31st Annual Conference

Building Solidarity: Education through Experience

February 19-22, 2020
Guanajuato, México

Conference Activities and Sessions

The 31st Annual Conference—Building Solidarity: Education through Experience—was held February 19-22, 2020, at the Universidad de Guanajuato in Guanajuato, México.

Wednesday, February 19
4:30-5:00 PM	Welcome to AAPLAC 2020 Auditorium Salvador Yañez Sede Belén, Universidad de Guanajuato Scott Giltner, AAPLAC President George Ann Huck, AAPLAC Executive Director Todd Fletcher, Resplandor Internacional Sergio Silva, Universidad de Guanajuato
5:00-5:30 PM	Plenary Address Sergio Silva, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Universidad de Guanajuato
6:00-8:00 PM	Opening Reception Hotel Alonso Calle Alonso 10, Zona Centro Appetizers will be served. Included in conference registration. Dress code is casual. Cash bar.
Thursday, February 20 Auditorium Salvador Yañez Sede Belén, Universidad de Guanajuato
9:00 AM-10:15 AM	Session 1: Looking Backwards/Looking Forwards Moderator: Stephanie Athey, Lasell University George Ann Huck, Central College, "52 Years Abroad: Central College Meets the Good, the Bad, and the Marvelous" Abel Rubén Hernández Ulloa, Universidad de Guanajuato, "Building International Collaboration on Human Welfare Rights, Global Ethics, and Education"
10:15-10:45 AM	Coffee Break in memory of Steven Wille and Gerry St. Martin Steven Wille was the Founder, President, and Executive Director of the Centro de Estudios Interamericanos (CEDEI), a non-profit institution working to build cultural exchange and opportunities among US and LATAM students, scholars, and institutions since 1992. Gerry St. Martin was a Professor of Modern Languages at Salisbury University and a passionate believer in study abroad. He led students to Latin America for well over two decades.
10:45 AM-12:00 PM	Session 2: Ethical and Sustainable Collaborations in Study Abroad Moderator: Brian Jennings, Albright College Bimini Hortsmann and Morgan Oestereich, Davidson College: "Moving Students from the Outside Looking in to Learning from the Inside: Community-led Student Learning and the Ethics of Developing a Payment for Environmental Services Collaboration in the Naso Tjer Di, Panama" Christina Tomasik, Lasell University, "Good Intentions Aren't Good Enough: Actionable Steps Towards Ethical and Sustainable Service Learning"
12:00-1:30 PM	Lunch on your own AAPLAC Board Lunch Meeting Restaurante Mestizo
1:30-2:45 PM	Session 3: Promoting Equitable and Sustainable Cross-Cultural Experience Moderator: George Ann Huck, Central College Tiago Jones, Campbell University: "Polarization Leads to Inertia: How We Can Address the Ongoing issues Surrounding the Border and US Mexico Relations When We Stop Shrieking at Each Other" Daniel Ponce Taylor, Intercultural Outreach Initiative, "Carbon Neutral Faculty Led Program: How to Co-design and Run Local Programs that Mitigate Study Abroad Carbon Footprint"
2:45-3:15 PM	Coffee Break sponsored by Albright College
3:15-4:45 PM	Session 4: Challenges of Engagement & Community Building in International Education Moderator: Margaret Rakus, Gwynedd Mercy University Todd Fletcher, Resplandor International, "Resplandor International: Transcultural Community Learning Experiences" Erick Manuel Sánchez-Robles, Office of International Relations and Academic Collaboration, Universidad de Guanajuato, "UG Summer Research and Cultural Immersion Program: An Innovative Model of Capacity Building"
evening	Free time to explore Guanajuato. Dinner on your own.
Friday, February 21 Auditorium Salvador Yañez Sede Belén, Universidad de Guanajuato
9:00-10:15 AM	Session 5: Overcoming Barriers to Building Solidarity Moderator: Tiago Jones, Campbell University Sylvia Catharina van Dijk Kocherthaler, Universidad de Guanajuato, "Crossing Borders: How to Enhance Global Perspectives" Anita Smart, Natik Esperanza, "Here Time, There Time, Together Time!""
10:15-10:45 AM	Coffee Break sponsored by Mexico Shoulder to Shoulder
10:45 AM-12:00 PM	Session 6: Developing and Assessing International Programs Moderator: Anita Smart, Natik Esperanza Steven Gardner, Illinois College "Developing a Campus-wide Collaboration with Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean One Researcher at a Time: Example of Illinois College and the University of Pinar del Rio, Cuba" Scott Giltner and Lauren Schellenberger, Culver-Stockton College, "The Challenges and Opportunities of Assessing Institutional Travel Away Through Self Study and External Review: A Case Study From One Small, Private Liberal Arts College"
12:00-1:15 PM	Lunch on your own
1:15-2:00 PM	AAPLAC Business Meeting Everyone encouraged to attend
2:00-3:15 PM	Session 7: Small Colleges, Big Impacts: Maintaining Program Vitality in Small Institutions Moderator: Steven Gardner, Illinois College Brian Jennings, Kim Justeson, Albright College, "Ten Years On: Strategies for Maintaining Programs at a Small Institution" Allison Ulaky and Bryan Lineweaver, Albright College, "The Cultural Experience: Conducting Research in a Foreign Setting"
3:15-3:45 PM	Coffee Break sponsored by Culver-Stockton College
3:45-4:45 PM	Session 8: All-Conference Discussion: Reflecting on the Mission and Vision of AAPLAC
6:30 PM	AAPLAC Conference Banquet Costal Cultura Cafetera San José 4, Zona Centro Included in conference registration. Dress code is casual. Cash bar.
Saturday, February 22
8:15 AM-4:00 PM	Excursion to Resplandor International $40 (not included in conference registration fee) We will meet at 8:15 AM from Plaza de la Paz, Zona Centro, and return at approximately 4:00 PM. The Saturday excursion will be a tour of some local sights highlighted by a visit to the non-profit organization Resplandor International, a cultural and educational center focused on education and development. While at Resplandor, we will interact with the organizers and clients of the organization. We will also tour a local company in Cajones that manufactures various products from Nopal (cactus) grown in the area. In addition to the tours, there will be the option of some light hiking to a lovely scenic overlook nearby and an optional visit to a temazcal, a type of low heat sweat lodge that originated with pre-Hispanic Indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica. Lunch and transportation are also included in the fee.