Chinese to begin dual degree work
FAYETTEVILLE -- Students from Kunming University of Science and Technology in China will take classes in Fayetteville beginning in fall 2021 as part of a new dual degree program, said Karen Boston, a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville assistant dean.
The program will have students finish undergraduate studies in Fayetteville to earn a bachelor's degree in business administration from UA as well as a degree from the Chinese university, Boston said in an email.
UA representatives met with the first cohort of students earlier this month in China, Boston said. The program is structured so they complete three academic years of study in China, followed by 11/2 years at UA, Boston said. The program of study is in supply chain management, Boston said.
"We had a great meeting with an enthusiastic group of students but it is too early to tell how many students will ultimately attend the U of A," Boston said.
UA now has two dual degree programs with Chinese universities, both involving business studies. The first cohort of 13 students from Soochow University arrived in Fayetteville last year, going on to earn bachelor's degrees. This fall there are seven students from Soochow University taking UA courses in Fayetteville, Boston said.
Foreign students' enrollment drops
FAYETTEVILLE -- Preliminary fall totals show 1,433 international students at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, down compared with the foreign enrollment of 1,461 last fall, according to Amanda Cantu, director of communications for UA's Graduate School and International Education.
The 1.9 percent dip marks the third straight year of declining foreign enrollment since fall 2015, when 1,546 foreign students enrolled at UA, according to UA data.
Over the same period, total student enrollment increased. International students make up about 5.2 percent of UA's total 27,778 enrollment this fall, according to preliminary data.
A national report last year found that new international students in the U.S. declined by nearly 10,000 to about 291,000 in fall 2016, the most recent year with data available. The Open Doors report, by the Institute of International Education and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, found an increase in foreign enrollment in 2016-17, with 1,078,822 international students, up from 1,043,839 in 2015-16.
At UA, the top countries for international students this fall are: Panama, with 145 students; China, 141 students; India, 105 students; Saudi Arabia, 87 students; and Bolivia, 78 students.
Translation work gets U.S. funding
FAYETTEVILLE -- A University of Arkansas, Fayetteville student and an assistant professor have each been awarded $12,500 National Endowment for the Arts Literature Translation Fellowships.
Kaveh Bassiri will translate poetry by Iranian poet Roya Zarrin. Bassiri is a doctoral candidate in comparative literature.
Oksana Maksymchuk will translate poetry by Marianna Kiyanovska, who has written about conflict in Ukraine. Maksymchuk is an assistant professor of philosophy.
The National Endowment for the Arts, an independent federal agency established by Congress in 1965, awarded fellowships for 25 projects to translate literature into English out of 104 applications, according to the agency's announcement.
Award recognizes professor's poetry
FAYETTEVILLE -- Geffrey Davis, a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville assistant professor, has been honored with the James Laughlin Award sponsored by the nonprofit organization the Academy of American Poets.
Davis, a faculty member who in 2014 joined UA's Program in Creative Writing and Translation, received the award based on his second book of poetry, Night Angler. He has written about growing up in a working-class family, his father's addiction to drugs and becoming a dad.
The award comes with $5,000 in prize money and includes a weeklong residency at The Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla.
Metro on 09/24/2018