Fordham University may be expanding its global presence overseas, but its own summer session has strengthened its international presence right here at home.
The program, which consists of two back-to-back summer semesters, has attracted a new crop of students from South Africa’s University of Pretoria (UP), this summer to participate in Fordham’s Emerging Markets and Country Risk Analysis program.
The students, who are co-sponsored by the Counsul General of South Africa, live on campus during the week and do home stays on the weekend, said Booi Themeli, Ph.D., assistant professor of economics.
The exchange is part of an UP/Fordham institutional agreement that will also send Fordham students to Pretoria in August, said Themeli.
“The program offers the South African students special courses and, at the same time, gives them the American experience,” said Themeli, who said that students would visit the top New York-based financial institutions as part of their study.
Also attending Fordham’s summer program are several French students from INSEEC Business Schools in Paris and Bordeaux, who are living in Rose Hill residence halls and taking business classes required to complete their advanced degrees. Their visit is part of a long-standing exchange agreement that has brought diversity and good will to the University’s summer sessions over the years.
By way of Brooklyn Amity School, five Turkish high school students are participating in the University’s s pre-college program, which allows rising high school seniors to join Fordham students in the classroom and earn college credit.
“We have significantly more visiting and international students this year than last, and are proud to offer a transformative experience through our summer program,” said Ron Jacobson, Ph.D., associate vice president, dean of Summer Session. “Spending a summer in New York, one of the world’s most dynamic cities, can only strengthen their global perspective.”
Jacobson added that several of this year’s summer courses had an international and/or cosmopolitan slant. They include:
— Fordham’s first class in “Twi, a Language of Ghana”, taught by Bernard Hayford, Ph.D., an African immigration scholar from Southern Connecticut State University. Fordham is the only New York City university to offer Twi, which is widely spoken among the City’s West African immigrants;
— Special emphasis on coverage of the World Cup Tournament in Fordham ‘s 11th annual “Sports Communication Institute,” offering hands-on experience in the art of sports writing, broadcasting, sports marketing, and effective sports public relations;
— “Sustainable New York,” an intensive summer workshop in big city “green” design, including visits to buildings, parks, and construction sites and a visit to the Science Barge in the Hudson River.
For a complete list of Fordham’s Summer Session II offerings visit Fordham.edu/summer.
