Published: June 24, 2008 11:41 am         

Researchers probe intercultural learning

The Center for Intercultural Teaching and Learning (CITL) is relatively new to Goshen College, but its leaders are hoping to make a significant impact in the community and beyond.

The CITL — housed in an area that formerly was a game room in the student union — is a year-round research facility designed to help address the educational needs and resources of Latino students in the community.

The center has a conference room, several offices and a community center where research can be done by students and staff alike. And despite the school year being over for GC students, new CITL Director Rebecca Hernandez said the work in the facility never stops.

“We are always looking at the changing demographics and seeing what we can do to connect more closely with students,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez explained that a lot of the research done focuses on the increasing Latino student population — looking primarily at Elkhart, St. Joseph and Noble counties locally since that is where a large Latino population resides — and what the college can do to accommodate them.

“The first step is outreach (with Latino parents and students),” Hernandez said. “Then presenting them with the idea that college is a possibility. Obviously we want these students to come to GC but we just want to see them go to college period.”

The goal of the CITL is threefold: To make a Goshen College education accessible to Latino students, to create an intercultural learning community for all Goshen College students and to investigate the dynamics behind the changing ethnic composition of a rural Midwest community like Goshen.

Professors at Goshen College have spoken with teachers at Goshen High School to develop courses designed to encourage Latino students to actively pursue college.

“We are bringing people here to campus to learn what strategies and skills work so they can translate that to college,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez is new to the area, having taken the position of director merely three weeks ago. She moved to Goshen from Portland, Ore., where she was the director of community building for the Hacienda Community Development Corp.

She was also a faculty instructor in the Human Development and Family Studies Department of Orgeon State University, Corvallis, Ore., where she received her doctoral degree.

She was born in Joliet, Ill., so despite living on the West Coast for almost 20 years, her roots are in the Midwest.

“I love it here in Goshen,” she said. “I don’t have homesickness as much as I thought I would.”

Hernandez met Robert Reyes, research director for the CITL, a few years ago while each were at different positions. While recently doing a global search for a new position in the educational field, she contacted Reyes, who informed her about the position available at the college.

“He told me about the center and his vision for it, and the marriage of the two just seemed to fit what I was looking for,” Hernandez said.

The center exists in large part to a $12.5 million grant given in 2006 from Lilly Endowment Inc. The grant will enable Goshen College to become a leader in understanding how small liberal arts colleges can best serve the educational needs of rapidly increasing Latino immigrant populations.

“We hope to work with other universities once we collect our data,” Reyes said.

The CITL’s hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the summer and it is open to the public.