In observance of International Education Week, the UA is helping promote and honor the instruction of the more than 2,600 international students on campus with a series of celebration events.

"This series of programs and events is an opportunity for UA undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members to share and expand their knowledge of regions and cultures across the globe," said Kirk Simmons, executive director of the division of International Affairs.

"We are very pleased that so many UA academic departments and student organizations have combined efforts to participate in raising international awareness on our campus," he said.

The UA hosts more than 2,600 international students and 850 visiting faculty and scholars representing 130 countries, according to the UA Fact Book.

International student enrollment - which makes up roughly 7 percent of the UA student population - has steadily risen over a 10-year period each year from 1995 through 2004, but enrollment slipped last year by 200 students, according to the Fact Book.

More than 60 percent of graduate students on campus are international students, according to the Fact Book.

"International students are sought after as they tend to give a different perspective and viewpoint in the classroom depending on their own experiences and their country of origin," said Marie E. Ott, adviser of international student programs for the Center for Global Student Programs.

In 2003, the UA ranked eighth in study abroad programs in the U.S. and currently, more than 1,700 UA faculty members are actively engaged in teaching and research worldwide, according to the press release.

The week's worth of events is a national joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences in the nation, according to a press release.

-Zach Colick

Work displayed from research in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Research projects reflecting the summer trips of 40 graduate students were presented last week, with topics ranging from women's issues and politics to language and Jaguar genetics.

The students organized the symposium to display their predissertation research for the Tinker Foundation, which provided many of the students with grants that funded six-week trips to Latin America, Spain or Portugal.

In turn, these students were required to organize an event where they can present their findings to the academic community.

"It's good practice. We wanted to show that there are opportunities for funding out there," said Alizabeth Brady, a Latin American studies graduate student.

Brady said she spent her summer researching the availability services for domestic violence victims in Salvador, Bahia and Brazil.

"This was just the preliminary step," Brady said. "I got my foot in the door and will continue to do research in the area."

Geoff Crump, a Latin American studies graduate student, said the most valuable part of the trip was making contacts so research could continue later.

"Later in my career I'll have contacts and research in the field not from the library," said Crump, who traveled to Mexico City for the summer to research the Ecological Green Party of Mexico. "It was a lot of work to put together. But it worked out really well and brings attention to research in Latin America."

Scott Whiteford, director of the center for Latin American studies, said students are generally sent to places where UA faculty members have done research before so it is easier to make contacts.

"It's the best way to learn about research and about professional contacts," Whiteford said. "The social capital could extend through their whole careers."

In previous years, Whiteford said one or two students presented a week, but because of the large number of grant recipients this year, the students decided to hold a conference so all the students could present in one day.

-Holly Wells

Forum addresses lack of technology in rural areas

The College of Public Health is co-sponsoring a forum in Phoenix today focused on Health Information Technology in rural Arizona, officials said.

The forum is focused on the lack of information technology, telemedicine and distance education in rural communities and how to connect these areas to advancing technology, said Alison Hughes, associate director of the Arizona rural telemedicine demonstration project at the UA rural health office.

"Rural people always get left behind in this stuff, and we are here to make sure they don't," Hughes said.

The forum was sparked by President Bush's recent initiative to have all health records go electronic within 10 years, and also Gov. Janet Napolitano's initiative to get a broadband infrastructure through Arizona to facilitate these records in five years, Hughes said.

"This is quite a big effort nationally, and our governor has made it a big priority," Hughes said.

Another topic that will be discussed is Web-based telecommunication education, like patient consulting in a remote area, or videoconferencing, said Carol Lockhart, a consultant for the project.

Part of the issue is that rural health communities do not have access to technology like broadband Internet, which is essential for videoconferencing or even access to electronic health records to take place, Lockhart said.

"Just because the Web exists doesn't mean everybody can get on it," Lockhart said.

Participants will be brought up to date with public health record information and ways to get technology to rural areas for medical and educational use, Lockhart said.

The participants will also be breaking into small groups to offer suggestions on how to get technology to rural areas, and give the recommendations to a committee working on the Arizona initiative to get broadband throughout the state, Hughes said.

The forum will be held at the Arizona State Capitol Governor's Reception Room, at 1700 W. Washington St., in Phoenix. There is a $20 registration fee to attend.

The two other sponsors for the forum are the Arizona Rural Health Association and the UA Rural Health Office, according to a press release.

- Nicole Santa Cruz

Calendar of Events

Today

2:15 p.m.
International Affairs: Metta Young, Senior Fulbright Scholar, Udall Center
Lecture: Hitting the Bulldust: Histories, Policies and Politics in Desert Indigenous Australia
Rincon Room, Student Union Memorial Center
mott@email.arizona.edu

5 p.m.
Center for Middle Eastern Studies: FLAS Award Informational Meeting
Louise F. Marshall building, Room 490
kmackay@u.arizona.edu

5 p.m.
La Aldea and 25+ Cats: Good-Bye Lenin: Dine & Discuss with Jenny Lee La Aldea graduate housing complex Community Room
kraus@life.arizona.edu

Tomorrow

8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Learning Technologies Center: Open House: Technology and International Education
Center for Computing and Information Technology, Room 337 mttrm@email.arizona.edu

8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: International Education, Extension and Technology Transfer Tubac Room, Student Union Memorial Center
aajami@email.arizona.edu

Wednesday

Noon
Center for Middle Eastern Studies: Damla Isik Lecture: Women, Gender and Work: The Case of Women Weavers in Turkey
Louise F. Marshall building, Room 490
kmackay@u.arizona.edu

Noon
Department of French & Italian: Study Abroad Presentations: Arizona in Paris and Arizona in Orvieto
Harvill building, Room 305
lorchard@email.arizona.edu

6 p.m.
Center for English as a Second Language and International Affairs: Excellence in International Education and Service Awards Dinner
Sheraton Four Points
astover@email.arizona.edu

4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Center for English as a Second Language: International Panel Discussion
Modern Languages building, Room 310
ellen@email.arizona.edu

4 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Graduate College: By invitation only
Reception for CONACYT Students
Presidio Room, Student Union Memorial Center
cbjerk@grad.arizona.edu

8 p.m.
University of Arizona Hillel Foundation: Israeli Culture Celebration
Hillel Center
marom@email.arizona.edu

Friday

Noon
University of Arizona Bookstores: Musical Moments: Marimba Performance by Kendra Dawson
UofA Bookstore
awolnick@email.arizona.edu

Saturday

3 p.m.
International Student Association: How Much Do You Know About the World?
The Refuge
asua_isa@email.arizona.edu