IE&O Headlines

Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor to US President George W. Bush, delivered the 24th installment of the Global Briefing Series on Thursday, February 4th. The School of International Studies brought Dr. Rice to campus with co-sponsors the Spears School of Business, OSU President’s Speaker Series and SGA Speakers Board. Dr. Rice’s presentation to the 3000+ in attendance at Gallagher-Iba Arena covered a range of topics from her time in office to global affairs to her educational background and to encouraging students to not be so rigid with the life-plans they implement in college. Dr. Alan Tree, Associate Dean in the College of Engineering, Architecture & Technology, in thanking OSU President Burns Hargis for helping to bring Dr. Rice to campus, said, “Her presentation in GI [Gallagher-Iba Arena] was a powerful enrichment of the education experience this semester. I hope that there will be many more speakers of her statue in the future.” To see or purchase pictures of the event, you can visit the Party Pix website.

(NOTE: After clicking the link, you will need to click the My Events bar then click the title of the event – Dr. Rice - Stillwater- Global Briefing 2.4.10 – to get to the pictures.)

On December 11^th, the School of International Studies graduated another 18 students from its program. This semester’s graduates, from 12 countries and 5 states, took the total alumni of the Graduate Program to almost 250. Those graduating were Laila Al-Faddagh (Saudi Arabia), Obenson Blanc (Haiti), Kim Blomkist (Sweden), Nasiba Chaboya (Kyrgyzstan), Sheryl Chang (Taiwan), Jason Field (New York), Diana Gardner (Idaho), Joel Grill (Sweden), Pia Guyman (Oklahoma & Chile), Daryl Jarrett (Oklahoma), Mark Ladwig (Nevada), Pedro Lozada (Mexico), Jeremy McLean (Wyoming), Yang Shi (China), Ariana Tarifa (Bolivia), Iryna Tkachenko (Ukraine), Ryan Vail (Oregon) and Fred Waweru (Kenya). Guyman and Lozada were co-recipients of the 2009 Outstanding SIS Student Award. Dr. Shida Henneberry of OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources received the 2009 Outstanding SIS Faculty Award.

This semester marked Dr. Stephen Miller’s last semester as director of the SIS Graduate Program. International Education & Outreach Director Dr. James Hromas said, “We were very fortunate to have Dr. Miller step in to helm the Graduate Program after he retired from the OSU Spears School of Business in 2007. His work the past 2½ years has helped to affirm and solidify the value of this degree program. As we look for a new director of the Graduate Program, we will seek an individual who will continue the standard of excellence shown by Dr. Miller and our previous directors, Drs. Maureen Nemecek and Nancy Wilkinson.”

Dr. Miller’s contribution to the Graduate Program will have lasting effects beyond the School of International Studies. During his tenure, he drafted the concept for a Minor in International Studies that has recently received its first approvals and will soon be sent to the OSU Instruction Council for final approval and implementation.

Applications for director of the Graduate Program are currently being accepted thru jobs.okstate.edu.