Officials from t of Arts and Letters met with Mr. Joseph Andrew Bookbinder, Director of the Office of English Language Programs at the US Department of State on September 22, 2022.
Mr. Bookbinder was appointed Director of the Office of English Language Programs in August 2017. He is a Senior Foreign Service officer who has served in New Delhi, Chengdu, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taipei.
In his visit to the University, he was accompanied by Ms. Connie Chico, Cultural Affairs Specialist of the English Language Programs of the US Embassy, and Dr. Carleen Curley Velez, the Regional English Language Officer (RELO) assigned by the US State Department to the Asia-Pacific region.
The meeting was attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Dr. Marilu Rañosa-Madrunio; Dr. Rachelle Lintao, Chair of the Department of English, and Asst. Prof. Michelle Desierto, Coordinator for International Relations and Programs of the Faculty of Arts and Letters.
The visit aimed to share with Bookbinder the collaborations between UST and RELO Manila, US Embassy, as well as key takeaways from the various UST-RELO Manila, US Embassy programs. Updates on the state of Forensic Linguistics in the Philippines were also tackled. More importantly, Bookbinder opened the possibility for a language specialist to assist the Department of English with its educational initiatives.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bambang Nugroho, Chair of the Curriculum Development Board of the Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY), Indonesia visited the University on September 5, 2022.
Exploratory talks on matters pertaining to faculty and student mobility were tackled. The growth of the partnership between UMY and UST shall be reported to the Education and Culture Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy in Manila so that the Indonesian government can participate in its oversight.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Marilu Rañosa-Madrunio, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters; Dr. Dennis Coronacion, Chair of the Department of Political Science; Dr. Lino Baron of the Department of Asian Studies; and Asst. Prof. Michelle Desierto, Coordinator for International Relations and Programs of the Faculty of Arts and Letters.
Last June, the Faculty of Arts and Letters was also visited by Dr. Carleen Curley Velez, the Regional English Language Officer (RELO) assigned by the US State Department to the Asia-Pacific region and Mr. Mauricio German Munoz, the Chief of the Consular Section, and Ms. Frances Garganera, Secretary at the Embassy, both from Embassy of the Republic of Argentina in the Philippines. Partnerships and research grants were explored during these meetings.
hi @cccruz@ust.edu.ph can you please give a headline to this article. thank you!
_Assigned to CHRISTIE C CRUZ_
