You had me at Bill Bryson

I have to stray from my normal post structure today to share how truly amazing this leg of the visit has been. I have had a wonderful experience at each and every institution but something at the University of Durham has really captivated me. Yes, living in a castle has helped! But there is something about the   people that makes it truly special. This place exudes distinction, while still maintaining a sense of humility and good humor.  I have the utmost confidence that graduates of the University of Durham are everything we hope for in the "well rounded" graduate. 

I attribute much of this impression to their system of Oxbridge style Colleges. Students apply not only to the university but to one of the residential colleges here on campus. The castle is actually home to University College. Unlike our residence halls, colleges incorporate many different aspects of academic and student life. They have their own sports teams, formal dinners and activities as you would find in US Greek Life (including their own bars ::gasp::). They have volunteerism and societies as you would find in our Student Life. And they have scholars-in-residence to provide mentorship and inspiration. As best as I can describe, the organically achieve all that we attempt through our Student Affairs Division, but in a very student-led community-oriented way. 

All first years are required to live-in. During the second year many students move out, but still remain a part of the community. In the third year students typically move back in to the College. The distribution of students is carefully managed to achieve a balance of academic level and discipline. It provides a sort of natural order, whereby younger students are welcomed and mentored by older students. Each College has a strong sense of identity. I would love to help bring our Student Affairs in Higher Education Administration students here some day just to spark their creative juices. They even have an International Education Masters Program here.

On a practical level, our day consisted of the perfect balance of learning, sharing and cultural engagement. We started off learning more about the institution, including the fun fact that my favorite author, Bill Bryson, was the Chancellor from 2005-2011. We then had a tour of the Cathedral and a visit to the Lindisfarne Gospels, the first translation of the Bible into English in around 700 A.D. To give you an idea of how delicate the vellum pages are, the illuminated text can only be on display for 3 months in dim light. Then they must be rested for a period of time before another display. More on the Gospels here:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-22982378 

We had a bit of down time to get ready for our gallery reception and dinner in the Great Hall. I got all dressed up and imagined I was a princess in my turret of the castle :-)  There is really nothing that compares. Everyone looked wonderful and was beaming ear to ear.  Dinner was magnificent and the company was great. I stayed far past dessert visiting with 2 members of the international office staff and an International Law professor. Once again, I felt this sense of comfort and welecome being here. I hated to tear myself away to come back to my room and pack for an early departure.

One more order of business...

Helen-- if you are reading this one day I need to you to know you must attend the University of Durham. :-)

Castle Life Commences

Hello Durham! You can't go wrong when you lodge the Fulbright group in an actual castle. I can't really even describe the experience so I will just post pictures today. The only downside was finding a way to get 50 lbs. of luggage up 105 steps to the top of the turret... 

We had time to relax and pull our jaws off the ground before heading out to a great little Italian restaurant for great conversation and brick oven pizza. 

If these photos are any indicator, our stay will be well appointed...

Walking over the bridge from the student union to campus

Once across the bridge 

Heading into "Our Castle"

Linn got the magic key to the suite 

View of the Great Hall out my window of the castle 

And the view of the cathedral from the other window

Then dinner

Cathedral at night ::swoon::

And Home Sweet Castle :-)

Halfway! University of York

The theme for today was "internationalization in higher education and the vital role of support staff". We heard a series of lectures from the Director of Internationalization, the Academic Registrar (more similar to our VP of Student Affairs role), the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and the General Manager of the Graduate Students' Association. I left with pages full of notes about the creative ways in which they are layering their internationalization efforts and leveraging their sister-city connection to Nanjing, China. 

Some examples:

- They conduct service staff cultural training (ex. catering) to help them better understand the needs of the international students and their own inherent cultural values. They even took it as far as exchanging chefs with their sister institution in Nanjing. 

- The York Award was developed to recognize student excellence in co-curricular activities and skills development. Students earn points from study abroad, volunteerism, internships, etc. The interesting thing is that participation alone does not earn them the award. They must pass an oral exam where they are required to present evidence of their skills. Selling yourself doesn't cut it. You must explain what you learned through the co-curriculars. This helps to distinguish between "doing and learning". Check it out at http://www.york.ac.uk/study/careers-skills/york-award  

- They use Skype to connect international alumni to Career Services so alumni can train career advisors on how the job search process differs by country. This helps their career staff better assist international students who wish to return home for jobs and it brings about a general sense of global awareness.

- They hold a graduation ceremony in China for the international students from that country. It allows their families to take part in the celebration. 

After lunch and a group photo we took a double decker city bus into the city center of York. We met up with the Yorkshire Museum Director, Science City York, a representative from the City of York Council, York's Adult Education Director, and other representatives. They told us how they have been able to promote York as a destination for tourism and a place for new business growth. As someone married to Indy's "Mr. Sister City" I was really interested to hear how their partnership with Nanjing had equally strong connections in the business community. I have lots of ideas to share with Peter.

We were very thankful to be let loose into the city for sometime to explore. A small group of us decided to climb up to the top of the city wall and take this great walk around the perimeter of the city. The narrow walkways gave magnificent views and a totally different perspective of the town. It was a real treat and a total surprise. At the end of the wall we descended into narrow streets in an area called "The Shambles". The old bowing buildings almost touch. We happened upon a great antiques store and a local soap shop. 

When our time was up we headed over to St. Helen's Square for a reception hosted in York Mansion House by the Right Honourable Lord Mayor Julie Gunnell. What a mansion! Sipping wine with a view of the York Minster out the old wavy glass windows felt a bit posh for a study abroad advisor. But she was so gracious, fun and welcoming that we felt right at home. She opened up her dining room just to show us around and tell about hosting guests like the Queen. The Lord Mayor is an elected position from the City Council with a one year term. The only other Lord Mayor is of London. She is the 9th woman in this role. Technically she is in line for the throne, although "practically a millionth" according to her-- but was good humored enough to high-five Jay when he suggested that at least she is in line. I loved meeting her and could tell what a true love she has for York and public service.