ELI to host South American group

A group of college students from South America will arrive July 12 at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for a month-long immersion into American culture.

UT’s English Language Institute is hosting 18 students from Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela as part of a program called “Study of the United States Institutes for Foreign Leaders.”

ELI received a grant worth more than $300,000 to host the program, which is administered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State.

“The students who participate in this program are outstanding,” said Dr. Jim Hamrick, ELI director. “They are outstanding academically and they have outstanding leadership potential. We are glad to have them on campus and introduce them to UT faculty, staff, and the East Tennessee community.

The students will learn about how values, events, and conflicts of the past have shaped American culture, politics, and soceity. They also will have sessions on developing their leadership skills and participate in several community service activities.

The group will leave the UT campus on August 4 for a study tour that includes travel to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Atlanta, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Several UT faculty and staff will help teach the classes. They include Ron Foresta, geography; Jon Shefner, sociology; Cheryl Barksdale, Center for Executive Education; Marva Rudolph, Office of Equity and Diversity (OED); Jenny Richter, OED associate director; and Tony Moses and Anwar Accawi of ELI.