Study Abroad hires full-time coordinator

As Xavier University opens its doors to another academic year, it's newly formed Center for International Education (CIE) is excited for an innovative and improved chapter of study abroad.

This fall semester begins Laura Johnson's career at Xavier, as she is the first full-time Study Abroad Coordinator that Xavier has ever hired.

Previously, Margaret McDiarmid, a professor of French, held the position of director of Study Abroad as a part-time post.

Ismael Betancourt, the executive director of the CIE, said that when he came to Xavier he witnessed a large demand for an increase in the quality and quantity of study abroad programming from students, faculty and staff.

"If we wanted to get to the level of study abroad that our students and the administration wanted, we needed to bring a full-time position to this campus," Betancourt said.

Johnson previously worked at Miami University and the Ohio State University and coordinated abroad programs in London. According to Johnson her goals are to increase study abroad's accessibility and increase the amount of options for more locations.

"All the steps we're taking come back to those goals," Johnson said.

A few of the initiatives that Johnson, Betancourt and the CIE are undertaking include expanding academic service learning semesters' abroad locations, direct exchange programs and the amount of cooperation with credible and affordable study abroad organizations.

A more tangible and immediate change students will experience is the implementation of StudioAbroad, a study abroad software with applications, class listings and a digital to-do list online.

"We already bought the software. It's already installed; we're just now configuring it," Betancourt said.

Another new opportunity that students will appreciate is walk-in advising hours with Johnson in order to provide more assistance to students interested in studying abroad.

"Because Xavier didn't have a fully developed study abroad program; everything we are doing is stuff schools did back around 2002," Betancourt said. "We're trying to catch Xavier up with other universities when it comes to study abroad."