Mississippi Valley State University has received a $35,000 grant from the U.S. Department of State to help create interest in and foster study-abroad opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students.
The grant, managed by the business and finance office at Valley, will help the university fund its Office of International Programs.
“We hope to have a solid 10-15 students participate each year,” said Lokesh Shivakumaraiah, executive director of international relations and assistant to the provost, Kathie Stromile Golden, who is a former Fulbright scholar and current overseer of the
Office of International Relations.
The university began the grant application process in August 2020, and the award was announced this week.
“We are always looking for opportunities and grant funding to support campus international activities,” Shivakumaraiah said.
To this end, the grant proposal submitted by the university included a promise for the university to continue to search out grant and funding opportunities for international programs when this grant expires in September 2023.
Valley already has some pre-study abroad programs in place. The Office of International Programs hosts such events as “Cafe Cultural,” “Travel Tuesdays” and “Delicious Destinations.” The programs engage the Valley community with other cultures.
“At ‘Delicious Destinations,’ we use food as a platform to incorporate cultural and global awareness,” Shivakumaraiah said. “When students come in and taste the food, we are also able to engage them in a discussion about that part of the world”
Students from the university recently returned from a summer trip to Japan, a country with which the university is trying to build stronger ties, he said. “Mississippi has three big Japanese companies — Toyota, Nissan and Yokohama — and we want to work with these companies to promote Japanese culture and language.”
The purpose of the international program at Valley is also to bolster diplomatic relations between countries through language learning and exposure, with which study abroad programs also help, Shivakumaraiah said.
“We encourage students to pursue opportunities that might also require foreign language skills. Foreign language skills take a lead role when we talk about national security,” he said.
He said the Office of International Relations is also looking to engage the community through events that will be funded by the State Department grant.
In the past, the university has hosted such events as the Festival of Colors — known culturally as Holi, a Hindu festival celebrating divine love — salsa night and a runway show for fashion around the world.
“We want the community to participate,” Shivakumaraiah said. His office also intends to reach out to local middle and high schools.
- Contact Katherine Parker at 662-581-7239 or kparker@gwcommonwealth.com.
