Oregon Campus Compact
June 3, 2008 – National JRCPA winner announced by President Jimmy Carter & Mrs. Roslynn Carter in Atlanta! Portland State University, and 112 community based organizations in Oregon, win the National-Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for Campus Community Collaboration for the Watershed Stewardship Program.

The announcement was made at the National Conference of Corporation for National & Community Service at the world Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This program has led over 27,000 community volunteers donating a quarter million hours to install 80,000 plants and restore 50 acres of watershed along two miles of river. Individual projects have been led and supported by 700 students working as part of class projects, resulting in two master’s theses and three research articles.

633 SW Montgomery, Rm 210
Portland State University
Portland Oregon  97201


INTO launches partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University
INTO University Partnerships and Glasgow Caledonian University have joined forces in a partnership to establish a new international study centre. The contract was formally signed on Wednesday May 28 and the first students will begin their studies in June. INTO foundation colleges are designed to prepare international students for undergraduate and postgraduate study at UK universities by giving them intensive English language training alongside normal university level coursework in their chosen subjects. Students who pass all their coursework can then progress into specific second year undergraduate courses in the same way that they do from traditional further education colleges.

Not only is this partnership the first of its kind in Scotland, it is also the first ever INTO initiative with opportunities for professional career based learning which is important to many international students. INTO Chairman Andrew Colin said: "International students are looking for high quality pathways, sophisticated learning and living environments and most of all a university qualification that will launch their career. Glasgow Caledonian University is clearly exceptionally popular with its international student community and it has an accomplished track record in combining academic study with career orientation and industry links.

“I believe Scotland, and Glasgow in particular, offers international students a wonderful opportunity for personal development. To support this, the new INTO Centre will offer students a world-class experience."

University Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Pamela Gillies said: “This is good for our university, it’s good for the city of Glasgow, and it’s good for Scotland. Bringing more international students into the country is a positive move, which fits well with the Scottish Government’s Fresh Talent strategy and adds to the economic and cultural vibrancy of the country. International students will find Glasgow an exciting city to base themselves in. The joint venture partnership is good for our home based students as well, broadening their horizons and giving them the opportunity to meet and build relationships with other students from across the globe. It also means we join a prestigious network of institutions including the universities of Newcastle, East Anglia, and Exeter, all of whom are looking forward to working with us.”

In the first year the university anticipates a relatively small number of ‘INTO Scotland’ students but numbers could rise to 500 students by years five and six when new teaching and residential accommodation is completed.

INTO’s Academic Director, Lawrence Denholm, said: “We are delighted to be launching this Scottish foundation college in partnership with Glasgow Caledonian University. INTO prides itself on offering international students a first class experience and we believe partnering with Glasgow Caledonian will help us provide this. The university has an excellent international reputation and is widely recognised for successfully pursuing a strong internationalisation agenda for the benefit of all its students.”

 

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
Working Together for Sustainability – On Campus and Beyond
AASHE invites submissions of abstracts for its 2nd biennial conference - AASHE 2008: Working Together for Sustainability – On Campus and Beyond (Nov 9-11, 2008, Raleigh, NC).  AASHE 2008 offers an exciting and unique opportunity for every sector of higher education in the U.S. and Canada to demonstrate how colleges and universities and their partners can lead the way to a sustainable future. 

AASHE’s biennial conference is the largest gathering of its kind in the U.S. and Canada.  Well over 1,000 participants are expected to attend from higher education, business, non-profit and government. Given AASHE’s diverse mix of members, the event will have an impressive array of institutions and sustainability interests represented. 

Reflecting this year’s theme, “Working Together for Sustainability – On Campus and Beyond,” AASHE has partnered with Sustainable North Carolina to offer a special 2-day tradeshow -  “Sustainable Solutions Expo: Green Solutions for Campuses, Businesses, Institutions.”  Admission is included with conference registration. Other special events include AASHE’s awards banquet (included with registration), field trips to local campuses, a Career Fair, specialized pre-conference workshops, a pre-conference Student Summit, and engaging keynotes by Lester Brown, Peter Senge, Van Jones, and Vandana Shiva.

All proposal abstracts except posters are due by May 1 and may be submitted in three categories:  Education & Research, Operations, and Administration & Finance. 
Poster submissions are due by September 1.  For more details please visit the conference website:  www.aashe.org/conference, or email conference@aashe.org.


Victoria and Albert Museum and King’s College London Collaboration
An international conference co-organized by King's in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum, the world's leading museum of art and design, examining Chinese visual culture. Creative China will look at contemporary Chinese visual culture, exploring themes highlighted in the V&A's current exhibition China Design Now, including design and urbanism in relation to rapid economic development and social change.

Creative China: Visual Culture, Architecture and Design, has been co-organized by Dr Ralph Perfect and Alicia Liu of the Centre for Cultural, Media and Creative Industries Research (CMCI). ‘The V&A and King’s were keen to work together on this conference to explore the broader context of China Design Now exhibition’, Dr Parfect comments. ‘The V&A is world renowned for its Asian and contemporary design collections, while King’s has a growing expertise in the cultural and creative industries, as well as an increasing number of links with China.

This conference provides a chance for us all to look at China’s visual culture and to ask questions about what kinds of art, film, design and architecture are emerging and how they relate to cultural identity and social, economic and political influences.’ The two-day program features a range of presentations and panel discussions with leading academics, creative practitioners and arts professionals from China, Europe and the UK.

Highlights of the conference include a keynote speech by Sir Michael Bichard, the Chairman of the UK national strategic body for design, the Design Council, and a discussion of Chinese graphic design with Zhang Hongxing, Co-Curator of China Design Now.

Professor Rick Trainor, Principal of King’s, alongside Mark Jones, Director of the V&A, will introduce the conference. Dr Richard Howells, Reader in Cultural and Creative Industries and Director of the Centre for Cultural, Media and Creative Industries Research, will lead a session on fine art and photography.

The exhibition captures a dynamic phase as China opens up to global influences, and looks at developments in three rapidly expanding cities - Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. It displays the work of Chinese and international designers, focusing on architecture, fashion, youth culture and graphics as well as film, photography, product and furniture design and digital media.