IAPCHE International Conference:

Internationalizing Christian Higher Education
May 23 - 25, 2013
Prince Conference Center, Calvin College
Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

Conference Theme

With the increased flow of people, goods, ideas, and capital around the world, we all now experience connections to multiple areas of the world. At the same time, the center of Christianity has shifted from the North Atlantic region toward regions south and east of there.  In North America and Western Europe, the fastest growing congregations are those with immigrants from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. More students everywhere are studying or serving abroad than students did three decades ago, and immigration across national borders continues to grow.

Such changes pose challenges and opportunities for Christian higher education, particularly as institutions seek to prepare and equip students, faculty, and staff to be effective global citizens. Much of this work of internationalizing higher education, however, seems to be spearheaded by large public institutions, with relatively less of it happening within Christian higher education.

This conference is intended to explore the effects of internationalization on Christian higher education institutions around the world.  How are Christian institutions preparing their students to respond to an increasingly global and interconnected world? What does internationalization mean in the context of Christian higher education? What do faculty member selection, support, and development entail when institutions internationalize? What are some of the strategies and even challenges for deep theological, cultural, and academic reflections that Christian institutions are engaging to assist in re-entry programs for students and faculty returning from various intercultural experiences? In what ways are Christian institutions successfully preparing their campuses to be hospitable to international students, faculty, and scholars? How are institutions developing pre-experience orientation and on-site cultural understandings so as to enhance the learning availed through such opportunities? Is extending institutional reach globally best served through partnerships with local institutions or through building satellite campuses abroad? How might the use of emerging communication and media tools such as Skype, Google.docs, webinars, and online courses, among others, aid such partnerships in both teaching and scholarship? 

These and other related questions are the focus of this international conference and participants from around the world will examine how their institutions have approached the multiple facets of internationalization, focusing not only on successes but also on challenges and failures. The conference theme is deliberately broad to allow participants to address the research, pedagogical, outreach, and administrative strategies undertaken in internationalizing Christian higher education.

Pre-Conference Workshop

In conjunction with the main conference, we will offer two half-day participant-centered and highly interactive workshop:

1) “helping students returning from intercultural experiences to reflect deeply about the theological, cultural, and academic outcomes of their experiences”;

and,

2) “engaging with people of other faith traditions”

(Both held on Thursday, May 23, 2013 from 1:30PM to 5:30PM). Participation will be by registration only and is limited to the first 25 registrants. Note that there is a $25.00 charge for each participant for each workshop on top of the registration cost for the conference.

Cost:

IAPCHE Member Registration: $150.00 (includes registration materials and meals)

Non-IAPCHE Members Registration: $170.00 (includes registration materials and meals)

Pre-Conference Workshop: $25.00 (includes reading materials)

Transportation:

You are responsible for your own transportation to and from the conference. If you need rental car or taxi information, please let us know. Shuttles between the Prince Conference Center at Calvin College and the airport are available at no cost for guests of the Prince Conference Center. To arrange for a shuttle, please contact the Prince Conference Center at 1.866.526.7200. In addition, many hotels offer complementary shuttle service to and from the airport for hotel guests. Check with your hotel for more information.

Lodging:

Please note that you are responsible for your own lodging. To book a room at the Prince Conference Center, please contact the Prince Conference Center directly at 1.866.526.7200. An airport shuttle is available for those staying at the Prince - please let them know at least three days prior to your arrival if you will need a shuttle.

Receipt:

If you are paying with eventbrite (www.eventbrite.com), your registration may be used as a receipt.  If you need a receipt in a different format, please contact the Seminars office before the event.