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History:On October 4th of 1999 staff from the International Offices of Radford University and Virginia Tech met over lunch at RU to share information about upcoming international programs on both campuses. In the spring of 2000 both staffs met again, this time at Tech. By the fall of 2000 several other colleges in the area asked to be included when the group met at RU on December 6; these included the College of Health Sciences, Ferrum College, Hollins University, and Southwest Virginia Community College. On February 28, 2001, the group again expanded to include several more colleges and met at Tech with a formal presentation on "Emergency Procedures for Study Abroad" and an informal group on International Student Issues. Ferrum College hosted the October 16, 2001 meeting attended by nine colleges; sessions included "Recruiting International Students," "Services Learning: The New Trend in Study Abroad Education," and "What to Do with International Students During the Holidays." On February 22, 2002, Hollins University hosted representatives from thirteen colleges. RU was the host on October 3, 2002, with twenty colleges represented stretching from Harrisonburg in the north to Bluefield in the west to Lynchburg in the east; the meeting included three afternoon workshops -- INS/SEVIS/SCHEV Update, "Faculty Roles in Study Abroad," and "Regional Collaboration to Initiate International Ties."
The Fall 2003 meeting was held October 6th at the University of Virginia and was combined with a state- wide Foreign Student Advisors Meeting. The morning sessions included an "update on Immigration Issues" by Cynthia Tasaki and a "Question/Answer period" with Debra Dowd, the immigration attorney for the Commonwealth of Virginia. In the afternoon Rebecca Brown chaired a panel of ISO directors from UVA, VCU, and VT on "Re- educating the Campus;" a "DMV Update" was held with a "Pre- Arrival Information" session, and a program chaired by Murielle Kervizic on "International Students Who Study Abroad."
At a Board Meeting following the October 6th meeting, a name change was approved. Since the group has stretched beyond Southwest Virginia, the board voted to change the name to Western Virginia International Educators.
The spring meeting was hosted by Judith McKeon of the Jefferson College of Health Sciences at the Roanoke Higher Education Center on March 4, 2004. Approximately forty people attended from eighteen colleges. Joe Flory chaired the meeting. The agenda included sessions on “Sharing Resources” by John Brenner, “Record-keeping Systems for International Students” by Sharon Sercombe, “Issues in International Student Advising” by Natalie Shefski of DHS-USCIS and Kim Beisecker of VT, “Adding Diversity in Study Abroad” by Sasha Saari, and “Current Issues in Study Abroad” by Lorraine Fleck.
On October 8th, 2004, the Fall Meeting was held at Washington and Lee University. Approximately forty-five people attended from eighteen colleges. Joe Flory and Amy Richwine co-chaired the meeting. The program included in the morning “Suggestions for a Cross-Cultural Understanding Workshop” by Nancy Goulde and Tina Johnson from RMWC, “Communicating with Study Abroad Parents” by Murielle Kervizic and Tim Wojiski from UVA, “Study Abroad Re-entry Programs” by Lorraine Fleck from Hollins and Kate Edwards from VT. In the afternoon Kim Beisecker from VT led a discussion of “Case Studies in Immigration” and Amy Richwine from W & L gave an update on “SSA—Latest Regulations Affecting International Students & Scholars.”
The spring 2005 meeting at Sweet Briar College on January 27 attracted approximately thirty- five representatives from eighteen colleges. Tiffany Cummings chaired the meeting that included Question/ Answer with Natalie Shefsky (CIS), a Social Security update, Julia Pollocks's report on "Internatioanl Dorms", Rebecca Brown and Murielle Kervizic's program on "Balancing Institutional and Student Requests for Expanded Study Abroad Programs, CINTAX software, and "Liability Issues" by Art Seratelli and Jennifer Repko- Nolan.
The Fall 2005 meeting was held on October 21 at Lynchburg College. Twenty colleges were represented and forty-six people registered. AustraLearn and Anglo-American Education Services had display tables. New Board members included Delo Blough (JMU), Tiffany Cummings (SBC) and Judith McKeon (JCHS); Mike Henderson (VWCC), also a new Board member, was absent. New colleges represented included Blue Ridge Community College, Northern VA Community College, North Carolina Wesleyan College, and Wytheville Community College. The morning program featured presentations on “Study Abroad Safety Concerns” by Steve Duke (VT) and “Who is the FBI and What Is Their Role” by Kevin Foust. The afternoon programs were “Who Is the USICE and What Is Their Role” by Andy Kondisko and “Safety Concerns for International Students” by Kim Beisecker (VT) and Delo Blough (JMU).
On April 7, 2006, International Educators from twenty-four colleges met at the University of Virginia for their spring meeting.The schedule included the following presentations: “One Person Office” by Chris Musick from Mary Washington University, “Service-Learning and Internships Abroad” by Felix Wang and Judy Cohen from James Madison University, “Cross-Cultural Programs at Eastern Mennonite University” by Jon Kratz and Krista Martin, “Hot Topics in Study Abroad” by Steve Duke from Virginia Tech, “Hot Topics in International Student Services” by the UVA staff, and “Questions & Answers on Immigration” by Natalie Shefsky from the Department of Homeland Security. A highlight of the meeting was the presentation of the first Western Virginia International Educators Award to Natalie Shefsky for her outstanding service to the region. Everyone is invited to the fall meeting on October 20th at the Southwest Virginia Community College. For information about either joining this group or attending future meetings, email Joe Flory at jflory@radford.edu
On October 20, 2006, the Western Virginia International Educators met at Southwest Virginia Community College for their fall meeting. The meeting was planned and hosted by John Brenner. There were 45 attendees from 22 different institutions at this meeting with three sponsors: Anglo American Educational Services, Cultural Experiences Abroad, and American Institute for Foreign Study. The “Opening Remarks” were provided by Mark Graham who noted the collaborative aspects of international education in Virginia. These remarks were followed by sessions by Delo Blough on student VISA issues for beginners and a separate session by Lorraine Fleck on current issues in study abroad and networking session for advisors. The second session was hosted by Dr. Sudhakar and Carolyn Jamkandi on grant writing to sustain an NGO. This session was followed by a question and answer session with Natalie Shefsky on international student’s immigration services. Following lunch, Sasha Saari, George Hiller and Jeremy Billletdeaux provided a session on short-term faculty lead overseas trips. The final session was hosted by Kim Beisecker who described the Intercultural Development Inventory. The meeting included ratification of the WVIE constitution, creation of a nominating committee, requests for nominations for outstanding service and discussion of the next meeting which is March 2, 2007 at James Madison University.
