Center for International Education constructs new International Pavilion (Story 3 Final)

This semester the International House is representing students from 25 different countries. According to the Center for International Education (CIE) over 22 primary languages have been spoken in the I-House.

“I try as much as I can for a fifty fifty split so that international students really do get the American experience and Americans are getting the international experience that we advertise as well,” Dr. Dylan Rust, Director of Global Student Life said.

The International House was founded in 2012 by the Center for International Education. Over 500 residents have been living in the international house; a number of students in the I-House are from different countries however it is also home to American students.

“I often try to place American students who are studying a specific language with an international student who is a speaker of that language. That is really beneficial to the American student who is studying and wants to improve on that,” Rust said.

In order for students American or international to live in the I-House they must fill out an application. The application is then looked over by the staff in the Center for International Education. They then determine who will be able to live in the international house by assessing the amount of effort put into the application. There is no fee for the application only the set cost for rent. The international house is located in Campus Heights Apartments. The rent ranges from $5,184-$5,408 for the academic school year.

Dr. Rust mentioned that a number of on campus groups are primarily for freshman, however the international community makes it clear to students that they cater to the needs of all students.

The Center for International Education strives to put on events for the students living in the I-House. The CIE has been saving to build an international pavilion, which will be home to the events that the international house puts on. The International Pavilion will host many cross-cultural programs each week and will also be available for students that need a place to pray.

“International houses go hand in hand with cross cultural programming. You can’t have a viable international house and not have space fro programming,” Charles said.

The International Pavilion will open in August of 2015 and the building will be over 9,000 square feet. According to Dr. Harvey Charles, the new pavilion is unlike other buildings in that about 92% of the square footage is being used.

“In most buildings you have a lot of dead space and this building practically all of the space is being utilized in one way or the other,” said Dr. Harvey Charles, Vice Provost for International Education.

The International Pavilion will point out the three themes of global learning sustainability, diversity, and global engagement. The International House is sustainable in the sense that the building will generate more energy than it uses. It is diverse in the wide range of students that can live within the International House and participate in the cross-cultural programs. The International Pavilion as a whole represents global engagement because it allows students from all walks of life to interact with one another.

The International Pavilion cost roughly five million dollars to build. Once the building was approved the Center for International Education was able to go through protocol and put out a bid to find an architect for the project. After reviewing each architects plan they chose the one that fit best and then went on to hire a contractor.

“We certainly had a vision. Our job was to articulate that vision to the architect and the architect then translated that vision into bricks and mortar,” Charles said.

In 2014 NAU’s International House became one of the seventeen international houses to become a member of International Houses Worldwide. The IHWW Website states that all international houses should provide the people living there with the opportunity to live and learn in a diverse environment. Through their experiences, conversation and friendship cultural gaps should be mended on behalf of both parties. Therefore the students should acquire intercultural skills that help them enhance their future.

“From the American standpoint it’s important to be able to get that outside perspective of different students from different nations, so that American students can be better equip when they go into the work force,” said Rust.