Email a Friend
Print
Larger
SmallerMUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State University has been selected as one of 10 universities to participate in the Global Access Project (GAP), a foreign policy program sponsored by the Department of State and the Association of American State Colleges and Universities.
“Students will gain firsthand knowledge on how the United States engages with the rest of the world,” said Cyrus Reed, Ball State’s assistant provost for international education and GAP campus coordinator. “They’ll be able watch how the Department of State interacts with policymakers in Washington as well as the rest of the world.”
Partnering with the State Department will give students exposure to foreign policy and allow them to be recruited for jobs and internships, Reed added.
The program will bring State Department speakers to campus, both in person and via satellite. Students will be able to watch daily press briefings or download them from the Internet.
When Secretary of State Colin Powell talks about Iraq, students will watch the briefings or read original documents and be able to interpret for themselves rather than rely on snippets translated through newspapers or television, Reed said. An intense one-week foreign policy seminar in Washington has also been planned.
Ball State was also given the honor of hosting the first GAP campus town meeting. State Department representatives will give presentations consisting of short speeches with the majority of the session being reserved for audience participation.
The audience will not be limited to the campus venue, either. “Satellite audiences” will be able to participate at Ball State’s distance learning sites around Indiana.
“We’re expecting thousands of people for the town meetings,” Reed said. “Since we’re the first host, we can set the bar quite high and showcase Ball State’s technological prowess.”
The program and town meetings will also highlight how foreign policy impacts Hoosiers locally. About 25 percent of Indiana’s economy is a result of exports, foreign investment and immigrant labor, from foreign surgeons to migrant workers, Reed said. Many foreign companies have operations in Muncie, such as Japan’s Keihin Aircon North America.
“Getting firsthand exposure to foreign policy makes the concept less of an intellectual, think-tank topic and makes it more personal,” Reed said. “Seeing how global decisions affect local businesses, residents and the students themselves allow the concepts to truly sink in.”
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Reed at (765) 285-2160 or cyrusreed@bsu.edu. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news.)
By Layne Cameron, Media Relations Manager“Students will gain firsthand knowledge on how the United States engages with the rest of the world,” said Cyrus Reed, Ball State’s assistant provost for international education and GAP campus coordinator. “They’ll be able watch how the Department of State interacts with policymakers in Washington as well as the rest of the world.”
Partnering with the State Department will give students exposure to foreign policy and allow them to be recruited for jobs and internships, Reed added.
The program will bring State Department speakers to campus, both in person and via satellite. Students will be able to watch daily press briefings or download them from the Internet.
When Secretary of State Colin Powell talks about Iraq, students will watch the briefings or read original documents and be able to interpret for themselves rather than rely on snippets translated through newspapers or television, Reed said. An intense one-week foreign policy seminar in Washington has also been planned.
Ball State was also given the honor of hosting the first GAP campus town meeting. State Department representatives will give presentations consisting of short speeches with the majority of the session being reserved for audience participation.
The audience will not be limited to the campus venue, either. “Satellite audiences” will be able to participate at Ball State’s distance learning sites around Indiana.
“We’re expecting thousands of people for the town meetings,” Reed said. “Since we’re the first host, we can set the bar quite high and showcase Ball State’s technological prowess.”
The program and town meetings will also highlight how foreign policy impacts Hoosiers locally. About 25 percent of Indiana’s economy is a result of exports, foreign investment and immigrant labor, from foreign surgeons to migrant workers, Reed said. Many foreign companies have operations in Muncie, such as Japan’s Keihin Aircon North America.
“Getting firsthand exposure to foreign policy makes the concept less of an intellectual, think-tank topic and makes it more personal,” Reed said. “Seeing how global decisions affect local businesses, residents and the students themselves allow the concepts to truly sink in.”
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Reed at (765) 285-2160 or cyrusreed@bsu.edu. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news.)
