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nine programs were recognized for excellence among more than
600 IIE-member institutions of higher learning nationwide.
"The
Heiskell Awards celebrate and encourage the most outstanding
initiatives being conducted by IIENetwork member campuses
to increase international educational exchange and global
awareness on campus," IIE President Allan E. Goodman
said in presenting awards in four categories, which also included
Internationalizing the Campus, Outstanding Faculty Program
and Presidential award recognition.
Southern
Miss's popular Vietnam Studies program, created and directed
by history professor Andrew Wiest, has attracted widespread
attention for its academic design, study-abroad opportunities,
focus on veterans and presentation to working adults. In 2002,
the program received the Association for Continuing Higher
Education (ACHE) Region VII Distinguished Program Recognition
Award.
"I
congratulate our history and international studies faculty
and staff who put this innovative study-abroad program together,"
said Southern Miss President Shelby Thames. "The national
recognition this brings our university is priceless."
Offered
through a joint effort of the Southern Miss College of International
and Continuing Education, the Department of History and the
university's Center for the Study of War and Society, the
program encompasses traditional classroom learning, a study-abroad
component in Vietnam, noncredit programming, a burgeoning
archival collection, an alliance with the Veterans Affairs
and a collection housed in the Armed Forces Museum at nearby
Camp Shelby.
Susan
Steen, Southern Miss director of international studies, noted
the university offers a variety of study-abroad opportunities
in more than 30 countries worldwide.
"Vietnam
Studies is a terrific example of innovative and life-changing
study-abroad programming," she said. "This program
is truly one of a kind – and with the Heiskell Award,
Vietnam Studies has once again proven itself to be a ground-breaking
program."
Wiest,
a Hattiesburg native and military history expert said, "The
Institute of International Education is made up of more than
600 different colleges and universities, and the fact that
were among only a handful to win an award clearly places us
among the elite study-abroad programs in the world. The program
is economically self-sufficient, receiving no external funding.
It is a model of efficiency and a testament to the hard work
of our small and dedicated staff."
His six-year-old
Vietnam War course, traditionally offered during the spring
semester each year, regularly involves the participation of
veterans – many of whom suffer from Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder. Veterans also accompany students in the study-abroad
program.
Dr. Brian
O'Neil, assistant professor of history and professor of record
for the Vietnam Studies program, led a study-abroad group
to Vietnam last year and will lead another group there this
year during May 12 to June 1. The application deadline is
March 12.
"The
most innovative aspect of the program is that we take American
veterans with us to share their experiences on the exact site
of some of their most horrific battles," he said. "While
there, the U.S. vets also meet with Vietnamese veterans and,
in many ways, their meetings symbolize a new era in U.S.-Vietnam
relations.
"The
program is rapidly gaining a national reputation and, in addition
to Southern Miss students, it is attracting students from
leading universities across the nation," O'Neil added.
"The
students learn firsthand about the Vietnam War, while gaining
valuable insights into contemporary Vietnamese society."
The Heiskell
awards are named in honor of noted publisher and philanthropist
Andrew Heiskell, the former chair and CEO of Time Inc and
a longtime advocate for international education. Heiskell
is chairman emeritus of the New York Public Library and a
dedicated member of IIE's Board of Trustees.
The Institute
of International Education is a world leader in the international
exchange of people and ideas. An independent, nonprofit organization
founded in 1919, the institute is the world's most experienced
global higher education and professional exchange organization.
Fox Valley
Technical won Heiskell's Study-Abroad award for its Transatlantic
Automotive Technology Project. Lake Superior College's Mexico
Study Abroad Learning Community joined the Southern Miss Vietnam
Studies program as an honorable mention winner.
The institute
launched a "Best Practices" Web page Monday on the
IIENetwork Web site at www.iienetwork.org to showcase all
of the winning programs and those receiving honorable mention,
as a resource for the international educational community
worldwide.
For more
information on the Southern Miss Vietnam Studies program,
call O'Neil at (601) 266-6494 or Wiest at 266-5076.
Download
an audio clip of Dr. Wiest
discussing the Vietnam Studies program
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