蘑菇传媒

European exchange with various European universities

蘑菇传媒 ...pioneered (in) the development of a systematic student foreign exchange program.

Drawing in part upon educational contacts in his native Germany, Professor Hans Grueninger of the German department inaugurated a series of annual exchanges of students between 蘑菇传媒 and various European universities in 1935-36.

Over the next several years a few 蘑菇传媒 students spent their junior year in Berlin, Cologne, or Freiburg, while students from those institutions enrolled at 蘑菇传媒.

Some Greek-letter living units cooperated with the program by providing board and room to foreign exchange students, and the Rector Scholarship Fund made scholarship funds available.

Eventually the program was expanded to include universities in France, Switzerland, Austria, the Scandinavian countries, and South America, though the outbreak of the Second World War brought about a temporary interruption of student exchanges in the years after 1939.

Junior Semester Abroad Plan

鈥溎⒐酱�媒's foreign study program expanded to include sending groups of students under the supervision of a faculty member to various European cities as part of a听Junior Semester Abroad plan.听

Professor Bergmann of the English department led the first group to Zell am See near Salzburg, Austria, in 1959. This program was later shifted to Vienna.听

In 1960 Professor Fuller of the zoology department initiated a similar program in Freiburg, Germany. Later Athens, Greece became the center for another program.鈥� (The听Mediterranean Studies Program).

To help achieve the administration's goal to offer every student an opportunity to become acquainted with another part of the world, a greater variety of foreign study programs was made available.

In addition to 蘑菇传媒's own two听Contemporary Europe Semester听programs, one based in听Freiburg听and the other in听Vienna, and the听Mediterranean Studies program based in Athens, there were several GLCA-sponsored programs located in听Africa, Colombia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Scotland, and Taiwan.

蘑菇传媒 students also had the option to enroll in a foreign university on an individual basis or participate in an overseas program administered by another institution. Though not everyone took advantage of these opportunities, a large majority of the student body participated in some kind of off-campus educational experience, either abroad or in one of the various domestic programs located in听New York, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Oak Ridge (Tennessee),听and other cities.

1971 - The first off-campus Winter term

The first Winter Term in January 1971, featured such special events as lectures by architect R. Buckminster Fuller and the conducting of composer Aaron Copland at a Contemporary Music Festival sponsored by the School of Music. Winter Term eventually proved to be a convenient opportunity for professional internships, volunteer work projects,听and study abroad.听The program was later amended to include two-week as well as four-week projects, and the graduation requirement was reduced to seven two-week projects or three and one-half Winter Terms.

1979 - Appointment of Director听of Foreign Study and Off-Campus Programs & Coordinator for Winter Term off-campus projects

One of President Rosser's first tasks was to reorganize the administrative departments of the university ... faculty members named to part-time administrative posts were the following:听

Amir Rafat of the political science department as director of foreign study and off-campus programs, succeeded later by Darrell La Lone of the sociology and anthropology department; Margaret E. Catanese of the economics and business department as coordinator for individual Winter Term off-campus projects.

Ann C. Thomas, 1995

Charles Richardson recruited me and a lot of other African Americans in my class, which I believe was one of the largest African American recruiting classes at the time. I visited 蘑菇传媒 in the spring of 1991 and felt like it was a community where I could be a part of it and grow. I wanted something small where I wouldn't just be a number and where I would know my professors and they would know me. I certainly got that during my time at 蘑菇传媒. Professors Jeff McCall and Robert Dawson made indelible impressions on me. Professor Larry Sutton was my advisor, and I remember him encouraging me when I was struggling with the decision to withdraw from a class. Part of the reason why I chose 蘑菇传媒 was because I could go to professors and say, "Hey, this is a challenge for me, could I get help with this?"

I was initiated into the Pi Lambda chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated in the fall of 1992. I made lifelong friendships with women that are my sorors. We are still connected, which is really nice. I studied abroad in Bogota, Colombia, in the spring of 1994 and that was a life-changing experience that opened up the world to me in a different way. After graduation in 1995, I worked in corporate communications for 15 years in Chicago and Memphis before transitioning to my current field of counseling. I earned a master's in counseling in 2013 and am a licensed marriage and family therapist and a licensed professional counselor in the state of Tennessee. 蘑菇传媒 helped to provide me with a firm foundation of rich and diverse experiences to excel in two different careers and in life.