International News October 2001

Alumni of IU's Burmese Refugee ProgramAttend Workshop in Bloomington

topics, includ-ing sessions oncareer plan-ning, ledjointly byRendySchrader ofIU's CareerDevelopmentCenter andAnwarMohammed(BRSP '98); ondiversity, ledby School ofEducation doc-

toral student Daisy Rodriguez,assisted by Hnem Bualteng (BRSP'00); and on finances, led byCharles Bankart, formerly of theIU financial aid office (and nowwith the Office of InternationalPrograms).

The invited guest speaker forthe reunion was Robert Quinn,director of the Scholars at RiskNetwork of the Human RightsProgram at the University ofChicago. The network, whosemission is to defend academicfreedom worldwide, arrangestemporary academic positions atparticipating institutions for schol-ars who need sanctuary outside oftheir home regions. The networkalso acknowledges the central roleof international students in an aca-demic community, who often sufferrisks similar to those of scholars.

The reunion's final session, ledby Associate Dean and Director ofInternational Services KennethRogers, was a free-ranging discus-sion of the personal and career chal-lenges that Burmese students faceliving and studying abroad; the

Burmese Refugee Scholarship Program alumni take time out fromtheir workshop to pose at the Dowling International Center withOffice of International Programs administrators and staff.

For two days in July, 23 alumnifrom Indiana University'sBurmese Refugee Scholarship

Program (BRSP) returned to theBloomington campus, pledging tocontinue to work toward democrati-zation in their home country, Burma(Myanmar), now under military rulefor more than 10 years. Burmesestudents have been coming to IU foralmost 10 years, supported by fundsfrom the U.S. Information Agency(now the Bureau of Educational andCultural Affairs in the StateDepartment), in collaboration withthe Open Society Institute BurmaProject, an affiliate of the SorosFoundation (see InternationalNews, October 2000). The generalgoal of the program is to prepareBurmese student leaders for a futuretransition to democracy in Burma.

At the reunion, many weremeeting colleagues in other BRSPcohorts for the first time, sharingmemories of harrowing experienceseach had in fleeing their homeland,as well as planning together for thefuture. The two-day workshopincluded a number of different

resources that are available, such asorganizations, databases, networks,internships, etc.; the varying agen-das of groups who support a demo-cratic Burma; and the need for theseparticipants to stay focused ondeveloping a common blueprint foraction in a future democraticBurma.

It has been encouraging for IUadministrators involved with BRSPto see how far these students haveprogressed since they were firstbrought to IUB on preacademictraining programs. All are nowactively engaged pursuing degrees atvarious educational institutions infields ranging from biology, comput-er science, information technology,international relations, and politicalscience to business, engineering,journalism, law, and social work. AtIDB, Myint Hlaing ('91), hasalready earned his Ph.D. in neurobi-ology and cellular biology and isnow a postdoctoral fellow at theUniversity of California-SanFrancisco, while Ngun ("Andrew")

At the workshop, one of the Burmesestudents presents a gift of appreciationto Associate Dean Kenneth Rogers, wellknown among Burmese students asbeing an "old Burma hand."

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International News October 2001

IUPUI Faculty Conduct Service Learning Workshops inSouth Africa

The bottleneck to reconstructionand development of civil socie-ty in South Mrica lies no

longer at the level of policy but atthe limited capacity to implementpolicy. Critical to the implementa-tion of policy in South Mrica isbuilding partnerships betweendeveloping communities, highereducation institutions, and the serv-ice sector (i.e., public, nongovern-mental, and private).

During spring break, RobertBringle, psychology professor anddirector of IUPUI's Center forService and Learning (CSL) andJulie Hatcher, associate directorof CSL, were part of a team of 10

service learning faculty sent fromthe United States to South Mrica.They were there to consult on serv-ice learning curriculum developmentwith the Community HigherEducation Service Partnerships(CHESP) project that is housed atthe Leadership Centre of theUniversity of Natal.

While in South Mrica, Bringleand Hatcher conducted workshopsat the University of the Free State

(UFS) inBloemfontein forparticipants fromthat university, aswell as fromTechnikon FreeState and the QwaQwa campus of theUniversity of theNorth (inPhuthaditjhaba).The workshopsfocused on develop-ing service learningclasses and thescholarship ofengagement. Eachteam working on aservice learning classconsisted of a faculty member, aservice provider, and a resident ofthe community. The workshopswere held in the community ofManguang, a traditionally blackcommunity outside Bloemfontein.

In addition, they consulted withUFS administrators on usingcommunity-based sites for studentlearning and teaching, research andservice, and faculty development.

Prosper Mosime (center), construction coordinator for aManguang-UFS community partnership program, shows offone of the handmade bricks being manufactured there toIUPUl's Robert Bringle and Julie Hatcher.

Bringle also discussed the impor-tance of service learning to curricu-lum development, institutionalassessment, and broader institu-tional transformation. He plans toreturn there in February 2002 forfurther consultations.

-Robert Bringle andJulie Hatcher

Center for Service Learning, IUPUI

Cung Lian ('97), having earned anLL.M. concentrating on humanrights, is now pursuing the newDoctor of Juridical Science degree atthe School of Law- Bloomington.Many remain active in NGO-workrelated to Burma and some havereturned to the refugee camps inThailand to work for short periods.

The alumni workshop wasorganized by IU's Center for theInternational Education and

Development Assistance (CIEDA),through Associate Dean andDirector Charles Reafsnyder andAssistant Director KayIkranagara, who administer theBRSP program.

The newest group of Burmese refugee students (BRSP '0 I) arriving in Augustto start their studies are (left to right) Muang Htay Kywe, Rikhuma, Mya Zaw,Kyaw Kyaw, and Zaw Win Htut (not shown), standing by the steps of theirnew International Programs "home. U

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