Zealand, Qatar, the U.S., and U.K. spoke to how the issue is approached in their jurisdictions. The morning panel addressed best practices in supporting Aboriginal, Indigenous, American Indian, and First Nations students in achieving their academic and personal goals, while the afternoon panel considered how best to support students in their religious, faith, spiritual and worldview development during their postsecondary studies. Participating speakers included:

• Katie Bringman Baxter, M.A., Campus Engagement Manager, Interfaith Youth Core (USA). Ms. Baxter connects colleges and universities with IFYC opportunities and training. Prior to joining IFYC, Katie worked in student affairs and services where she developed a passion for helping students make a difference in the world by engaging with others.
• Michelle Chino, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (USA). Dr. Chino is a Professor with the School of Community Health Sciences and Department Chair for Environmental and Occupational Health. Her work focuses on building community capacity to address the social determinants of health, particularly issues that cross health and justice paradigms, such as environmental justice and violence prevention. 
• Annie Grant, Ph.D., Dean of Students, University of East Anglia (UK). Dr. Grant has worked in student services for 18 years, five of them at UEA, following an earlier career as an archaeologist. She has taken an evidence-based approach to her work in order to ensure that the HE learning environment explicitly recognises the wide diversity in students’ backgrounds, circumstances and aspirations.
• Leilani Kupo, Ph.D., Director of the Women's Resources and Research Center, University of California, Davis (USA). Dr. Kupo's research interests include educational access, identity intersectionality, gender equity, and indigenous knowledge, which she explores from national and international perspectives. 
• Lori Peek, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Colorado State University (USA). Dr. Peek studies vulnerable populations in disaster, with a special emphasis on the experiences of low-income families, racial and ethnic minorities, women, and children. 
• Michelle Pidgeon, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Simon Fraser University (Canada). Dr. Pigeon's research interests include the intersections between student affairs and services, recruitment and retention, Indigenous peoples, and student success in post-secondary education.
• Sarah Tiakiwai, Ph.D., Academic Director, Waikato-Tainui College for Research and Development (New Zealand). Dr. Tiakiwai's research interests include the advancement of Maaori, with a particular interest in iwi development.