Submitted/Marianne Berry
Marianne Berry, professor of social welfare, feeds a kangaroo during one of her trips to Australia. Berry has studied social institutions in numerous countries. The experience has helped not only broaden her worldview, but expand the information she can share with students. Many KU faculty travel abroad to enhance their skillsets, and the benefits can extend to more than just the traveler.
Learning beyond borders
Faculty travels pay dividends for years
R. Steve Dick/University Relations
James Juola, professor of psychology, is one of numerous KU professors who have reaped the rewards of studying and working overseas. In more than 30 years of travel, he not only has furthered his own education, but also helped arrange faculty and student exchanges with several European institutions.
Juola’s experience is a testament to the potential of such international endeavors. Every year, faculty members take sabbatical leaves and academic trips to points around the globe to further their studies and complete research. The hope is the collaborative windows these trips open can lead to opportunities for more than just the traveler.
Juola, a member of the psychology faculty since 1972, has taken several sabbaticals, and his interaction with universities and research centers in Europe have resulted in numerous collaborative research projects and exchanges of students and faculty between KU and institutions in Spain and the Netherlands. His work in areas such as motion perception, reading, aging and cognition, and human-technology interaction has attracted nine graduate students from seven countries to seek advanced degrees working with him in Kansas, as well as visits from five faculty members and three students from four other countries. In addition, two KU students, Hsuan-Chih Chen and Alp Tiritoglu, have traveled to the Netherlands to complete post-doctoral training, and another, Jennifer Curtis, is currently enrolled in a graduate program in User-System Design at the Technical University of Eindhoven.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Richard Lariviere, a vocal supporter of studying and working abroad, said traveling outside of the United States is a tremendous benefit for faculty, and by extension, the entire university.
“There’s no activity that goes on at a university like KU that cannot be enhanced or informed by seeing how they do things in other countries,” he said. “The real payoff is what they bring back to this campus from their experience.”
Frequent fliers
Faculty interviewed for this article have worked in countries such as Australia, Austria, England, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey, among others
“These sojourns abroad are an enormous amount of work, and can be very stressful. But the upside is a better understanding of one’s self — which is the goal of all education — and a greater understanding of the world,” Lariviere said.
Marianne Berry, professor of social welfare, said experiencing new countries and cultures changed the way she views problems in her field. Berry and her husband, Mark Ezell, professor of social welfare, are part of the International Association of Outcome Based Research and Evaluation in Family and Children Services. With the association, they have traveled to and studied at universities in Italy, England and Australia. All have unique ways of addressing social problems. In Italy, she said, the Roman Catholic Church is a huge influence, and in Australia, adoption as Americans think of it, does not exist. Her experiences, along with new research methods she has observed, have transformed her career.
“It’s really fascinating to learn how important culture is to things you take for granted. That’s been a real education for me, and I’ve been able to bring it back to my research methods classes,” Berry said. “This has been the best blessing of my professional career.”
Gary Minden, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, said he also has been fortunate in his international travels, not only by gaining new perspectives, but also by developing ongoing professional relationships. Minden did sabbatical work in Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and Germany.
Through his work with graduate students and at international conferences, he has helped arrange visiting professorships and guest lectures at KU. Last month, Bernard Plattner, a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology visited KU, and Helmut Keller of the University of Graz in Austria, is a visiting scholar this semester. Visitors are often surprised at the world-class research they find taking place here, Minden said.
“When you get people to KU and get them to the lab, they’re blown away by all we have going on here.”
Others have used international experiences to help KU students explore the world. Juliet Kaarbo, associate professor of political science and director of the department’s graduate studies, has done research in Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey, among others.
“All of my experience in Europe helps me advise both undergrads and grad students whether they want to study abroad or apply at a European institution,” Kaarbo said.
Of course, the benefits of working abroad can go beyond the professional realm. John Staniunas, associate professor and chair of the Department of the Theatre and Film, traveled to Lithuania on a Fulbright Fellowship. After his return, he hosted a guest director for the department’s Theatre for Young People production of “The Snow Queen,” which a year later was performed by KU students in Lithuania. While there, one of his students fell in love and now is living and working in Lithuania.
Juola would agree the benefits of working abroad are many, and is glad to see an emphasis being placed on international work. He will teach courses in cognitive psychology and human factors at KU this spring, before returning to Holland this summer, where he will teach a course in perception and cognition in the User-System Design program at the Technical University of Eindhoven.
“My wife, Sonia Ann, is from England, and our children have all benefited from our European connections. We have really come to feel at home in Holland and Spain, and we are looking forward to further collaborations with our friends and colleagues overseas. We all stand to benefit from the administration’s emphasis on internationalizing our university and its mission.”
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