The University Record, April 9, 1996
Support program for international graduate teaching assistants to be established
Following a number of meetings with members of the GEO and with the Director of the International Center, Rackham Interim Dean Robert Weisbuch and LS&A Associate Dean John Cross have developed a program designed to provide support for new international students whose projected teaching assistant positions require them to come to Michigan early. This program will include:
Orientation and welcoming sessions at the Rackham Building.
A new fellowship program that will provide $500 for each of the students for support during the training period.
Assignment of a Rackham associate dean to a role of liaison to international graduate students.
Discussions with the GEO have brought to light a number of problems faced by new international graduate students. In particular, international students who are expected to assume TA positions are required to complete pedagogical and language training courses that begin three or more weeks before the beginning of the fall term. Until now, there has been no program to welcome these students to campus or to provide them with support over this three-week period.
Deans Weisbuch and Cross will continue to meet with international graduate students and with other University administrators in order to address other problems that may be faced by international graduate students. “The University of Michigan owes much of its international reputation to the outstanding international students who come to our campus,” note Cross and Weisbuch. “We are committed to welcoming them and providing them with support when they come. We would be delighted to receive any suggestions from the University community that might assist us in achieving this goal.”
