2006-2007 Charge to the Committee
University System of Georgia
World Regional Council for Americas
Chair: Dr. Mark Patterson
Kennesaw State University
The World Regional Council for the Americas (Americas Council) is open to all faculty and staff in the University System of Georgia who have a professional interest in the countries of the region. The Council serves as an instrument for facilitating communication and providing a useful forum where issues of common concern can be shared, discussed, and resolved.
The WRC is encouraged to consider any issue relating to its region. For 2006-2007 the WRC-Americas is given a select charge to complete the following assignments:
- Organize and implement an annual conference on the Americas in Spring 2007;
- Implement a faculty development seminar to Argentina for summer 2007 in accordance with guidelines and procedures of the SCIE Faculty and Curriculum Committee;
- Adopt a mission statement and by-laws modeled on those developed by other World Regional Councils;
- Designate WRC liaisons to each of the three SCIE committees, authorizing these representatives to be responsible for reporting Council activity to the Committees and for keeping Council members aware of Committee activity;
- Provide a report on Council activities at each meeting of the System Council on International Education;
- Submit by January 2007 a detailed financial report to the System Council on International Education for all funds managed by the WRC;
- Build an active participatory membership of campus faculty and staff with interests in and expertise about the Americas;
- Continue discussion of on-going issues relevant to the WRC and its members,
including:
- student enrollment in the Latin American Studies and Canadian Studies Certificate programs;
- development of a proposed certificate in North American Studies and an accompanying proposal to the North American Mobility Program of the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE);
- promotion of existing study abroad programs in the region and development of new programs in underserved countries;
- communication with Western Hemisphere nation consulates, bi-lateral chambers of commerce, and similar resources, and assessment of the WRC’s capacity for maintaining such networks.