NAFSA Region X - Upstate Update Meeting
June 22, 2007 - Syracuse, New York
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
NAFSA is the leading association in the field of international education and exchange. NAFSA serves its members and their institutions and organizations by setting and upholding standards of good practice, providing training and professional development opportunities, providing networking opportunities, and advocating for international education. Not a NAFSA member? Join NAFSA Today!
Region X, which includes members in New York and New Jersey, has a long history rich with leadership, programmatic initiatives, enthusiasm, friends, and a reputation for excellence.
2007 NAFSA Region X Upstate NY Update Meeting
The 2007 Upstate New York Meeting was held on June 22, 2007, in Syracuse, New York. Seventy-one professionals attended the all day meeting held at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management. An international lunch buffet was provided at the Slutzker Center for International Services.
The sessions featured at the meeting appear below (with PowerPoint presentations if available).
The National Update: Immigration Reform and New Regulations (90 minute session)
As members of NAFSA's Policy and Practice Committee and the Regulatory Ombudsman Subcommittee, we will provide an overview of current immigration reform bills in front of the House and Senate, NAFSA national's advocacy efforts in those areas, the latest information from the national NAFSA conference in Minneapolis on immigration and policy issues, F-1 student procedures, the latest "interpretation" of SEVIS 5.4 and the J regulations (including discussion of the 2 year bar, the 5 year stay for Professors/Researchers) and ongoing advocacy efforts with SEVP and DOS in those areas. We will highlight valuable NAFSA web resources, including the new electronic Adviser's Manual, reporting of issues, seeking Reg Ombuds’ help, and we will describe what happens with that information and how it is acted upon at the national level.
Chair: Andrea Godfread-Brown
Associate Director for Immigration Services
(Syracuse University)
Chair: Mary Schlarb
Assistant Director for Programming Services
(Cornell University)
Working with the Media (90 minute session)
On occasion, international educators may be called upon to speak with campus, local, regional or national media. You may have good news to share, or news that needs to be managed. Strategize your approach through key message preparation, case studies, and examples of best practices.
Chair: Ellen Badger
Director of Office of International Student and Scholar Services
(Binghamton University--SUNY)
Chair: Gail Glover
Director of Media Relations
(Binghamton University--SUNY)
Preparing for Crisis: Pandemic, Political or Personal (75 minute session)
Preparation for crisis has long been part of NAFSA training for professionals in the field of international educational exchange. With the tragedy of Virginia Tech still on the radar screen, and the fear of a pandemic flu outbreak shutting down businesses and schools - how do we fine tune our preparedness? Experienced NAFSAns and members of the Syracuse University Critical Incident Management Team will present guidelines and recommendations to assist all of us should we face a crisis in the future.
Chair: Dr. Patricia A. Burak
Director of Slutzker Center for International
(Syracuse University)
Helping Students Connect the Home Campus to the Overseas Experience: New Ways of Looking at Pre-Departure and Re-Entry (75 minute session)
Everything students do from the moment they decide to study abroad will determine the success of their experience overseas. This includes students’ ability to apply the skills and knowledge they learn abroad to their studies, as well as to their continued personal and professional development once they return.
Students often say, “Oh, I’m going to have so much fun and travel once I’m abroad.” But we need to get students to think about what else they are going to do and help them set clear priorities. Most importantly, students need to think about what they want to bring back. How can we help students connect pre-departure and re-entry with the overseas experience? There are venues that international educators can develop for students to apply their newly gained people and language skills and knowledge on-campus and in the community.
Chair: Dr. Elane Granger
Associate Director SU Abroad
(Syracuse University)
International Students and Diversity in American Higher Education:
Implications for International Educational Exchange (75 minute session)
A re-presentation of this 2006 Region X highlight session will review the challenges diversity among foreign nationals present to the American universities and colleges that host them. Discussions will highlight divergent diversities, common concerns, and unfinished agendas here and abroad.
Chair: Sidney Greenblatt
Senior Assistant Director for Counseling and Advising
(Syracuse University)
Advisor to Advisor: Resolving Common (and Not-So-Common) Student and Scholar Cases (75 minute session)
In this interactive session you will hear from fellow international student and scholar advisors about some of their trickiest cases and the steps they took to resolve them. These resourceful DSO/AROs will describe how they overcame their OPT woes, security check delays, Social Security hurdles, "flagged" records, distance learning puzzles, and more. Bring your own advising questions and quandaries to share with your colleagues and your best resources!
Chair: Mary Schlarb
Assistant Director for Programming Services
(Cornell University)
2 Year Institution/Community College Forum (75 minute session)
Join the Region X Two Year Institution Representative to discuss updates from the NAFSA Annual Conference, talk about best practices, identify the needs of community colleges in our region, and much more.
Chair: Beverly Plowucha
International Student Counselor
(Broome Community College)
When International Students Get into Immigration Trouble…(75 minute session)
Are you equipped to advise your out-of-status students? Come find out how the immigration removal system works and how best to navigate this often frustrating process. This session discusses immigration law and policy that apply from the moment ICE agents knock on the door to arrest a student who is out-of-status, through detention and immigration court, to the time the student is placed on a plane home. Find out what students’ options are and learn about detention and removal hearings, including posting bond and relief against removal, such as voluntary departure.
Chair: Ellen Dussourd
Director of International Student & Scholar Services
(University at Buffalo)
2007 NAFSA Upstate New York Meeting
Date: Friday, June 22, 2007
On-Site Check-In: 8:45 am- 9:15 am
Slutzker Center for International Services, 310 Walnut Place
Late Check-in & Sessions: 9:15 am- 3:15 pm
Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University
Fee: $50
Please make checks payable to “NAFSA Region X “. Institutional checks must indicate the names of registrants. (No payment orders or credit card payments accepted.)
Please submit registration form online; print a copy prior to submitting and mail in with your payment. If you do not believe your payment will be received prior to the June 22 meeting, please bring your payment with you and submit it at the on-site check-in.
Please mail payment and a copy of your registration form to:
Carolyn Salter
Re: NAFSA Upstate NY Update Meeting
Syracuse University
Slutzker Center for International Services
310 Walnut Place
Syracuse, NY 13244
Parking & Directions
Parking for meeting attendees will be available in the University Ave Garage. When entering the garage, please take a ticket at the entrance and bring it with you to the conference check-in site, the Slutzker center for International Services (310 Walnut Place). Parking tickets will be validated at that time. When exiting the garage, please give the parking attendant your validated ticket. There will be no additional cost if you pre-registered prior to June 22.
Please be aware that the parking garage closes and locks at 5 pm.
From the North
Take Interstate 81 south to exit 18. Get in center lane and continue on to Adams Street. Make a left onto Adams Street and proceed to University Avenue. Proceed through the intersection and take your first left into the garage.
From the South
Take Interstate 81 north to exit 18 and merge into the right hand lane. At the bottom of the ramp make a right onto Adams Street and proceed to University Avenue. Proceed through the intersection and take your first left into the garage.
From the East
Take Interstate 90 to exit 36 Interstate 81 South. Take Interstate 81 South to exit 18. Get in center lane and continue on to Adams Street. Make a left onto Adams Street and proceed to University Avenue. Proceed through the intersection and take your first left into the garage.
From Interstate 690 west
Take exit 13 Townsend Street. Turn left on South Townsend Street to Adams Street. Make a left onto Adams Street, and proceed under Interstate 81 to University Avenue. Proceed through the intersection and take your first left into the garage.
From the West
Take Interstate 90 or Interstate 690 to Interstate 81 south to exit 18. Get in center lane and continue on to Adams Street. Make a left onto Adams Street and proceed to University Avenue. Proceed through the intersection and take your first left into the garage.
