Tusculum College students in Advanced Studies in Fiction and Seminar in Literature and Society classes spent 10 days immersed in Catalonia culture while studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain. Picture from top left are: William Kemper, Austen Herron, Justin Reed and Joseph Borden. Front row from left are: James Cox, Cheyenne Hartman, Hilary Nowatski, Allison Harris, Professor Wayne Thomas, Trevor Long, Billie Jennings, Jeff Roberts and Andrew Baker.

On Monday, Feb. 4, students from Tusculum College offered a presentation of their recent study abroad trip to Barcelona, Spain. Students left for Spain on January 12, and returned on January 23.

Travelers included two Tusculum professors: Heather Patterson, assistant professor of English and chair of the English department and Wayne Thomas, associate professor of English and chair of the fine arts department, as well as thirteen students.

Students included Justin Reed, a senior from Florence, S.C.; Austen Herron, a junior from Durham, N.C.; Joe Borden, a senior from Lyles, Tenn.; Hilary Nowatski, a junior from Kingsport; Nathan Riddle, a senior from Danton, Ga.; Cheyenne Hartman, a senior from Louisa, Va.; Allison Harris, a senior from Franklin, Tenn.; Jeff Roberts, a junior from Breenbrier, Tenn.; Billie Jennings, a senior from Mountain City, Tenn.; Trevor Long, a junior from Atkins, Va.; Andrew Baker, a senior from Athens, Tenn.; James Cox, a senior from Greeneville,  and William Kemper, a senior from Greeneville.

The presentation came in a unique form as students utilized the Allison Gallery inside the Rankin House on Tusculum’s Greeneville campus. Pictures of various sights taken during the trip spanned the gallery, providing viewers with an opportunity to glimpse Catalonian culture.

While attendants moved through the gallery, viewing images of locations such as the monastery at Montserrat, Sagrada Familia and the Spanish Gothic quarter, members of Patterson’s “Advanced Studies in Fiction” class read from works they crafted from inspiration received during and after the trip. Students in Thomas’ class were participating in “Seminar in Literature in Society.”

The presentation also included a short documentary film created by the students that explained their responses to the immersion of Catalonian culture. Senior creative writing major, Reed explained, “Barcelona is a hotbed for conflict between Catalonian Separatists and Spanish Unionists. You walk around and can see separatist flags hanging from apartment terraces and building rafters, realizing the distinction this culture has from the whole of Spain. They want this complex crisis known, and in coming back I want the global public to become more informed of it.”

Outside of the distinctly political atmosphere currently embedded in Barcelona to the city’s historical significance, Professor Thomas said, “having the opportunity, in a single day, to walk from streets that are less than 50 years old, to ones that are almost 2,000 is amazing. You become caught up in the beauty of it.”

Three Tusculum College professors recently returned from Salzburg, Austria, ready to move forward with several elements of the college’s international program and prepared to initiate research on some additional elements of that program.

Dr. Geir Bergvin, director of the Center for Global Studies and associate professor of marketing; Dr. Joel Van Amberg, assistant professor of history, and Dr. DiAnn Casteel, associate professor of education, returned in February from the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria, to participate in an international curriculum development program through a Mellon Fellowship grant program.

“The colleges participating in the program are in a wide range of development of their international programs,” said Bergvin, “And, we found that there was tremendous value in learning about some of the challenges they have encountered along the way.”

Bergvin has been leading the charge to expand international opportunities at the Tusculum College campus since the college declared it a major strategic initiative to increase the number of students who participate in international travel experiences and to internationalize the curriculum to better prepare students for the 21^st Century.

One major item under discussion for Tusculum College is reinstituting a formal language program for its students.

“We are researching a variety of alternatives,” said Bergvin, including partnering with another school in order to offer language courses not currently in the Tusculum College catalog.     In addition, Bergvin is hoping that Tusculum will be a pilot school for such a program through an initiative of the Appalachian Colleges Association.

Van Amberg, who has traveled extensively both personally and through his role at the College, said that this seminar allowed the group to see how other colleges are facing budgeting issues and learning how they are moving their programs forward, despite the difficult economic climate.

“Our desire is not to destroy the momentum of the program,” he said. “It is helpful for all of us to be aware of similar situations and see how other institutions are pushing forward.”

“Our time in Salzburg provided an opportunity to interact with others that had similar plans for their students. We were able learn from their experiences, which in turn strengthens our own program. Facilitating international travel for students in our residential and Graduate and Professional Studies programs will bring a new dimension to experiences offered by Tusculum College,” said Casteel.

However, one area where the Tusculum College representatives felt their program was stronger than most was the support and commitment shown by the institution to develop the program.

“We are very fortunate for the support of the Center for Global Studies and its programs. We have received a lot of support from the faculty and the administration of Tusculum College,” said Bergvin.

He added that in addition to strengthening the language program, a second goal of the program is building partnerships with institutions in other countries.

“We have had very positive feedback from institutions in England, Spain and Costa Rica,” said Bergvin.

In the meantime, Tusculum’s international program has begun to see success on campus as more students are inquiring about international travel and study abroad opportunities.

“There seems to be an awakening of the student body,” he added. “It’s very exciting.  Something is happening and it is encouraging. That interest has not been there in the past.”

Dr. John Paulling, professor of mathematics at Tusculum College, is back from London, where he spent the fall semester teaching a course on the mathematics of political decisions and as part of the College’s participation in the “London Program” study abroad program.

In addition to his teaching duties, Paulling served as academic director for the one British and five American professors who taught courses to American students, mostly from colleges and universities in Tennessee and Missouri. The program allows these students to study in London for a semester, while still earning credits from their home colleges and universities.

While participating in the program Paulling and his students were able to explore the city in depth, as well as visit surrounding cities such as Bath, Cambridge, Stonehenge and nearby Paris, France.

“The Paris trip was a very significant foreign language experience for the students,” he said. Adding that the students also had opportunities to experience the cultural highlights of London, including performances of William Shakespeare plays and attending a performance of the “Messiah” at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Paulling, who in the past studied in Germany as a student and has traveled to Europe several times, enjoyed the opportunity to discover new parts of the city as well as revisit some attractions with students participating in the program and seeing them for the first time.

His “Political Calculations” course dealt with the mathematics of social choice, including topics such as, voting, power, conflict, escalation and fairness.

In coordination with his own teaching, Paulling took his students to visit sites relating to the “two fathers of statistics – John Snow and Francis Galton.”

Snow is known for trying to solve the problem of cholera using what are today the basic ideas in statistics. Galton is known for creating the statistical concept of correlation and promoting “regression toward the mean.” According to Paulling, he was considered to be the cutting edge of science and inquiry.

By visiting sites dedicated to the two statistical pioneers, Paulling hoped to bring the course alive and incorporate London into the curriculum.

Paulling’s opportunity to teach is part of Tusculum College’s participation in the Private College Consortium for International Study (PCCIS), a partnership of 14 colleges mostly in the Appalachian College Association. The Private College Consortium for International Studies was developed for the promotion of study abroad programs, and for the participating institutions, it is the opportunity to design their own academic programs abroad using their own curriculums, standards and styles.

As part of their agreement to participate with other American colleges and universities in the London Program, each year one PCCIS participant school must send a professor to teach in the program.

Tusculum College has provided the professor in the past, but this was Paulling’s first opportunity. In addition, students at Tusculum College are also eligible for participation, and while there are no current students enrolled, senior Lynnsey Jett of Jefferson City recently returned from her semester of study in London.

The London Program is part of Tusculum College’s efforts to increase the number of students who have an international experience during their college career. As part of this campus wide goal, the College formed the Center for Global Studies in spring 2008, with a mission to “enhance the capacity of individuals and organizations to address local and global challenges through building relationships with communities, institutions of higher learning and organizations globally.”

Dr. John Paulling, professor of mathematics at Tusculum College, recently headed to London, where he will teach a course on the mathematics of political decisions and coordinate the British Life and Culture program as part of the College’s participation in the “London Program” study abroad program.

Paulling joins four other American professors who will manage the student program that allows American students to study in London for a semester. This past spring Tusculum College student Lynnsey Jett, a senior education major from Jefferson City, Tenn., participated in the London Program as a student. Jett is one of nearly 10 students who have participated in the study abroad program since it was initiated by the College.

“I have always been interested in going to other places, whether it be travel or study abroad,” said Paulling. In his past he studied in Germany as a student and has traveled to Europe several times. As a result, he speaks German, Spanish and Norwegian, which provides him the unique ability to converse with international students in their own languages.

Paulling’s opportunity to teach is part of Tusculum College’s participation in the program that is a partnership between International Enrichment and the Private College Consortium for International Study, a partnership of 14 colleges in the Appalachian College Association. The Private College Consortium for International Studies was developed for the promotion of study abroad programs, and for the participating institutions, it is the opportunity to design their own academic programs abroad using their own curriculums, standards and styles.

As part of their agreement to participate with the ACA in the London Program, each year one ACA participant school must send a professor to teach in the program.  Tusculum College has provided the professor in the past, but this will be Paulling’s first opportunity.

“My course will focus on social decisions, voting ratios and various voting methods,” said Paulling. Adding, that the math involved in polling, voting, ranking and making choices will be the focus of the curriculum.

In addition to teaching, he will coordinate the British Life and Culture program for the American students, which involves British lectures, trips and excursions in the London area, with a focus on providing the students with hands-on experiences in London life and culture.

“We will have British experts in the lecture series who will talk about William Shakespeare, William Wallace and other historical and cultural leaders from London, and the excursions will include three days in Paris as well,” said Paulling.

The students participating; however, continue their progression towards their degrees even while studying in London.  According to Paulling, all courses have been structured so that academic credits earned by students are part of regular authorized course offerings.

Paulling will return to the United States and to Tusculum College next semester and pick up his courses in the mathematics department, but both he and the students he teaches may have just a touch more international pizzazz than was there before.

The London Program and its study abroad components are part of Tusculum College’s efforts to increase the number of students who have an international experience during their college career. As part of this campus wide goal, the College formed the Center for Global Studies in spring 2008, with a mission to “enhance the capacity of individuals and organizations to address local and global challenges through building relationships with communities, institutions of higher learning and organizations globally.”

Tusculum College, the oldest college in Tennessee and the 28th oldest in the nation, is a civic arts institution committed to developing educated citizens distinguished by academic excellence, public service and qualities of Judeo-Christian character. Approximately twenty-one hundred students are enrolled on the main campus in Greeneville, the campus in Knoxville, Tenn., and two additional off-site locations in Morristown and Gray, Tenn. The academic programs for both residential students and working adults served through the Graduate and Professional Studies program are delivered using focused calendars whereby students enroll in one course at a time.