A History | Office of International Engagement & the Culture and Intensive English Program
The Office of International Engagement (OIE) and the Culture and Intensive English Program (CIEP) have a long history at history at the University of Northern Iowa. What started as a small program has grown and adapted to the changing needs of students.
OIE/CIEP | A Historical Look
The Office of International Engagement (OIE) and the Culture and Intensive English Program (CIEP) are a one-stop-shop for global learning needs. Our integrated offices in Maucker Union provide comprehensive services and support to UNI international students, domestic English learners and visiting international scholars. Our staff also collaborates closely with the Office of International Admissions and with campus and community organizations to recruit students from every corner of the globe to help them share their experiences with friends and partners in the Cedar Valley community. In other words, we bring UNI to the world and the world to UNI!
Just like our (local and global) community, our offices and services have evolved substantially over the years. In 2022, OIE and CIEP celebrated our 40th anniversary in our newly renovated space in Maucker Union. Since our founding in 1982, OIE and CIEP have served countless students from a wide variety of countries and educational backgrounds and we continue to offer endless opportunities for cross-cultural learning.
Our current services include
- English language instruction open to all non-native speakers
- Customized academic coaching
- New international student orientation
- Immigration advising for international students and scholars
- Exchange & immersion programs
- Local and regional trips
- Conversation Partners and the Family Friendship program
- Countless other cultural sharing events and activities
While times have changed, our passion for teaching and learning across languages, cultures and geographies remains strong.
Dr. Gaies and Dr. Shields, from the Department of English Language and Literature, found CIEP in 1982 as a summer program for international students who were already academically enrolled at UNI. The program is sponsored by the UNI Office of Continuing Education and Special Affairs.
The program consists of six hours of instruction per day. It includes individual and group language lab work as well as field trips and other activities outside the classroom. There are 19 students from China, Vietnam, Korea, and Mexico enrolled in this first six-week summer session.
- Dr. Stephen Gaies, Director of UNI’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education (CHGE), Professor Emeritus of English, and first CIEP Director
- Dr. Cala Shields, Professor of Applied Linguistics and a Fulbright Scholar and CIEP Administrator (Passed away in October 2014)
In August, the program expands into a year-round intensive English language program with five eight-week sessions, two sessions per semester and one in the summer. Recent graduates from UNI’s Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program are hired as full-time staff. They provide instruction in reading, speaking, and writing English to non-native students and professionals.
Student Advisor, Lisa Burgmeier starts the Conversation Partner Program which pairs international students with local students to practice English skills and learn more about U.S. and midwestern culture.
- Dr. Virginia Hash, Dean of Continuing Education and Professor of Educational Psychology becomes Director of the CIEP
- The CIEP begins to serve the TESOL program as a teaching laboratory. Students from the Masters of TESOL program have their first teaching practicum experience mentored by CIEP faculty
Dr. Hash manages CIEP’s integration into the University and College Intensive English Programs (UCIEP).
Dr. Hash retires and Dr. Michael Janopoulos, the Head of the Languages and Literature Department is appointed the Interim Director of the CIEP.
- Dr. Robet Pesek is hired as Director of the CIEP
- Dr. Pesek increases CIEP’s networking and global recruitment efforts
- Dr. Pesek is instrumental in establishing Studyiowa.com with other international educators across the state
- Mike Williams, CIEP Instructor, started the Retired Senior Volunteer Program and later, Mike will be promoted as CIEP Curriculum Coordinator
- CIEP becomes a member of the American Association of the Intensive English Programs (AAIEP)
- The CIEP hosts summer programs from Mexico and Korea
Sally Roos, Student Service Coordinator, becomes coordinator of the Conversation Partners Program and started the CIEP Friendship Family Program. Roos organized homestays for immersion programs and class exchanges with other UNI departments during which CIEP students observe and participate in those academic courses. Both programs successfully operate today.
The King Abdallah scholarship program provides scholarships to Saudi Arabian students to study at UNI and in the CIEP. These students contribute to a significant growth period of international students at UNI. Students from Saudi Arabia are instrumental in developing the Saudi Student Club and the Muslim Student Organization. These groups contribute to the cultural diversity and vibrancy on campus.
- Dr. Pesek retires and moved to Costa Rica with his wife, Chris Pesek.
- Philip Plourde, Academic Support Specialist is appointed Director of the CIEP
- Enrollment and accounting processes for the program are integrated into UNI systems
President Obama signed “The Accreditation of English Language Training Programs Act” mandating that all English as a Second Language (ESL) programs be accredited or request accreditation by December, 2013.
CIEP first earned its accreditation from the Commission of English Language Program Accreditation (CEA).
CIEP offices move from Baker Hall to renovated offices in Bartlett Hall.
- Carolina Coronado-Park, CIEP Program Coordinator becomes Interim Director of CIEP
- Philip Plourde becomes Director of International Programs
- Carolina Coronado-Park is appointed as the Director of CIEP
- CIEP started to welcome immersion programs to campus
- CIEP welcomes new Iowa comers to its program. A resident tuition is created to support new immigrants with refugees and asylum status
- The King Abdullah Scholarship Program ends for UNI Saudi international students.
- Numbers of international students at UNI and in the CIEP drops
- Developed a new partnership with the Omani Education Ministry and welcome its first cohort of students.
- The 2016 Elections brought about political changes that contribute to the drop in international enrollments at UNI and nationwide
- CIEP earns continued 10-year CEA accreditation
- CIEP wins its first grant with Partners of American and 100,000 Strong Initiatives in order to develop student and faculty mobility in the Western Hemisphere
- CIEP hosts immersion programs for partner institutions in Korea, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia and provides English Language Learning programs in collaboration with West High School, Waterloo, IA
- Collaborations expand in UNI’s sister states of China, Japan, and Mexico
- COVID-19 dramatically impacts how the program is presented
- CIEP adapts to the pandemic by creating online and hybrid programs
- Conversation Partners program and class exchanges go virtual
- Online placement exams are created for incoming students
- Sally Roos, Student Service Coordinator, resigned and went to teach to multilingual students at the pre-K -12 educational system
- The CIEP, International Student and Scholars Office and Office of International Program merge and become the Office of International Engagement.
- Carolina Coronado-Park after competing for the position, she was offered the newly created directorship of the Office of International Engagement
- CIEP instructors begin to co-teach English 1005 and Oral Communication classes
- CIEP transitioned into an integrated approach for teaching skills.
- The program is restructured and transitioned from seven levels to five levels of classes
- Office of International Engagement moves into newly renovated space on the plaza level of Maucker Union
- OIE and CIEP merged into one office in Maucker Union.
- The CIEP begins an Academic Coaching program that offers drop-in, and by appointment, advising and tutoring for international and domestic students who are non-native speakers of English
- The Intensive English Program at Iowa State University ceases operations.
- The Intensive English Program at the University of Iowa cuts service and staff for ESL students
- CIEP starts offering credit-bearing courses: Professional Communication and American Culture
- CIEP instructors co-develop curriculum for ENG1005 and COMM100 (Oral Communications), both credit bearing courses.
- CIEP instructors took over the instruct of the Strategies for Academic Student Success classes for international students
- Expansion with community collaborations
- Intensive English Program at the University of Iowa closes its doors
- Iowa State University begins limited ESL services through the Applied Linguistics program
- The OIE remains open while continuing to serve CIEP students, special program students and all UNI international students throughout the year
The CIEP has supported students around the world to gain the language skills to help them pursue their academic and professional lives in the United States. There are many CIEP alumni working in the USA after completing their degree and many of them have gone back home and are doing amazing things to create a better future for themselves, families and communities.