Press Releases and Speeches

CITY COLLEGES STUDENTS TRAVEL TO AUSTRIA TO BECOME GLOBAL CITIZENS

CHICAGO (October 2005) – Nine City Colleges of Chicago students along with Chancellor Wayne D. Watson traveled to Salzburg, Austria this summer to take part in a seminar designed to inspire global citizenship through international study.

The seminar entitled Global Citizenship: America and the World, took place May 29 through June 5, and was offered by the Salzburg Seminar in Salzburg, Austria. The students were chosen from each City College based on academic achievement and community involvement.

Chancellor Watson also attended a program designed for community college administrators that examined globalization and the challenges it presents to educators.

"We need to recognize that the new world order of globalization demands an educational renaissance in the 21st century," Watson said. "We must recalibrate our academic standards and culture. City Colleges' students must be able to compete not only with other Americans but with students anywhere in the world."

Students worked in groups of five to produce presentations and brochures on issues of global concern viewed from a domestic and international angle. Dr. Jose Aybar, associate vice chancellor of arts and sciences, along with Dr. Patricia Williams-Lessane of Wright College accompanied the students on the trip.

"It was a pleasure to travel to Salzburg with the students to a seminar dedicated to European perceptions of the United States historically and in the present," Aybar said. "Salzburg was the center of the world for a long time as part of the Austrian-Bavarian Empire. The students thrived in this setting."

The City Colleges of Chicago (Community College District 508) is the one of the largest urban community college systems in the nation. CCC provides four essential services: liberal arts education (associate degrees and certificates); occupational education (workforce training); adult education (GED, ESL, ABE) and continuing education (programs that add value to the quality of life).