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Bachelor's and Master's Programs

Alumni Newsletter - Summer 2020

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Edition no. 25
Summer 2020


Table of Contents


IAU Celebrates its Vibrant and Supportive Community of Alumni and Donors During Unprecedented Times


Dear Alumni,

This summer we are writing to you with an abridged version of our quarterly alumni e-newsletter as we understand that there is a lot of news and information out there that rightfully require your attention more urgently than we do. In this shortened newsletter, we would like to share a few exciting updates as well as express our gratitude to each and every one of you for the continued support of IAU throughout the years. We would not be where we are today -- 63 years strong and more committed to our mission of international education than ever -- without the support of our alumni and donors.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the higher education industry, along with virtually every other industry, forcing colleges and universities around the world to reevaluate how they will teach courses and retain students. With the closure of borders and on-the-ground restrictions in cities across the globe, international education has been hit especially hard. We are feeling the effects of this crisis with record low enrollments both for the current summer term and upcoming fall term. We have luckily been able to pivot to online and virtual models to create meaningful experiences for students that crave international connections even if they cannot physically travel abroad. The low enrollments have unfortunately affected our ability to maintain our full team of personnel both on-site in France and Spain as well as in our U.S. office. Without the entirety of our fantastic and dedicated faculty and staff, many of whom you all know and love, we are less able to provide the excellent international education experience for which we are known. We have had to make some difficult decisions to reduce operating expenses in order to lower tuition costs, freeze fees for the next two years, and be even more competitive with our discount and scholarship packages in order to entice U.S. universities and students to enroll with IAU during such an uncertain time. 

While we are certain that we will emerge from this crisis stronger than ever, we could use your support in this interim period. We have received many generous gifts from our donors and trustees in the last several weeks and months. If you are a donor who usually gives toward the end of the calendar year for #GivingTuesday or during the holiday season, we would like to kindly and humbly ask you to consider donating to IAU now instead to help us close out our fiscal year, which ends on July 31st.

We understand that there are many worthy and important causes to support at this moment in our collective history and that many people may not be in a position to donate given how many livelihoods have been impacted.  Your support, however, may take many forms, and we would like to remind you that there are many other ways to support your international alma mater that do not involve donating money, including (but not limited to): 1. Support IAU on Amazon Smile; 2. Write a review of your program on Google, GoOverseas, Facebook, or another site; 3. Remember IAU in your estate plans; 4. Tell a college-aged friend about your experience at IAU; 5. Share IAU's social media posts with your network; and 6. Become an alumni ambassador. More details about each of these opportunities are below.

It is with immense gratitude and affection that we write to you all today. We hope that your families and loved ones are staying safe and healthy during this time. Please know that your IAU family is with you and thanks you for your support and dedication.

All the best,
Your IAU Family


Where Do Donations Go?


Depending on which fund you donate to, IAU donations go to a range of different places -- all of which support IAU's mission to provide excellence in international education, inspire intercultural awareness, and prepare students for success in a global community. We have a number of different scholarship funds available to donate to, including: The Herbert Maza Full Year Scholarship, The Amos Booth French Honors Program Scholarship, the John Rewald Art & Art History Scholarship, and more. Donations made to scholarship funds go directly to student scholarships that IAU awards every term to deserving study abroad students.

Donors may also elect to donate to IAU's Endowment Fund. IAU’s Endowment is fundamental to the Institute's ability to plan for the long-term and to manage during turbulent economic and diplomatic times. The fund provides for a permanent source of income to support the Institute's academic programs and provides for future growth while fulfilling IAU’s need for a predictable income stream.

Some donors simply donate to "Unrestricted Gifts." This choice supports IAU's operating budget and assists with funding financial priorities, including: innovative programming, the hiring of faculty and staff, expanding operations to new cities or new buildings, scholarships and grants for diversity students, and more. 

We invite you to explore IAU's various donation funds by visiting www.iau.edu/donate


Ways to Support IAU



There are many ways to donate to IAU. Regardless of the amount or the form that a donation may take, IAU is deeply humbled by the action itself. Whether donors wish to honor or commemorate an individual, or contribute to buildings and classrooms through IAU's Naming and Legacy Opportunities, or help ensure the excellence of IAU programs for future generations of students, we invite potential donors to consider and select one or more of the donation opportunities listed below and on the IAU website. We sincerely thank you for your support.

Donate Now



Support IAU on Amazon Smile
Consider supporting IAU on Amazon Smile. You shop how you normally would on Amazon.com, and a percentage of the proceeds goes directly to IAU. 

Support IAU on Amazon Smile


Write a Review of Your Experience at IAU

Did you know that many students find IAU through Google, Facebook, and study abroad review sites? Because of this, positive reviews from our dedicated alumni help us market to prospective students. We encourage you to take a few minutes to write a thoughtful review of your time at IAU! 

  • Google - follow the link and click "Write A Review" to begin your Google review. Please note that though this shows IAU in Aix-en-Provence, reviews from all programs and locations are welcomed on this page.
  • Facebook - did you know you can review IAU on Facebook? Many alumni have already shared their wonderful experiences on Facebook, and we'd appreciate you adding your voice!
  • GoOverseas - many students go searching for study abroad programs using sites like GoOverseas.com, which compiles reviews from alumni to help prospective students find the best programs for them! Click on this link to go to IAU's page and click "Leave a Review." Pick the program that most closely aligns with the program you participated in at IAU. We appreciate it!
  • GoAbroad.com - like GoOverseas.com, GoAbroad.com similarly helps students find an abroad program that will fit their needs. Follow this link, find the program listing that most closely fits your experience, and leave a review.
We appreciate the time and effort it takes to write these reviews. If we have not listed a site above that you have used to review IAU in the past, please let us know! Thank you!

Remember IAU in Your Estate Plans: The Mont Sainte-Victoire Society

IAU is extremely grateful to our alumni and other supporters who have remembered IAU in their estate planning. The Mont Saint-Victoire Legacy Society is an association for donors who have included IAU in their estate plans through a planned gift or other charitable donation.

If you have already included IAU in your estate plans, please let us know so we can honor and thank you and include you as a member of our Mont Sainte-Victoire Society.

For more information about remembering IAU in your estate plans, please contact 
Kurt Schick, Vice President of U.S. Operations.


Tell a Friend About IAU or ACM

Do you have children, nieces, nephews, friends, grandchildren, or acquaintances that are in high school or college? One of the best ways to support IAU is by spreading the word to those in your community. Tell the story of your own personal experience and encourage students to learn more about study abroad programs in France, Spain, and Morocco with IAU or about degree-granting undergraduate and graduate programs in Aix-en-Provence with ACM. More information about all of our programs are at our websites: www.iau.edu and www.acmfrance.org. Pass it on! 


Follow IAU on Social Media 

IAU and ACM both have social media accounts on all the major platforms. We post updates from campus, opportunities for alumni, nostalgic photos of Barcelona, Aix-en-Provence, and other locations in Europe and North Africa, and more! We invite you to follow along!

IAU: FacebookInstagram | TwitterLinkedIn
ACM: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn


Become an Alumni Ambassador

Have you heard about IAU's Alumni Ambassador Program? If you are interested in staying connected to your time abroad with IAU, spreading the word about study abroad, and sharing your love for international travel with others, then the Alumni Ambassador Program might be for you! The IAU Ambassador Program was established in 2010 as a way to organize the more than 20,000 alumni who have completed their summer, semester, J-Term, or academic year at IAU. The goal of the program is to build a volunteer corps who can best represent IAU and to develop a robust and active network of IAU students, past, present, and future. Alumni of IAU have gone on to become diplomats, business men and women, doctors, lawyers, teachers, and leaders in their respective fields. The IAU Ambassadors form a prestigious group designed for interested IAU alumni to share their study abroad experience with prospective students, faculty, and the study abroad office on their home campus as well as organize with other alumni to keep the IAU network strong. Over the years, the program has evolved, and now in addition to fulfilling the program's original goals, IAU Ambassadors assist with visits to other university campuses, represent IAU at Study Abroad Fairs across the United States and organize alumni events across the nation. IAU Ambassadors are drawn from all IAU programs, academic disciplines, and class years. IAU has over 40 ambassadors representing it at over 30 universities.

Applicants must be:

  • Former IAU student from any IAU program and location
  • Able to commit about 10 hours of time per semester
  • Excited to talk about studying abroad with prospective students!

If you're interested in becoming an alumni ambassador at your current university or at your alma mater, please click the button below or email alumni@iau.edu

Apply to Become an Alumni Ambassador


Updates from IAU

Graduation 2020 Ceremony in Aix-en-Provence

   

Graduating students, IAU/ACM faculty and staff, and community members gathered on Saturday, June 20th at the School of Art to celebrate the 2020 graduates from the American College of the Mediterranean. Though this ceremony had been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting smaller, outdoor ceremony and reception proved to be a beautiful and personal way to celebrate a cohort of graduates who faced many challenges and unusual circumstances during this unprecedented last semester. We congratulate all of our graduates and wish them the best as they move on to other endeavors. 

List of Graduates

Bachelor of Arts
Gabrielle Chastenet de Géry (International Relations)  •  Peggy Cormary (Visual Arts)
Claire Saint Pierre (Business Administration)

Global Master of Business Administration
Raphaella Mercier

Master of Arts in French Studies
Emily Rosman  •  Katherine Hoover

Master of Arts in International Relations
Corey Brown  •  Leah Fayal  •  America Silva  •  Miriam Taylor

Master of Fine Arts in Painting
Violetta Miles  •  Nicholas Velleman  •  Alexandra Wheeler

Photos from the graduation may be found on IAU's Flickr page. 

 


IAU Mourns the Loss of Dr. Constantine Christofides

The IAU family is very sad to announce the passing of one of its most influential professors, Dr. Constantine Christofides. Students of Dr. Christofides will remember fondly the breadth and the depth of Dr. Christofides’ knowledge, as well as his commitment to IAU students’ meaningful and long-lasting academic experience while studying in France and in Europe in general. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Dr. Christofides taught at IAU from 1997 to 2009. He arrived at IAU from the University of Washington where he had served as both a professor and as Chair of Romance Languages over a thirty-year period. Armed with his influential volume Art of the West: Medieval to Modern Times: A Commentary, Dr. Christofides led IAU students of his course “Tragic Vision” into the profound and far-reaching complexities of European art and culture, studying artists from Sophocles to T.S. Eliot. Many students will remember the intense reading as well as the creative work they produced under Dr. Christofides’ guidance and the many visits they undertook with the advantage of his encyclopedic knowledge of the region and its culture. Dr. Christofides’ legacy lives on at IAU and in the many IAU alumni whose lives he forever affected.



Art of the West: Medieval to Modern Times by Constantine Christofides was published in 2001 and dedicated to his students, including those in Aix and Avignon.

IAU Launches Virtual Summer Programs

IAU is pleased to introduce its Virtual Experiences Program this Summer 2020. The virtual programs will draw on IAU's expertise in experiential-based learning while taking advantage of our wide network of professional contacts in France, Spain, Morocco, and beyond. Students will choose from academic courses, global internships, consulting projects, and social impact practicums/experiential learning projects to customize their summer virtual experience. 

As part of this experience, the following virtual programs are available: 

These virtual programs will continue to be available into the fall and in future terms, as well. We invite our alumni who are interested in participating in a virtual program to reach out to Rose Guth, IAU's Assistant Director of Admissions & Alumni Affairs, for more information on these programs and the application process.

Looking Ahead to Fall Semester

We would like to inform and/or remind our community that IAU will be hosting on-the-ground programs in the fall 2020 semester and will be offering a full array of academic courses in Aix-en-Provence and Barcelona.  In addition to study abroad students, IAU will also be welcoming degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate students in fall 2020 (through our degree-granting branch, the American College of the Mediterranean) who will be on campus year-round.  In the event that IAU is not able to host in-person classes due to in-country health and safety guidelines, we will be offering virtual course options as part of our fall 2020 Virtual Experiences.  

IAU remains optimistic that students will have the opportunity to travel to Europe for the fall semester and is encouraged by Campus France’s recent announcement that visiting international students will be granted a travel waiver to enter France regardless of their country of origin.  In addition, the EU's recent statement on the opening of borders starting July 1st does not allow for U.S. tourists to enter yet, but provides an exception for those whose travel is deemed essential, including "Third-country nationals travelling for the purpose of study." This exemption from the travel restrictions for international students applies to all students participating in programs, whether the program duration exceeds 90 days or is less than 90 days.  IAU’s amended fall 2020 semester calendar includes a later start date (starting in late September) and has a duration of less than 90 days (eliminating the need for U.S. passport-holders to obtain a student visa).  We are hopeful that these updates will allow our students to travel to France and/or Spain this fall semester.

In order to meet the needs of our partner institutions and their students, IAU will also be offering our Virtual Experiences in the fall 2020 semester and beyond.  Students will have the option to enroll in 3, 6, or 9 units, which can be comprised of our Virtual Global InternshipsVirtual Consulting Internships (Project-based), Social Impact Practicums, and virtual academic courses (course offerings to be confirmed in the coming weeks). 

Alumni are encouraged to apply for these virtual programs. Please reach out to Rose Guth, IAU's Assistant Director of Admissions & Alumni Affairs, for more information on these programs and how to apply.


Do you have any updates or information you would like to share in the next alumni newsletter? Contact alumni@iau.edu or call 1.800.221.2051 to share your story. We'd love to hear from you!