Concordia College

Concordia Leads National Education Grant

Sep 09, 2008


FOR MORE INFORMATION:
DR. GAY RAWSON, associate professor, French and Russian
(218) 299-3412
AMY KELLY, Media Relations director
(218) 299-3642

CONCORDIA COLLEGE LEADS NATIONAL EDUCATION GRANT

    Concordia College, Moorhead, Minn., has been selected by the Fulbright-Hays Group to lead an educational trip for K-12 language teachers to Cameroon. Dr. Gay Rawson, associate professor of French and Russian at Concordia, will coordinate the trip which is administered by the U.S. Department of Education and Dr. Zacharie Petnkeu, assistant professor of French, will accompany them as a bilingual scholar escort. Thirteen participants representing 11 different states from across the nation have been selected to travel to Cameroon where they will develop curriculum projects to be used in U.S. classrooms. The four-week trip will take place in July 2009 with a pre-departure orientation weekend scheduled at Concordia College.
    The project will allow these educators to further their language skills. They will also broaden their knowledge of culture, cinema and commerce in Cameroon, the focus of the trip. The grant will pay for all in-country expenses, such as airfare, room and board, fees and ground transportation.
    The four weeks of study, travel and research in Cameroon will feature a wide variety of relevant field trips to both cities and rural areas. Visits are planned to nine of the ten provinces, which will offer opportunities to experience the rich diversity of what some call “miniature Africa,” for its diversity of climate and culture. Cameroon is a crossroads for understanding Africa in general and a lens through which the participants will better understand themselves and the role of the United States in global issues.
    The Fulbright-Hays programs were developed more than fifty years ago when U.S. leaders were confronted with the need to understand different countries of the world during the Cold War. For detailed information about the program see www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsgpa/index.html.
    Concordia College is a four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offering 78 majors, including 18 honors majors, and 12 preprofessional programs.

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