On April 2, 2008, OISS Director Mary Jacob formally presented Ricardo Vasconselos and Hassan Wassel, in the presence of Holly P. Jennings, this year’s International Student Award. The presentation took place at a luncheon at the UCSB Faculty Club. The award is given each year to international graduate students who have unexpected financial need.
The award was established in 1999 through a generous annual donation by Holly P. Jennings. Mrs. Jennings has been a long time volunteer in the OISS English Language Program. Mrs. Jennings is a world traveler who has visited her former students in all parts of China and elsewhere. She established the award to further her commitment to international education, cultural exchange, and mutual understanding between peoples.
Ricardo Vasconcelos is an advanced graduate student from Portugal in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. He is an instructor of Portuguese. Hassan Wassel is from Alexandria, Egypt and is in the Department of Computer Science. He and his wife are expecting their first child this week. (back to In This Issue)
OISS is looking to hire one Student Assistant, 10-15hrs a week, to provide customer service, program and resource information to students, staff and community in a high-traffic, multi-ethnic student service environment.
Applicants must have excellent oral and communication/interpersonal skill. Must be proficient in computer skills and above all MUST love working with students!
If you are interested in applying, write a letter of intent and submit it with your resume to the OISS front desk by Friday, April 25. (back to In This Issue)
Sumit Singh and Karthik Jayaraman of the India Association fill their plates at the OISS dinner.
OISS hosted an Indian dinner and meeting for student officers of international students associations on April 10, 2008. OISS Director Mary Jacob welcomed the representatives of the Chinese Student and Scholar Association, India Association, International Students Association, and Taiwanese Student Association. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss student concerns over the rising cost of both campus and community housing and how this will affect international students in fall 2008 who depend on stipends and scholarships that are not rising at a rate that would compensate for housing inflation. OISS will convey the results of the discussion to the UCSB administration.
The participants also discussed how OISS can help facilitate event planning and programming by the student associations. Through OISS sponsorship, international student associations have full access to the new facilities in the Student Resource Building. OISS seeks more active collaboration with student associations in making the international student experience at UCSB academically productive and culturally exciting. The group agreed to have continuing international students take a more prominent role in the annual fall orientation for the incoming students. Last year over 300 international students attended the fall orientation. (back to In This Issue)
OISS Director Mary Jacob welcomes student association officers.
As the official voice of the UC students, UCSA needs YOU to represent over 200,000 students on important decision-making committees for the UC system. These committees deal with critical policy issues that affect every student in the UC system (e.g. admissions policy, budget priorities, sustainability practices, diversity issues and technology investments). It is vital that UC students have strong representatives on these committees. There are over 20 different committees with over 30 student representative positions that need to be filled for the 2008-09 school year.
For more information about the different committees check out the website here:
Apply here: Applications are due April 18th (although applications will continue to be accepted until all committees have student representatives). Notifications of appointment will be sent by May 9th. (back to In This Issue)
The Office of International Students and Scholars will offer a series of workshops on work and internship permission for F-1 and J-1 visa holders.
Seating for these workshops is limited. You must reserve a seat beforehand by sending an email with your name and the date you want to reserve to oiss@sa.ucsb.edu, by phone at (805) 893-2929, or in person at the OISS front desk in 3130 SRB. Requests will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis. (back to In This Issue)
The New York-based Institute of International Education is offering the Gokhale International Grants/Loans in Statistics Program to sponsor either incoming or continuing Indian students in the field of Statistics. UCSB is one of the eligible institutions for students to conduct their academic program if receiving a grant or a loan under this program.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 1, 2008 (please see attachment for complete application details and requirements)
In response to the interest and inquiry of Dr. DV Gokhale, the Institute of International Education (IIE) has established The DV Gokhale International Grants/Loans in Statistics Program through donations and a bequest from Dr. Gokhale. This unique and much-needed program will provide grants and/or loans*:
Dr. DV Gokhale, Professor Emeritus of Statistics at the University of California at Riverside, received a Fulbright travel grant to study in the United States in the 1960s through IIE. This experience was one of the most important in his life, as it gave him the opportunity to study and make contacts in the United States. It eventually led to the move of Dr. Gokhale and his family to the United States, where they have been settled for the past 40 years. In appreciation of his experience and with the desire to give other students and faculty this same opportunity, Dr. Gokhale would like to establish a grants program focused on helping Indian students to study statistics in the United States, American students to study statistics and related subjects in India and to enable faculty members in this field to participate in exchanges between the two countries.
The DV Gokhale Program would reflect the following interests of the donor:
*Each candidate will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether to award as a full grant, partial grant, full loan, partial loan, or any combination thereof. Re-payment of loans will be a legal obligation of the borrower pursuant to a contract between the recipient and IIE. ** If suitable candidates are not available within the Institutions of Interest, other candidates may also be considered. (back to In This Issue)
Mia Farrow stars in this classic horror flick/comedy.
Rosemary’s Baby was the first Hollywood film made by Polish director Roman Polanski after leaving his home country in the 1960s and residing briefly in the UK. The film is filled with ironic memorable one-liners that you will never get out of your head for the rest of your life: “There are plots against people, aren’t there? Well, there’s one against me.” For his first American film subject, Polanski chose the unlikely probability of devil worshipers in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. Ruth Gordon steals the show as the quirky busybody upstairs neighbor of a young couple about to have their first baby. Polanski plays with the fragile psychological state of maternity to offer both the suspense of a horror movie that will make you scream and jump out of your seat, but also an ironic comedy that mocks religious orthodoxy and superstition. While in the 1960s those looking at the US from the outside often saw Americans as hippies, anti-war protestors, Black Panthers, and imperialists, Polanski took a peek inside and saw Americans as devils. (back to In This Issue)