On behalf of the Chair of our Board of Trustees, Joseph Herlihy and our entire Board, I wanted to express our sincere gratitude for the show of support by so many alumni and donors this past year. I was pleased to see so many of you join us for our Alumni Reception at the Residence of the French Ambassador earlier this Spring. We appreciate your great affection for IAU and ACM.
As this Spring semester comes to a close, we have reached an important milestone in the history of IAU and ACM. Our student enrollments are the highest they have ever been in all of our locations with close to 2,000 enrolled in our programs abroad. Aix-en-Provence continues to be our flagship campus and houses most of our degree seeking students offering undergraduates and graduates a unique international experience in the South of France and the greater Mediterranean. Our Spain programs continue to flourish and welcomed close to 600 students in Barcelona and Madrid. We were also very proud to announce the launch of our new Florence, Italy program this spring offering programs in Italian language and culture, music, opera and business.
Some highlights of this academic year include the launch of our new Center for Student Success, the new field studies programs in Morocco, the opening of our new student café (Café Med) in the heart of the city just across from the Cathedral in Place de l’Université, and the Speaker Series program that welcomed Resident Fellows from UC San Diego, Harvard, Georgetown, George Mason, St. Mary’s College of California, and Belmont.
We are also very pleased to announce the inauguration of our new School of Global Affairs thanks to the generous contribution of our longest serving Board Member and IAU alumna from 1962-63, Donna Dillon Manning. Her one-million-dollar donation serves as an inspiration to all alumni and friends of IAU and ACM. This has been a banner year for our Alumni and Donor relations and your gifts are more helpful today than ever before as they contribute uniquely to the success of our study abroad and degree scholarship programs. Although there is still much more work to be done, we are pleased with the measure of success we have had in funding first generation college students, Pell Grant eligible students, and students of diverse backgrounds these last few years.
As we prepare for our graduation ceremony in the coming week, we are once again proud to send off another class of undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of International Relations, French Studies, International Education, Business and Fine Arts. I take great comfort in knowing that our Institution continues to grow and prepare internationally minded students for the future. Please join me in congratulating our students for their accomplishments as they join the ranks of alumni like you all over the world who have led important careers and continue to make an important impact our world.
Sincerely,
CARL JUBRAN PhD | President, ACM-IAU
Washington D.C. Events
ALUMNI RECEPTION
We recently had the honor of welcoming our ACM-IAU alumni, board of trustees, and partners to a special reception at the Résidence de France in Washington D.C. The event was held on February 21st, and featured remarks from several distinguished speakers: the Ambassador to France Laurent Bili, ACM-IAU President Carl Jubran, ACM-IAU Chair of the Board of Trustees, Joe Herlihy, Ia Meurmishvili on behalf of Ambassador Kurt Volker, and a Q&A with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Jim Hoagland and Steve Clemons. The evening also included a silent auction offering chances to bid on various exclusive trips, artwork, and gift baskets all inspired by our IAU study abroad locations!
Not able to bid on these auction items in- person? We will be offering an online auction later this year featuring similar select items unique to IAU!
(Pictured right) Special guests and renowned journalists, Steve Clemmons and Jim Hoagland addressing guests and speaking on current international affairs.
Deborah Clemmens (Aix, 1969-70) & her partner Nelson with the vintage Provencal Santons they won at the auction. This item was generously donated by fellow alum, Charlotte Kroll (Aix, 1965-66).
Along with our alumni reception, we also had the pleasure of hosting a luncheon for ACM-IAU alumni at the Army & Navy Club of Washington D.C. This event was co-sponsored by IAU alumna, Leslie McNamara (Aix, 1965-66) and her husband Robert, alongside fellow classmate Dennis Murray (Aix, 1965-66) and his wife Dana.
This year's luncheon was open to all alumni classes, offering the opportunity for some of our oldest and youngest alumni to meet and swap travel stories, and for friend groups to reunite for the first time in 30 years!
Program Updates
MADRID CONCENTRATIONS
Building on its history and expertise as a study abroad institute in the Mediterranean, IAU Madrid offers students the opportunity to pursue unique academic concentrations, which incorporate region-specific content and experiences. IAU Madrid will be expanding their concentrations to include:
Spanish Honors Abroad
Sustainable Luxury Management and Design
Human Rights, Refugee & Migration Studies
International Public Relations and Media
Within these specialized areas of study, IAU Madrid will be introducing new courses for the 2024-2025 academic year.
FIRST PROGRAM IN FLORENCE
This January, IAU welcomed the first cohort of students at our newest campus location in Florence, Italy. Our staff led the group of 128 University of San Diego students as they traveled around Italy for their "Second Year Experience." They explored the local culture and language through classes in Chemistry, Art History, Theology, Philosophy, and of course, Italian.
IAU BARCELONA'S LARGEST COHORT
Our campus in Barcelona recently welcomed its largest group of study abroad students since its inaugural semester class in 2017. This spring, more than 400 students from universities across the U.S. are studying in Barcelona, encouraging our campus to offer more IAU-led activities for the growing student body. Faculty and staff recently took 70 students to Marrakech, Morocco, where they met IAU's Moroccan team and took part in cultural activities from mint tea tasting to camel riding. We are continuing to diversify our programs to accommodate our student body which has allowed IAU to expand the immersive cultural experiences to surrounding countries. We are so thrilled that we are now able to offer this trip to our Spring & Summer cohorts!
Our Barcelona campus will also add five new courses in Fall 2024, with topics ranging from Heritage Spanish to investments. For a full list of our new classes, take a look at IAU's website.
Campus Updates
CAFÉ MED
With our increasing enrollments, we are expanding our campuses to better meet the needs of our students. We are excited for the opening of Café Med, our on-campus food hall coming to IAU's Aix-en-Provence campus. The café is located across from the Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur within a short walk from all IAU buildings and will serve French-American fusion cuisine by Aixois Chef Jean Samat. The space is reserved for ACM-IAU staff and students to share a meal, connect with fellow classmates, and study.
Café Med is now open to students!
ART STUDENT BLOG
We are happy to announce the launch of the Art Students Blog, a student run-initiative made to share the creative processes and works of those participating in classes through ACM-IAU's School of Art based in Aix-en-Provence. Follow along as students recount their Mediterranean adventures through an artistic lens.
Alumni Spotlight
(Left to right) Jen Yata with ACM-IAU V.P., U.S. Operations Kurt Schick, and Parker Henry, ACM-IAU Alumni Affairs Coordinator at the Alumni Reception in February 2024.
JENNIFER YATA
Meet Jen, an alum who studied art in Aix-en-Provence in the Spring of 1988, and recently returned to IAU with the Europe & the Islamic World J-Term this year. From listening to her summarize her life's story, it is clear that her time with IAU remains a core moment and memory.
Prior to IAU, Jen traveled extensively with her family, but it wasn't until advisor Cathleen McAllen hung IAU's poster in the hallway of Jamestown Community College that Jen was truly able to embark on a culturally immersive experience.
Her time in Aix was made memorable by the "incredibly positive staff alongside interesting and diverse contemporaries" that not only shaped her environment but contributed to the personal growth and confidence that Jen found at IAU. As a "small town girl" from a middle-class family, Jen claims that this program gave her the comfortability to connect with diverse groups of people and forge lifelong friendships that she has carried into her personal and professional endeavors.
Upon returning to the U.S., Jen worked in the International Dorm at Binghamton University, helping other students find their confidence and comfortability within their study abroad experience. After graduation, Jen moved to San Francisco to help with a multitude of environmental projects, her success at which she largely attributes to the development of her professional skills that took place at IAU.
Now enjoying an early retirement, Jen still finds ways to incorporate art & travel into her daily life. Due to her professional success, she is now able to live out her dreams in real estate, investment, gardening and cat rescues. She has stayed connected with IAU since her time in Aix, and she considers her story to have come full-circle upon winning the J-Term program in the silent auction at the ACM-IAU alumni reception at the Residence of the French Ambassador in February 2023. Although a shorter and more fast-paced experience abroad, Jen describes the program as energetic and refreshing, taking her back to her time in Aix while watching other young students define their core memories abroad.
From the impact that IAU has had on her life, Jen argues that international education is the best thing a student can do to cultivate their individuality and define their professional journey.
Great news! IAU alumni interested in returning to the Mediterranean could qualify for a minimum of $15,000 in grants and scholarships towards select master's degrees at ACM's campuses in Aix-en-Provence, France and Barcelona, Spain. Not only has the alumni grant been increased to $5,000 and is applicable to all graduate programs, the newly announced Founder's Scholarship and Arts & Language Scholarship of $10,000 are earmarked for students enrolling this fall in any of our six degree programs and are made possible thanks to ACM-IAU's board of trustees and generous donors.
ALUMNI GRANT
$5,000 grant available to all IAU alumni, applicable to any one of ACM's six graduate programs
Can be combined with the Founder's Scholarship and Art & Language Scholarship
FOUNDER'S SCHOLARSHIP
$10,000 applicable to the following new and revamped ACM programs:
MA in International Education Administration
MA in International Relations
Master of Business Administration
ARTS & LANGUAGE SCHOLARSHIP
$10,000 applicable to the following ACM programs:
MA in Art History
MFA in Painting
MA in French Studies
These financial aid opportunities were made possible by the generous support of our alumni and board of trustees. All donations go directly to scholarships, offering more students the opportunity to study abroad.
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