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 Donovan
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by LAURA TABOR
Intern Lifestyles Reporter
The Doorways International Program Series seeks to create a forum where community members can present research they have done abroad and how it applies to students and others who are studying different cultures and languages.
This is the second year of the program, with the first events happening in fall 2007.
The kick-off event is titled, “First, Do No Harm: Appalachian’s Students and Study Abroad."
It features Dr.
Cynthia A. Wood, associate professor of sustainable development, Dr.
Kathleen Schroeder, associate professor of geography and planning and
Shari L. Galiardi, Director of Service-Learning.
“They
will discuss the impact that students and other travelers have on the
cultures that they visit,” Georgie L. Donovan, lead acquisitions
librarian and co-developer of the series, said. “You bring your own
culture and assumptions with you when you visit another country.”
This is the first program to focus on a broad topic.
Previous
programs have included poverty in Kenya, Russian language and culture,
Poland’s status within the European Union and the evolution of the
Chinese language, said Dr. Xiaorong Shao, information literacy
librarian and co-developer of the series.
Along
with assistant professor and librarian Beth E. Cramer, Shao and Donovan
are preparing three programs for this fall and three for the spring.
The Belk
Library & Information Commons has paired up with the Office of
International Education and Development to sponsor these events,
according to library’s Web site.
“We
aren’t just here to teach people,” Donovan said. “This is supposed to
be a dialogue, to meet people on campus who are working in these areas
and develop relationships with them.”
The library uses these programs to showcase some of the services they can provide to researchers on campus.
“We want
people to see the library as a learning center,” Shao said. “We display
some of the library materials we have that are relevant to the program,
and we are always open to getting new material for research.”
The first program is at 4 p.m. in room 421 of the library today.
The program is open to both faculty and students, and is targeted to people with an international specialty or interest.
“We want
to open a door for faculty and students to see the world,” Shao said.
“We are in a fairly isolated town, and this is one way to see what is
happening globally.”
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