I1 fidigan Oaim
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
michigandaily.com
INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
At 'U; rise in
study abroad
leads trend
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re students going fice has amped up its recruitment
efforts to encourage more students
oreign countries, to study abroad.
She said the OIP has organized
w report shows presentations in residence halls
and spoke to numerous student or-
By NICOLE ABER ganizations on campus, while also
Daily StaffReporter advertising more frequently in an
effort to generate more interest in
number of University stu- -studying abroad. The office is cur-
studying abroad has in- rently running a half-page adver-
d at a rate faster than the tisement in its off-campus maga-
al average, propelling it into zine.
mber six spot for doctoral LeBlanc also said that instead
tions with the most students of sending postcards to all incom-
ng abroad in the 2006-2007 ing students at their homes dur-
sic year. ing the summer, as it did last year,
year, the University was the office now sends them to the
15th. students' on-campus addresses
ing the 2006-2007 academic closer to the study abroad fair.
2,055 University students This has been effective in cap-
d abroad, up from the 1,701 turing the attention of more stu-
ts who studied abroad dur- dents," she said.
2005-2006 year, according LeBlanc said University admin-
Open Doors 2008 report, istrators have also made an effort
onal study abroad statistics' to get involved with advertising
ation, released last week. the study abroad option. She said
University's.numbers rep- LSA Dean Terrence McDonald, in
an increase of 20.8 percent, particular, has reached out to stu-
han double the national av- dents on campus about the ben-
tf 8 percent. efits of taking courses in another
ole LeBlanc, assistant direc- country.
:he University's Office of In- "There is a lot of interest from
onal Programs, said the of- See STUDY ABROAD, Page 7
Williams receives Carnegie
award as teacher of the year
Dramatic English
professor will retire
after winter term
By ELAINE LAFAY
Daily StaffReporter
The first time LSA senior Lau-
ren Sarkesian walked into her
"Shakespeare's Principal Plays"
lecture, she thought it was a nice
gesture when the professor went
around and shook everyone's hand
in the Angell Hall Auditorium, but
figured it was simply a one-time
thing on the first day of the semes-
ter.
Then he did it again the next
class. And the one after that.
His insistence on greeting all
students - even in large lecture
classes - is only one trademark of
English Prof. Ralph Williams who
was recently awarded the state-
wide 2008 Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching
Michigan Professor of the Year
Award.
Sarkesian said she thought his
persistent effort to get to know all
his students on, a personal level
make him an ideal candidate for
the Carnegie award.
"People will bring their parents
to lecture really often because he's
so unique," she said. "The lecture
hall is always packed."
Though Williams said he was
honored to win the award, he
said he mostly sees himself as a
representative of the larger style
of teaching that the foundation
wants to acknowledge.
"There are so many professors
who give their lives to their stu-
dents and to their studies at the
University of Michigan, let alone
the state," he said. "There's no
way obviously to honor them all
- it would be a virtually endless
list - so I reckon that they settle
on someone who does many of
the things that they would like to
honor more generally."
The Carnegie Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching and
the Council for Advancement and
Support of Education sponsor the
award. There are four national
winners and 46 state-level win-
ners, of which Williams is one
winner.
Past winners include Central
Michigan University Education
Prof. Norma Bailey and Wayne
State University Communication
Prof. George Ziegelmueller.
Williams's experience at the
University of Michigan is long and
distinguished. He has served as
chair of the University's graduate
English program, head of the Uni-
versity's Great Books program, di-
rector for the Program on Studies
in Religion and, most recently, as
the associate chair of the English
department.
He has also become something
of a celebrity among his current
and former students. That's due
in large part to his dramatic ap-
proach to lecturing.
He recites lines form works as
if acting on a stage. He infuses so
much energy and emotion into
some lectures that they end with
Williams wiping tears from his
face. Some of his favorite lines -
he starts every most lectures by
See PROFESSOR, Page 7
GOING AWAY
The University saw a 20 percentjump in the number of students studying abroad
2005-
2006
2006-
2007
1,701
2,055
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500
SOURCE: 2008 OPEN DOORS REPORT
CHARITY RIVALRY
Wolverines defeat
Buckeyes finally
1 Michigan donors BY THE NUMBERS
give more blood for
first time since 2001 2333
OBJECTIVE: A BETTER RESUME FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES
Student pushes to add
conversational classes
By VERONICA MENALDI
Daily StaffReporter
At least Michigan beat Ohio State
in something this weekend.
The University of Michigan
broke a six-year run by Ohio State
University this weekend, giving the
most blood during this year's Blood
Battle competition.
Michigan donors gave 2,333 pints
during the 18-day drive, compared
to the 2,152 pints given by students
at Ohio State.
"It'sjustfantasticbecausewith2,333
pints, with each pint having the poten-
tialto save three lives,nearly7,000 lives
could be saved" said LSA sophomore
Mary Rock, one ofthe Blood Battle co-
chairs."It's not just about beatingOSU.
See BLOOD BATTLE, Page 7
Pints of blood donated by people
at the University of Michigan
181
More -pints given at Michigan
than from Ohio State
The record in the competition,
with Michigan leading by one in
the history of the series
SOURCE: BLOOD BATTLE ORGANIZERS
Sophomore thinks
Spanish courses
should teach more
than literature
By JENNA SKOLLER
Daily StaffReporter
Most visitors to a foreign
country spend more time asking
for directions and ordering food
than they spend discussing great
works of literature.
That's why LSA sophomore
Laura Hlebasko wants to help
make the University's Spanish
classes more conversational.
"Many students wish to learn
a lot more colloquialisms and to
converse with people," she said.
"You know, you're not going to
go to a foreign country and talk
about Don Quixote."
In an effort to move Spanish
courses in the College of Litera-
ture, Science and the Arts away
fromtheir traditionalfocus on an-
alyzing written works, Hlebasko
has spoken with several profes-
sors to see how classes could be
more more conversational.
Hiebasko, a member of the LSA
Student Government's Academic
Affairs Committee, said she sur-
veyed the University's existing
Spanish programs and found the
Residential College's system to be
"fantastic."
The RC's Spanish program of-
fers Tertulia, or Spanish coffee
hours, four times a week to en-
courage students to speak Span-
ish in informal situations. Several
students and teachers usually at-
tend the meetings.
Students enrolled in the pro-
gram are expected to attend
Tertulia regularly and are permit-
ted to bring other Spanish-speak-
ing faculty and friends, according
to the program's website.
"In these situations, students
See SPANISH, Page 7
tRISTA BOYD/DaisD
Shamille Orr (right), an assistant tutor from The Career Center, helps School of
Information graduate student Chih-Ming Yi improve his resume during a workshop
yesterday.
WEATHER HI: 35
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