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The East Stroudsburg University Provost’s Colloquium Series will continue this fall. The new semester of lectures begins with a presentation by Nancy VanArsdale, Ph.D., professor of English, Tim Connolly, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, and Annie Mendoza, Ph.D., associate professor of modern languages. The multi-departmental talk will discuss travel experiences abroad in China and Cuba that provided learning experiences in May 2017. The talk will be on September 13 at 5:30 p.m. in Beers Lecture Hall on ESU’s campus.

When the spring 2017 semester ended, the learning continued for students who participated in ESU-sponsored travel abroad. For the first-time ever, ESU students were able to go to Cuba to experience the history and culture of this mysterious country. Drs. VanArsdale and Mendoza worked closely with the experts at Education First, a Cuban-licensed education tour operator, to design a travel itinerary that would expose ESU students to the rapid changes occurring in Cuba. The trip began with an overnight stay in Little Havana, Miami, accompanied by a program orientation. The group then spent a week in Havana, Cuba with guided day tours to cultural, political and economic institutions inside and outside of the city.

On the other side of the world, Dr. Connolly organized and led a group of students on a learning experience in China. ESU students were able to earn credits while studying at Henan and Changsha Universities. This travel program included visits to Beijing and allowed students to experience a completely different culture. ESU continues to capitalize on partnerships that were first established with Chinese universities more than thirty years ago. ESU now regularly sends students and faculty to China and sponsors annual exchanges of Chinese students and faculty for semesters of study at ESU’s campus.

This symposium talk will place an emphasis on the unique educational and cultural learning experiences of the ESU students who participated in the May 2017 international travel programs.

For more information about the Provost’s Colloquium Series, contact Christina McDonald, director, office of sponsored projects and research, at (570) 422-7954 or cmcdonald9@esu.edu.