Education Abroad celebrated its 40th anniversary on Friday, December 7 at its new location in the Leo R. Dowling International Center.
Although the study abroad activity at Indiana University dates back to the 19thcentury, the administration of such programs was under the purview of individual faculty and departments, primarily within the College of Arts and Sciences. In the fall of 1972 Education Abroad was established as a system-wide office to facilitate study abroad for students of any major from all IU schools and campuses. In its 40 year history about 40,000 students have studied abroad in dozens of countries on almost every continent. About 100 faculty, staff and guests attended the celebration, including former directors of Education Abroad as well as administrators, faculty leaders and staff, some whose involvement with the office dated back to its earliest days.
Kathleen Sideli, associate vice president for Education Abroad, recognized everyone's contributions, indicating that, while it was critical to the success of our office to have creative and competent administrators, it was equally important to have staff and faculty involved at all levels... and it could not have been possible without support units and colleagues who helped us integrate our students into institutional systems, including registration, financial aid, billing, transfer credit and more."
Professor Emeritus Nugent, who left IU in 1984 to become the Andrew V. Tackes Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, was caught by surprise but graciously accepted the honor by commenting that his involvement with overseas study programs at Indiana University brought him his greatest satisfaction as an educator, other than his own research. He enjoyed seeing students change dramatically from when he first met them during the selection process through seeing them abroad and then debriefing them back at IU when they returned. He is currently working with his successors at Education Abroad on a detailed history of the unit. David Zaret, vice president for international affairs, commented on how he had enjoyed meeting IU students in India, Ghana, Turkey and Spain in the past year. He then honored Education Abroad’s founder and first director and associate dean, Walter T. K. Nugent, who was present for the occasion, by announcing that the meeting room would be henceforth known as the Nugent Room, as per the University Naming Committee and authorized by President Michael McRobbie.
Education Abroad
Leo R. Dowling International Center
111 South Jordan Avenue
Indiana University
Bloomington, IN 47405-7709
Ph: 812-855-9304
Fax: 812-855-6452
overseas@iu.edu