After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in advertising back in 1998, I had been too focused on my own professional track, (and wasn’t nearly yet tough enough) to consider the Peace Corps. I moved out West, joined the dot-com revolution, started a business, and got married. Slowly, we became demographic DINKS (Double Income/No Kids), busy with dinner parties, book club meetings, and wedding showers. My husband Michael’s demanding corporate job funded his taste for Chilean sea bass, African travel, and the pursuit of a graduate degree in political science, but it also kept him scheming to escape. My clients kept me creative and busy, supporting our home remodels, NPR donations, and my volunteer commitments, but I had become unchallenged. Life was comfortable, and certainly full of stuff, yet, somehow, empty. We sought to understand the rest of the world, live more simply, appreciate our roots, and explore a career change in the Foreign Service or international development. Peace Corps, we discovered, could help make that happen.

But while this Kennedy-inspired organization was started to increase world peace and friendship, and often conjures up images of Americans teaching English, planting crops, or digging wells, Peace Corps has evolved with the world. As part of the community and organizational development track, we were assigned to be business advisors in Bulgaria, a country on the brink of EU accession. We would live in the capital, Sofia, work for NGOs, and have indoor plumbing and DSL.

Michael was assigned to BlueLink, a virtual network offering Internet-based services to environmental and civil society NGOs, where he works on grant proposals, a Web site, the annual report, and research projects. I volunteer with two organizations. The first, the Bulgarska Traditzia Foundation, helps socially disadvantaged artisans—some with disabilities, some in social homes and some who are economically challenged—by helping them create marketable products and selling them in our gallery. The amazing result is a self-reliant life, a sustainable income, and a sense of pride for these vulnerable groups. I also work with Habitat for Humanity, an organization with a mission to provide safe, decent, and affordable homes to families in need. For both non-profits, I help manage volunteers, create marketing, coordinate events, generate publicity, and network to find donors, partners, beneficiaries, and clients. I encourage regular staff meetings, sound customer service practices, quarterly planning, and project matrices. Recently, I initiated a six-month corporate social responsibility training program to encourage public-private partnerships in preparation for EU accession.

We are also involved in secondary projects. I’ve started a Bulgarian book club, write for a national English newspaper, and serve on Peace Corps’s Volunteer Advisory Council. Michael is developing a tourist bike trail through Bulgaria’s monastery-dotted mountains and facilitates community English classes.

It sounds pretty modern, but it’s still a challenge. Here, we earn an average Bulgarian salary, live without a vehicle, and have learned to slaughter a pig. We rely on a wood-burning stove for winter heat and now require clothespins to dry our jeans. We still get confused by the Bulgarian’s reversed head-shake for “yes” and head-nod for “no.” Our language skills, despite Peace Corps’s stellar program, are only mediocre due to our unfamiliarity with the Cyrillic alphabet and to big-city life. But some things take a bit more time. And time, thanks to this wise, two-and-a-half-year program, is what we have.

Indeed, as Peace Corps volunteers, it’s our job to stay a little longer and dig a little deeper. In a place where we are a far cry from humanitarian heroes, challenges are more subtle than they are tangible and treacherous. Buried beneath the post-communist dust and the modernity of McDonalds’s sundaes and Diesel-stamped sweaters, we’ve discovered fundamental cultural differences. For example, the way a Bulgarian views fate, time, self, and communication is sometimes hard to understand. We are learning not just about communism, but about the aftershocks of five centuries of oppression, which includes a society that plans little, smiles less, avoids collaboration, is bewildered by volunteerism, relies on non-verbal cues and is not fond of defining identity through group association. These cultural distinctions, as we work to propose solutions to specific contemporary problems, are a major obstacle for us. But every day, I learn. With every project, my patience increases. At each meeting, I become a better listener and problem-solver.

And as the months pass, I have come to appreciate the Bulgarian way. Here, they live for the moment instead of planning away their lives. When we buy fruit and bread, we buy for today—not only because we lack refrigerator space, but because it will only be good for about 36 hours anyway. When I am an hour late for a meeting, ashamed and apologetic, there is no drama, only an assumption that it couldn’t be helped. Life, Bulgarians believe, is not what we do, but what happens to us. While this fate versus free will debate was initially difficult to accept, it is a response to feelings and circumstances instead of schedules. And that feels pretty good.
Of course, we miss the United States: the quick smile of an American, an optimistic attitude, a public sense of order. Most of all, we miss that intangible democratic spirit—something we only appreciated once we were distanced from it.

I often tell people that Peace Corps has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Like a marathon, it challenges my physical limits. Like starting a business, it tests my courage. Like travel, it boosts my patriotism. But Peace Corps has also demonstrated to me that real development work is harder to define. My most important contribution, surprising as it may sound, is not a grant proposal, a training session, or a web site. It’s my own curiosity, spirit of volunteerism, and goodwill toward Bulgarians that makes the biggest impact. My inherent interest in their lives makes a difference. It’s our daily conversations that they will remember. This is actually what the Peace Corps mission is all about: connecting.

U of I student Lauren Haynes fondly remembers her first trip. “It was really exciting—we drove to Gallup, New Mexico to learn about Native American culture. We participated in a wide range of service projects, [including] painting a trailer, sorting food at a food pantry, folding and sorting clothes for a clothing drive, and helping kids who had been expelled from school create a garden…to teach them about plant life. We were able to explore modern Native American culture outside of the classroom and textbooks; talking about Native Americans in class is often past-tense, rather than openly talking and learning about what is currently going on. We had a lot of time to explore the surrounding area, which included a lot of hiking. But the most powerful event we saw was an authentic Zuni religious ceremony. We were the only non-Zuni people in the crowd aside from a handful of other locals—I can’t even put into words how amazing that was or how privileged I felt to be allowed to watch.”

Though all ASB participants have unique experiences, the program itself is systematic. Once participants are identified for a program, the group coordinates a fundraiser to raise 200 dollars, which is donated to the site they will visit. They participate in pre- and post-break service projects, which help tie the social justice issue they will be exploring back to the local community. These projects can be educational or service-related, from attending lectures by U of I faculty, to undertaking projects with organizations such as Eastern Illinois Foodbank, East Central Illinois Refugee Mutual Assistance Center, or the Greater Community AIDS Project. Participants also attend a “coffee-talk” where students from two different programs come together to share information and discuss social justice issues. These aspects make ASB stand out from other organizations; trips do not only provide service, but also a strong educational component for their members.

Laura Yarber learned about this educational component when she traveled to the Farm Sanctuary in Elm Mott, TX. “Last winter break I spent a week on a farm which sends interns to countries [such as] Guatamala to teach them about sustainable farming. While on the farm, my group milked goats, harvested organic vegetables, dry walled an apartment for interns to live in, and participated in various other chores. The most memorable day was when the interns at the farm surprised us with a ‘day in the life of’ scenario. Our group was split in two, and spent the day gathering water, hoeing a field, making a fire, and even slaughtering a guinea hen. That definitely made everything more real for us and increased everyone’s commitment to the cause. When we got back to Champaign, many trip members became more involved in social and environmental justice issues. I especially remember the time I went to a talk on the genocide occurring in Darfur (something I would never have done before ASB) and ran into two other people from my trip, who also said that they were there as a result of ASB’s influence.”

In the past few years, international students have increasingly participated in ASB. Since the trips are low in cost, this offers students an opportunity to travel beyond campus to learn about issues that may not be discussed in their home country. Satoshi Abe, a Japanese student and participant on the fall 2006 disabilities trip to Nashville, TN commented, “In Japan, we do not focus much on philanthropy. I am hoping my ASB experience will allow me to bring that characteristic back to Japan.” Many international students build long-term friendships with their ASB colleagues. Lauren remains close with two exchange students from Great Britain who were on her trip to Gallup. “I’ve kept in touch with them ever since, I visited them both when I was studying abroad in France, and one of the girls came and stayed with me for 10 days two years after our trip.”

Alternative Spring Break is open to all University of Illinois students, faculty, and staff. Applications are available approximately 3-4 months prior to the trips. For more information, please visit the Web site.

In 2004–05, the University of Illinois’ College of Education developed an exchange agreement with Inje University of Gimhae, South Korea, to provide students in the field of special education the opportunity to enjoy four

The idea of an exchange program was conceptualized during a visit by former dean of education Susan Fowler to the Inje University campus in June 2000. Four years later, Professor Jinhee Hyun came to Urbana and proposed formal development of an exchange agreement. Dean Fowler supported it at the College level, and Professor Adelle Renzaglia, Head of the Department of Special Education, supported it at the departmental level, and it was initiated in 2005. Professors Renzaglia and Hyun agreed that for the exchange to be meaningful, each exchange student needed to feel that he or she was a member of the visiting institution, instead of merely taking courses during the four week visit.

First Exchange Students
The first group of five students from Korea arrived in June 2005, and was housed in one of the Illinois residence halls. They enrolled in Professor Robert Henderson’s seminar on global and legal aspects of special education with five U of I students. They also participated in an independent study with doctoral candidate Laura Hedin that involved visits to special education and rehabilitation facilities in the Chicago and local area, and a seminar that critically compared the educational services offered to special populations in the USA and in Korea.

Our 2006 Visit to South Korea
Following a positive evaluation of the initial exchange, Professor Henderson proposed to undertake a study tour of Korean Special Education with three students in June 2006. On arrival in Korea, we spent the first week in the Seoul—Incheon area, with the assistance of Dr. Kyung Gun Han, a Dankook University professor who obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Visits were made to schools, rehabilitation facilities, university teacher-education programs as well as cultural sites, such as Changdeok Palace. Our group also made a presentation on inclusion of students with disabilities in the United States to Special Education faculty and graduate students at Dankook University.

We were also able to visit the Paradise Welfare Foundation, which provides considerable assistance to individuals with disabilities through development of educational materials and technology as well as staff development services for teachers.

The Inje University Experience
At the end of our week in Seoul, we traveled by “bullet train” to Busan and were met by Professor Jinhee Hyun, who escorted us to our excellent dormitory facilities on the Inje University campus. When we arrived on campus we were greeted by a large sign over the front of the Education Building: “Welcome University of Illinois Students!” This was typical of the reception that we received throughout our month-long stay in Korea. In addition to the hospitality by our hosts at Inje and the various professional special educators we met, the students at Inje had prepared a series of entertaining skits and songs, and near the end of our visit we tried to reciprocate with a rendition of “I’m a little Tea-Pot” (in English & Korean) as well as a Korean version of “My Favorite Things,” and a Korean folk song “A-ri-rang” which we learned from some of the Inje students.

To thank the faculty and students of Inje University for their hospitality, we were pleased to be able to provide a seminar for their faculty and students on the inclusion of students with disabilities in the United States. The seminar was made available on both English and Korean slides and oral presentations in both languages.
Lessons Learned

Korea is an ancient country, with a proud and genetically similar population. Its geographical position and favorable climate has made Korea a target for invading armies from Russia, China, Mongolia, and Japan. But since the end of the Korean War in 1953, South Korea has experienced a rapid growth in population, industrial capacity and educational programs. In 2004, 81.3 percent of high school graduates went on to post-secondary education. Included in this rapid development has been educational and rehabilitation facilities for individuals with disabilities.

The historical development of special education programs and services in Korea has roughly followed the pattern in the United States and in other Western countries:

• Initially, residential schools for students with physical, mental and sensory disabilities were developed in Seoul and other key cities, many times by religious or private foundations. Today they still operate as National Special Education schools (in Seoul and major cities) for students with physical, cognitive and sensory disabilities.


• These special schools and rehabilitation facilities are mostly new, very well equipped, and staffed with fully qualified teachers, speech therapists, physical and occupational therapists and other support staff, and have an exceptionally low teacher/pupil ratio.


• Where the term, “inclusion” is used in the Korean schools that we visited, it mostly refers to some physical and/or social integration of students with disabilities meeting with non-disabled peers for short periods of time each week. They also have “reverse-integration,” where students from elementary or secondary schools make visits to the special schools for short periods each month.


• Teacher preparation programs in special education sometimes have their own special schools on campus to serve as demonstration facilities—similar to some teacher colleges in the United States. The largest of these is part of Deagu University.


• We speculate that with the declining birth rate over the past several years, it may be possible to move entire classes of children now in special schools back into their neighborhood schools, along with their special education teachers and all the special equipment. From there, the move from integration to inclusion of children with disabilities into regular classrooms will be much easier to accomplish. This seems to be the feeling of many educators with whom we spoke in Korea.


• The influence of private and parochial education, as well as private foundations on Korean educational programs is evident—especially as it applies to students with disabilities.

“We took our ACES Global Academy scholars through a program designed to infuse global awareness into all levels of their scholarship. The experience acted as a catalyst behind new, collaborative multidisciplinary research projects which linked the scholars and their new international partners,” said Mary Ann Lila, ACES Global Connect director.

From the year’s onset, the seven scholars became active participants in bi-weekly meetings with globally-oriented entities such as some of the international area study centers, the Global Crossroads Living and Learning Community, and the NCSA international affiliate program, which were conducted to expand the scholars’ awareness of international resources available to them on campus.

During the summer months, the scholars took two tours. A two-day meeting in Chicago introduced them to leaders in multinational companies engaged in developing products and markets in other countries. In addition, meetings were held with the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (now the Chicago Council on Global Affairs), the Chicago Board of Trade, and the former Illinois’ Global Partnership, a state-funded entity that engaged in developing global commerce and agribusiness partnerships to benefit Illinois.

In addition, a three-day trip to Washington exposed the group to resources for funding and participating in international work through both government and non-government entities. Visits to the World Bank, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), USAID, USDA, and other funding agencies helped the scholars to make connections for international opportunities.

The program was capped with a 10-day immersion experience, chosen and developed by the group itself. With the assistance of Dr. Elvira DeMejia, Food Science and Human Nutrition assistant professor hailing from Queretaro, the scholars chose Mexico as their destination and chose to work there on a central theme that would benefit all of their respective disciplines. Because of the prevalence of obesity and diabetes in the Mexican population, the group took on a project proposal to seek indigenous solutions for countering the effects of diabetes, and developing a program for growth, processing and preparing healthy meals.

“We had a grant for three years to interact with Latin America and a consortium of 10 Mexican universities, so having this first group of ACES Academy scholars visit our neighbor Mexico made sense,” De Mejia said. “That grant resulted in over 30 publications, 20 presentations, nine symposia, two patents and more importantly, a relationship of trust, which is very important in the international arena.”

Amaranth, a naturally occurring plant in the San Luis Potosi area, was selected as a target crop on which to conduct research. The team of scientists developed collaborative proposals for research and outreach work that considered economics, horticulture, systems, and inclusion in diet. In addition, three seminars were conducted by Academy scholars at various Mexican universities. The scholars met with colleagues at College of Postgraduates, National Autonomous University of Mexico, University of Queretaro, and University of San Luis Potosi, and began relationships in their specific discipline.

The group immersed themselves in Mexican culture during the 10-day trip. Visits to the American Embassy, the World Bank, agribusinesses, a Mexican supermarket chain, greenhouses, CIMMYT, one of the international research institutes, community health clinics, and others provided an overview of research and education in Mexico.

Family life educator Angela Wiley gave presentations at two Mexican university seminars regarding linking family mealtimes to family resiliency. “They were so receptive,” said Wiley. “Family resiliency was something they had never heard of.”

Wiley is already looking for ways she can use what she learned and plans a sabbatical to learn Spanish and pursue research projects borne out of the experience. Wiley said one university already had a database of 2,000 Mexican families. “This is something I might have dreamed about and here they already have it set up.”

Lila notes that the immersion experience not only successfully accomplished a goal of the program to “enlighten” faculty to the process of undertaking an international research program, but also produced trans-disciplinary research between faculty within the college itself. A recent proposal submitted by scholars Robert Knox, Animal Sciences, Xinlei Wang, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and German Bollero, Crop Sciences, was funded through the Council on Food and Agricultural Research (C-FAR) and was written as a result of their relationship built through the Academy.

De Mejia reported that there have already been plans for numerous joint research projects with faculty from universities in Mexico and U of I researchers as well as new scientific relationships formed within the department in ACES.

“U of I plant scientist German Bollero is collaborating on a project with U of I nutritionist Karen Chapman-Novakofski,” said De Mejia. “This kind of collaboration is something that might not have happened and now they are working to find a global solution to a local problem.”
“It was a year-long experiment to take seven scholars and develop a program that would infuse global awareness into all levels of their scholarship. And, with an experiment, you’re not sure that it will work or if it’s worth replicating,” said Lila, who also served as a faculty mentor on the trip. “We think it was very successful and definitely worth doing again.”

The seven scholars selected for the first ACES Global Academy include: German Bollero, Crop Sciences; Karen Chapman-Novakofski, Food Science and Human Nutrition; Rob Knox, Animal Sciences; Urvi Neelakantan, Agricultural and Consumer Economics; Ryan Stewart, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences; Xinlei Wang, Agricultural and Biological Engineering; and Angela Wiley, Human and Community Development.

In 2007, eight scientists from ACES were selected to form the next class of the Academy. Not only were departmental faculty chosen for the second year of the program, but applications were extended to the more than 300 University of Illinois Extension professional field staff. One extension representative also joins the 2007 class.

The 2007 class, which includes Vijay Singh, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, A. Bryan Endres, Agricultural and Consumer Economics, John Killefer, Animal Sciences, Martin Bohn, Crop Sciences, Graciela Padua, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Neil Knobloch, Human and Community Development, Daniel Warnock, Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, and George Czapar, University of Illinois Extension educator, was launched in January and continues through the end of the calendar year.

This international service-learning trip,

The Center for Global Studies was fortunate to connect with Jon Erickson, associate professor of environmental economics at the University of Vermont, who has ongoing projects with residents of Batey Libertad. Through his assistance, our group of students and teachers was able to work directly with community members who are actively involved in a visioning process that identifies local needs and community-wide goals. While the community does not receive government services and doesn’t have an elected government, there is a coherent organizational and decision-making structure. The community—not outside charities—decides which family receives a new house, where to plant trees, and what goals to set for the future.

Participating students and teachers raised funds to work on several projects identified by the community. Fundraising efforts covered the purchase of cement, cinder blocks, roofing, timber, paint, and all supplies necessary to build a replacement house for a family in the community and to pay for a project foreman and skilled laborers from the community to assist. Like most residents of Batey Libertad, the family of eight, five of whom live at home, had a small, dark one-room shack made of recycled tin signs and siding. Students raised money by selling fair-trade coffee grown at Finca Alta-Gracia, a sustainable coffee plantation supported by the Dominican author Julia Alvarez.

The other projects included planting trees in the community, collecting garbage from land that will become a communal garden, and helping with a candle-making enterprise run by community women. The candle-making activity is an outgrowth of work with the community by Jennifer Shoaff Schoder, a doctoral student in anthropology at Illinois and indispensable coordinator for this trip. Candle sales raise funds for local women to purchase residency visas or fund community improvements. The group also participated in Futbol Para La Vida—an HIV/AIDS education and prevention program linked to soccer that began in Africa and is being adopted in Caribbean communities. Perhaps most importantly, trip participants spent part of each day at the batey conversing, assisting, and interacting with their host families.

The group also took educational side-trips to Santo Domingo—a UNESCO World Heritage site; Finca Alta Gracia—a sustainable, fair-trade coffee plantation that supports a literacy center; Puerto Carabete—an opportunity to see the importance of tourism to the country’s economy; and Batey Caraballo—a comparative look at conditions at a sugar cane batey. In addition, the group learned about activities of NGOs and service organizations working in the Dominican Republic, including PLAN International, the DREAM Project, and the Peace Corps.

The 13 student participants ranged from freshmen to seniors enrolled in Urbana at University Laboratory High School and Urbana High School, and in Chicago at Walter Payton College Preparatory High School and Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center. The teachers taught foreign language, social studies, English, science, and alternative education. Because the daily activities had such a personal impact as well as global and social implications, each day ended with a moderated group discussion to reflect upon and process the day’s experiences. Families could read about the day’s activities on a blog set up by the Online Gargoyle, a publication of University Laboratory High School. The archive of postings is available on the main page of the International High School website: http://www.ips.illinois.edu/ihs, or at http://www.uni.illinois.edu/gargoyle/dominican republic/.

Support for this international service learning project was provided by the International High School Initiative, the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER), the Chancellor’s Civic Engagement Task Force, the U.S. Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center grant program, and the Center for Global Studies.

I am a high school Russian teacher in Mansfield, Texas, part of the growing megalopolis that is the Dallas–Ft. Worth Metroplex. Being one of only a handful of public school Russian teachers in the entire state (at last count there were seven of us) doesn’t allow for much interaction with colleagues or occasions for Russian-specific educator training. Occasionally, a special opportunity comes along, like the one I found in the Winter 2007 issue of the CARTA (Central Association of Russian Teachers in America) newsletter for a Fulbright-Hays seminar in Russia for K–12 educators called “Understanding Russia through Everyday Life,” organized by the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center (REEEC) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

After receiving the acceptance notification, I excitedly made plans for only my third visit to Russia—I had been to Moscow and St. Petersburg twice before. The focus of this trip was the historic city of Vladimir (about 110 miles east of Moscow) and the surrounding region, including the ancient city of Murom (about 80 miles beyond Vladimir). After a few days of informative pre-departure lectures by REEEC faculty on the Urbana campus, 15 American teachers (for the majority of whom this was their first trip to Russia) were off to spend four weeks in Russia.

After arriving in Vladimir, our group was busy with lectures on politics, history, and economy and excursions to monasteries, factories, and farms. The American Home was the staging point for all of our in-country activities. The American Home is a unique institution—it is actually a 15-year old, typical single-story American house, complete with a white picket fence and a very un-Russian manicured lawn, in the center of an ancient Russian city. It exists as a beacon of American ambassadorship, with English language instruction and community outreach programs, under the watchful eyes of its American founder and caretaker, Ron Pope, a political science professor at Illinois State University and our in-country seminar director.

As a language teacher, my most important goal for the trip was to have the fullest opportunity to practice my Russian. During the time in Vladimir, basic language lessons were part of the program for the group, but the staff at the American Home generously arranged one-on-one conversation sessions for me with native-speaking instructors. Moreover, befitting the seminar theme of everyday life, we lived with host families in typical Russian apartments. I had requested that I be placed with a host family that didn’t speak any English, and that’s just what I got. In Vladimir, I lived with a very hospitable woman named Katya and her dog and cat in a 4th floor apartment about a two-mile walk from the American Home. In Murom, my host family was a kindly retired Soviet Army colonel and his wife, an elementary school teacher. While my stay with Katya was very enjoyable, “The Colonel” (as we came to call him) and his wife delivered an unbelievable dose of the Russian experience—culture, hospitality, and language practice—in little more than a long weekend, four days to be precise. The time we spent at The Colonel’s dacha (his “country place” about 20 miles from his apartment), the gem of which was his banya (Russian sauna) which he had built himself, was without a doubt one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had in Russia. In all, my Russian got quite the workout during my time in Vladimir and Murom.

From Murom, we traveled to St. Petersburg and Moscow to visit famous Russian landmarks. We had wonderful tours of the Hermitage and the Russian Museum by museum scholars. The visit to the memorial commemorating the siege of Leningrad was unspeakably moving. On a lighter note, what I thought might have been a high point for me in Moscow–to see Lenin in his mausoleum in Red Square–turned out to be rather anticlimactic. After a long wait, I had 30 seconds with him, or the waxy replica of him. I guess, I can now say I’ve been there.

The five weeks went by in a flash. The entire seminar, from the initial meetings in Illinois to the last night in Moscow, turned out to be my best trip to Russia and was, by far, the most productive experience I have had as a high school Russian teacher. While I was the only language teacher on the trip, the interaction with a great group of American teachers from all over the country was an education in itself. I returned feeling re-invigorated as a teacher and “re-calibrated” as a Russian speaker. I simply could not wait to start the new school year and share with my students all that I had experienced, from visits to 12th century cathedrals to stories about Katya and the Colonel. While few American high school students are familiar with the map of Russia, I can guarantee that 50 of them in North Texas know exactly where Vladimir is…and why. I am sure I speak for the other 14 teachers when I say that we were all enriched by our experiences in Russia. We, as well as our students, are thankful for the opportunity that REEEC at Illinois, the American Home in Vladimir, and Fulbright-Hays provided.

CELP has provided executive education programs for managers and directors from Chinese organizations since 1993, hosting over 3,000 participants in over 140 programs. Virginia Waaler, director of CELP, received the initial request from the city of Qingdao. “Qingdao contacted us directly because we had previously provided several public administration programs for their city,” said Waaler. When she learned of their interest in a public security program, she and Nianhua Wang, representative of the China Training Programs, contacted Tom Dempsey, director of the Police Training Institute.

PTI has a long history of international training and exchange of law enforcement trainers and educators, primarily with law enforcement academies in the United Kingdom, Russia and Ukraine. Current active exchanges are with the University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Dnipropetrovs’k, Ukraine and the University of Madras, Chennai, India. The Qingdao program was unique due to the worldwide visibility of the project, but PTI worked with public officials to ensure that the “Public Security Bureau Anti-Terrorism Specialist Delegation” of Qingdao police officers received the most comprehensive training possible.

The delegation of 20 officers was selected by the city of Qingdao’s human resources department, the city Foreign Expert Bureau and the city Public Security Bureau. Officers were chosen through a strict set of criteria, including age and fluency in English. Once selected, the group participated in a closed two-month English training course before traveling to Illinois.

When the delegation arrived, CELP held an orientation that provided necessary information for their time on campus. “All of our groups receive an overview of the program, [information on] the history of the University and Champaign-Urbana, a campus tour, and Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District bus passes,” said Waaler.

After orientation, the delegation attended lectures by PTI staff, counterterrorism experts, U.S. Olympic security officials, and guest speakers from various police departments, including Champaign, Urbana, and the University of Illinois. Lecture topics included an overview of American policing, waterborne security, Olympic security issues, international perspectives on terrorism, and law enforcement intelligence gathering. In addition to lectures, the delegation also learned how to operate various types of anti-terrorism equipment and visited Champaign and Springfield public safety agencies, including the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois DNA Lab.

At the conclusion of the eleven week campus program, the delegation traveled to former Olympic sites in Atlanta, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Salt Lake City. Wang accompanied the group and made arrangements for them to meet various local officials, tour Olympic sites including the Olympic Museum, and to see a mobile command center. “I think there is a brotherhood of police officers and they strive to do their best to make everyone feel welcome, honored and appreciated,” said Waaler. “In St. Louis, I believe [the delegation] had quite a police escort into town.”

At the conclusion of the program, the delegation was honored at a graduation luncheon and received certificates from the University of Illinois China Executive Leadership Programs and the Police Training Institute. Associate Provost for International Affairs William Brustein and Waaler later met the group in Qingdao and had the chance to speak with them about their experience with the program.

“I greatly enjoyed meeting with the delegation from Qingdao and was impressed with the group’s enthusiasm for their time spent at Illinois,” said Brustein. “They are excellent ambassadors for the University and are part of our efforts to enhance China’s drive to improve the quality of life for millions of Chinese. We are honored that CELP and PTI were chosen to provide valuable training for an event as prestigious as the 2008 Olympics and look forward to further strengthening the crucial bond between Illinois and China.”