Southeast Missouri State University held a ribbon-cutting and open house event for their newly opened International Village on Wednesday, Apr. 17.
Located at 1025 North Sprigg Street, the small campus once housed Cottonwood Residential Treatment Center, but now provides a ‘home away from home’ for international students and services. The project received initial approval in the university’s budget at the December Board of Regents meeting in 2017.
Dr. Kevin Timlin, executive director of international education and services, said the village is a tangible symbol that shows the university’s commitment to internationalization.
“It’s a place where the campus and community can gather to share and learn about the world both around us and among us,” said Timlin. “While it’s certainly open to all university groups and activities, the facilities were designed with the need of international students in mind.”
According to Timlin, there are nearly 700 international students enrolled at Southeast who are a national of another country in the U.S. on a visa for educational purposes. He said they ideally maintain 10% of their student population under international classification.
The International Village not only houses international services, but multiple venues for recreational, cultural and educational activities. It also holds the Intensive English Program (IEP), which provides english language courses for international students and focuses on the culture of higher education in the U.S.
The campus consists of a main administration building and two IEP buildings, and after an additional phase, will house internationally-themed living communities. The administration building currently holds a multipurpose room, residential kitchen, 17-seat computer lab, resource room, and video-conferencing room that will allow international services to communicate with various partners from around the world.
Southeast president Dr. Carlos Vargas said he has worked to promote internationalization on campus since he began his term.
“I knew there were so many international students here - about 1,100 or so at the time - and I thought that was a great thing,” said Vargas.
He said the previous locations for international services were not ideal for their function, and were spread across campus. When the Cottonwood location became available, he said they were lucky, and that it would serve their needs well.
He said a high number of domestic students and community members attending international festivals on campus indicated that the project came at a great time.
“It has become a real exciting time at this university where people are coming together,” said Vargas. “And that’s something that I think we need to continue to do and continue to build on.”