Study Abroad success earns team honor
By Michelle Betz
Five faculty and staff received the 2003 Purdue Agriculture
Team Award for their success in increasing the number of agriculture
students studying abroad.
Vic Lechtenberg, dean of the Purdue University School
of Agriculture, presented the award and a $10,000 cash prize May 5 during
a campus ceremony. The money is to be used to further the team's efforts.
The team consists of Michael Stitsworth, associate director
of International Programs in Agriculture; Zinaida Breschinsky, associate
professor of foreign language and literature; Karl Brandt, professor
of biochemistry and former director of academic programs in agriculture;
Linda Vallade, international academic program specialist; and Prudence
Miller, international students and visitors coordinator.
"The Study Abroad Team exemplifies the power of
teamwork," Lechtenberg says. "By joining forces, the members
of this team have been able to grow study abroad participation in the
College of Agriculture from just one student in 1990-91 to more than
150 this year. This is a tremendous accomplishment, and the team has
served the school and the students well."
The team's success is significant among agriculture schools
in the United States, Stitsworth says, "because agriculture schools
across the country don't usually have a large number of students abroad."
The College of Agriculture has the highest percentage
of students studying abroad of any school at Purdue. More than 20 percent
of the Purdue students who study abroad are from the College of Agriculture,
which enrolls about 8 percent of Purdue's undergraduates.
"More students are interested in studying abroad,
because agriculture is becoming increasingly global," Stitsworth
says. "The employers who hire our students want graduates who have
at least some knowledge of the rest of the world and who are comfortable
working with clients and co-workers who may come from different cultural
backgrounds."
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