Winter is barely over, and yet the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication (SIIC) feels like it’s almost upon us.  SIIC is the focus of this issue of Connections, but look for important MAIR program dates, IDI events, and more.

• Early-Bird SIIC Deadline in May
• Internships and Other Opportunities at SIIC
• Host an Intern
• Master’s Program Dates and Theses Topics
• IDI Trainings and Conference
• ICI Faculty Honored
• New ICI Staff
• Man in the Middle, Then and Now

If you register by May 31 for SIIC, you’ll receive a discount of $100 on tuition for a 5-day workshop, $50 for a 3-day workshop, and $25 for a Sample of SIIC mini-seminar.

Early-bird registration allows you to avoid the possibility of a sold-out workshop, and helps us make your SIIC experience as smooth as possible. Registration forms are available online, or call the office and we’ll send you one.

ICI offers a number of ways to experience SIIC from the inside out, learn more about the field, receive a tuition discount, or all three. More information on all of these programs is available at our web site and in the SIIC brochure:

New Interculturalists Program-- This limited-enrollment program is geared toward professionals transferring from another field to intercultural work, and college graduates considering a career in the intercultural realm. Participants gain a theoretical and practical overview of the field, including a review of core concepts in intercultural relations and an exploration of career options. New Interculturalists work closely with select SIIC faculty, and actually help implement the Summer Institute in the days leading up to Session I. The program fee includes a three-day Foundations of Intercultural Communication workshop and Sample of SIIC presentation. For more information, please contact our office and ask for Franki.

SIIC Interns-- There’s no better way to become a part of the worldwide Interculturalist community than taking part in the Summer Institute as a SIIC Intern (not to be confused with ICI Interns, described below). This competitive program involves a 3-week commitment, and combines elements of a mentoring program with a chance to get a more extensive behind-the-scenes Institute experience. SIIC Interns receive a substantial discount on tuition and room and board in return for logistic and other support for a designated faculty member. Please contact Franki in the ICI office.

ICI Interns-- These helpful folk, coming from diverse backgrounds and different countries, come to Portland to work in the ICI office for longer periods of time, often between May and September. Interns are college-aged or older, including a few graduate students. Not infrequently, they are working professionals looking to develop their knowledge and skills as interculturalists. Contact Sandra or Kent in the ICI office.

We’re assembling a list of people in the Portland area who might be interested in providing temporary housing for ICI interns (see description above). We’re specifically looking for temporary housing for a female intern from the Netherlands who is coming to work in the ICI office from July 1 through the end of September.

This could be a great chance to add an intercultural component to your daily life and support the intercultural work we do. Your commitment would be fairly minimal beyond the provision of basic room and board, for which you would receive a small stipend. No commitment is being asked for at this time, but please contact Sandra if you might be interested in being added to the list of potential host families.

Join our Master of Arts in Intercultural Relations (MAIR) program and learn ways of making a difference in the world. Gain new skills and knowledge to bring about growth, innovation, and development – locally or globally.

May 19 is the application deadline for Summer 2008 enrollment. Applications received after that date cannot be guaranteed review in time to start with the MAIR 2008 summer residency, which runs from June 27 to July 12 for new students, and June 29 to July 12 for returning students.

Every summer MAIR students have the opportunity to extend their stay one or two weeks to take advantage of the Summer Institute courses. These may be taken for credit and used toward the degree’s elective requirements. Talk to Kent (503-297-4622) about which workshops would best fit your needs.

Click here for more information about the MAIR program or contact Kent in the ICI office.

Each year students in the MAIR program accept the challenge of conducting research and often designing programs as part of their master’s theses. The scope of their studies is wide, and their research subjects break new ground in the field. Here is a list of some of this year’s topics; they reflect the exciting diversity of questions being raised by our students.

• The disability culture of Japan
• Intercultural interventions with study abroad students
• Intercultural communication and prejudice reduction training
• Intercultural competency in U.S. multinational corporations
• Cultural barriers between the impoverished and middle classes
• Identity negotiation in multicultural families
• Post-ethnic conflict resolution

Our May and June Qualifying Seminars are filling up! These seminars on the Intercultural Development Inventory^TM will take place May 15-17 in Portland, and June 23-25 in Minneapolis. If you have a friend or colleague who might be interested in becoming a Qualified IDI Administrator, please encourage them to sign up now.

Space is also limited in our Advanced Workshops, two-day intensive sessions on focused topics held immediately following the Qualifying Seminars. The workshops are open to all Qualified IDI Administrators, whether first-time trainers or seasoned presenters. See below for dates and more information.

Developmental Training Interventions (May 18-19, Portland): Explore methods for using IDI results in designing and implementing effective training. You will explore the state of the art in training interventions, using IDI results to sequence your activities based on the learners’ developmental readiness, and examine specific guidelines for creating intentional training interventions that minimize resistance and promote development. Presented by Michael Paige and Mitchell Hammer.

Coaching for Intercultural Development (June 26-27, Minneapolis): This intensive, hands-on program will help you design and conduct effective intercultural coaching using the IDI profile. You will learn specific coaching strategies and techniques for guiding intercultural development, while actively engaging with other participants in sharpening your coaching skills through realistic role-play scenarios and case studies. Presented by T. Glen Sebera, Akiko Maeker, and/or Mitchell Hammer.

The announcement of the first-ever IDI Conference has generated a great deal of interest so far. The conference will take place October 3-4 in Minneapolis and is open ONLY to Qualified IDI Administrators. The conference will offer best practices in using the IDI for coaching, training, and assessment, and will present cutting-edge case studies by fellow IDI Administrators. Mark your calendars!

Earlier this month, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) selected one hundred “global thought leaders” from around the world to attend a Leadership Summit on Diversity and Inclusion in Washington, D.C. We’re please to report that eight of the one hundred thought leaders were faculty members from the Summer Institute. The gathering considered the future issues of global and domestic diversity, and potential approaches to contemporary demands for global talent that can manage diversity successfully.

There have been several staff transitions in the ICI office since last year’s Summer Institute. Greg Walker and Riikka Salonen left to join the Scholar Ship, Maggie Black went off to medical school, and Franki Trujillo-Dalbey is semi-retired to the Oregon Coast (she’ll be back for SIIC). When you call or email our office, you may hear from the following talented and friendly folks:

• Debra Freathy, IDI Administrator: Debra relocated to Portland from Switzerland to join ICI. She was an MBA-program educator and had a clinical practice in family and couples therapy for ten years, in which she made extensive use of the IDI.
• Joel Dippold, Director of Marketing: Joel is back in the nonprofit world after a long hiatus in the tech sector. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana (’85-’87), Joel is looking forward to reconnecting to intercultural issues.
• Helen Vu, Administrative Assistant: Helen comes to us from the Portland office of AFS. She has also worked with nonprofits including SEIU, the Mary Babb Cancer Research Center, Working America, Defend Oregon, and Obama for America.

We did a little math, and not counting these three people, the average tenure in the ICI office is more than 16 years! Debra, Joel, and Helen are glad to be part of such an experienced team.

In 1993, ICI Executive Director Janet Bennett wrote a chapter about cultural marginality for Michael Paige’s book Education for the Intercultural Experience. Searching for a case study to open the chapter, she came upon the story of a young African American who was the first Black editor of the Harvard Law Review.

Her chapter noted that he “…is described as ‘very unusual’ by one of his professors, because he combines insight and diplomacy, self-confidence and modesty. European American students complain that too much attention is paid to his race; African American students are angered that he failed to select more African Americans for positions at the Review. Some question his motives and find it puzzling that he is conciliatory toward conservatives; others say now that he has been elected, his feat is meaningless since he has become part of the Establishment. Still others point to his long record of social responsibility and apparent commitment to community work and political affairs.

“In some ways…he presents us with an ideal case study of a man in the middle of many cultures,” she continued. “While various cultural groups may each seek his allegiance, he appears to claim for himself an identity that is beyond any single cultural perspective.”

This may have been Barack Obama’s first mention in the field of interculturalism, but far from his last. “I’ve been following his career from 1993 until now,“ says Janet, “and he continues to exhibit the quality of being ‘dynamically-in-between.’”