Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Virginia Tech Welcomes Thirty-two VTLCI Admissions


VTLCI congratulates thirty-two VTLCI Intensive English students offered admission to undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech for this coming spring and fall semesters. Let's go HOKIES!



Yu Bai
Naiqi Cao
Yu Chu
Yifan Gu
Ziyun Guo
Xueyan Han
Bangxin Lan
Jingyi Liu


Yuanyanyan Liu
Kai Lu
Weihan Luo
Yueran Meng
Jiaheng Song
Ruizhe Song
Yongyan Sun
Wei Tang


Muzi Ti
Sahowei Wan
Chuo Wu
Dexuan Xu
Rui Xu
Zhechong Xu
Wentao Yang
Jialun Yu


Fanmin Zhai
Baosheng Zhang
Shaoshan Zhang
Xiao "Sean" Zhang
Yu Zhang
Mingrui Zhao
Yuan Zhou
Zhanni Zhou



Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Former VTLCI Humphrey Fellow Wins UNESCO Award


PANAMA CITY, Panama – On November 23, Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship alumnus Arturo Cerezo, who serves as resources specialist at the Division of Natural Environment of the Panamá Canal Authority, was honored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), for having the best written work during HELP Basin Symposium 2011, held in Panama November 21- 24, 2011.

The scientific paper was described by UNESCO as a model for the region and the world, combining science and community experiences to manage integrated natural resources. Cerezo’s paper was selected from 200 submissions by scientists from 64 countries, in which he analyzes the process of reforestation with native species in Panama Canal Basin and proposes an innovative framework for the preservation of Biodiversity, erosion reduction and control of native species.

Cerezo was honored during the closing ceremony by Dr Shahbaz Khan, who is coordinator of Global Ecohydrology Program and head of the Section of Water and Sustainable Development of UNESCO, based in Paris, France.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

My Valdivia Travelogue IV

By Georgia Wyche

So far, the second semester at UACh has been going well even though things are busier than a normal semester.  Things are busier and the classes are more intensive because professors have to cover all of the required course material in a shorter period of time. For this reason, many classes are meeting on more days during the week and on Saturdays. The students are also more overwhelmed with work than during a typical second semester.

Bird's eye view of UACH campus
Normally, the second semester at Chilean universities begins in July and ends in December. As you know, this semester is very different due to the months of striking. The classes began at the beginning of November and will end in March.  Also, many of the classes will have to be taught online in January because many of the students will not be in Valdivia during the months of January and February. The months of December, January and February are summer months and considered the tourist season in Valdivia. During these months, the cabin/apartment rentals and the cost of living increase.  As a result of these changes, many of the students have to leave Valdivia because their leases are finished and they aren’t able to afford the rentals in the summer.

I continue to stay active and busy at UACh.  I’ve been teaching my applied linguistics classes two days a week, holding regular office hours and advising a group of English pedagogy students on their theses. Along with my applied linguistics classes and duties, I’m continuing to teach English conversation classes to honors students and professors at the Virginia Tech Center. The English conversation classes will stop at the end of December and I’ll begin another project for the UACh/Virginia Tech Center.  The new project will consist of creating and teaching a class on scientific/academic presentations to researchers and professors.  I’m looking forward to this new project.

In addition to teaching classes, I’m continuing to strengthen the relationship between UACh and Virginia Tech. For instance, I often encourage my students to consider going abroad and perhaps doing a graduate degree at an American university, such as Virginia Tech.

At the beginning of November, I also had the pleasure of meeting Mr. John H. Rossmeisl, an associate professor in neurology and neurosurgery at the Virginia Tech Veterinary School.  Mr. Rossmeisl was a visiting scholar who traveled to Valdivia to teach a continuing education class on surgery at the UACh Veterinary Hospital.  His classes were very beneficial to the surgeons and the clinicians.  The UACh Veterinary School looks forward to inviting other scholars, like Mr. Rossmeisl, to teach and demonstrate innovative methods for the professional development of their faculty members.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

VTLCI Names New Business Manager

Director Donald Back is pleased to announce the appointment of Bryan Ducote to the newly created position of Business Manager for the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute (VTLCI).

Ducote joins the Institute with extensive experience in managing the business and fiscal affairs of both public and non-profit organizations.  He formerly served as Vice President of Business Affairs for a statewide organization in California that provided alternative educational, training, and employment related services to seniors and people with disabilities.  There, Ducote was responsible for the financial, budgetary, business, human resources, and administrative affairs of this multi-million dollar organization.  Prior to this, Ducote served in similar business manager positions for the Cities of Chula Vista and Paramount, Calif., and as a business officer for the State of California.

A native of Indianapolis, Indiana, Ducote holds a Master of Public administration (MPA) degree from the University of Southern California as well as a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Claremont McKenna College.