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More With Your Support Visitors practice art of sharing Bicentennial Campaign gets boost from students                             How you can help There are several ways alumni can get involved with the GLC. In addition to making monetary contributions, options include working with other professionals and students on a class project or inviting students to tackle a company project. For more information on the GLC, call (740) 597-2794 or send an e-mail to glc@ohio.edu.

By Lorie McCormick Researching and analyzing situations and outcomes, making client presentations, creating marketing plans and developing Web content. Sound like some folks' average workday? Now add classes, homework, extracurricular activities and a busy social calendar, and you understand the world of an Ohio University Global Learning Community student. The GLC is a two-year, 30-credit-hour certificate program that allows students to gain practical experience working on real-world projects. The three-year-old program is targeted for expansion with funds from the University's ongoing Bicentennial Campaign. "The GLC trains leaders in all walks of life -- in business, in the arts, in communications and in engineering -- to be leaders with a global perspective," says Director Greg Emery, AB '82, MA '84. First-year GLC students work in teams on five projects, one of which is overseas, while second-year students delve into three projects. Students also must complete an international internship or study-abroad program. (The GLC has sent students to Ecuador, Hungary, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Romania, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Hong Kong, The Czech Republic and Thailand.) To further enhance the GLC experience, students can live with their teammates in Bromley Hall, which houses the program's classroom, offices and computer labs.     Ohio University students Emily Wing and Steve Witham (first and second from left) and their Masaryk University teammates worked with a truck body manufacturer in The Czech Republic. The GLC faculty is comprised of professors from various disciplines who share a commitment to project-based learning. All have extensive experience living and working overseas, important credentials that complement the impressive 10-1 student-faculty ratio. Emery says providing students with the opportunity to work on real projects is the key to the program's success. "Students don't say what they learned," he says, "they say what they did!" Professor of Telecommunications David Mould, a GLC faculty member, agrees, noting that students also gain experience solving problems, taking initiative and overcoming what in real life could be deal-breaking obstacles. "We should be able to drop these students anywhere in the world with a project -- not necessarily in their discipline -- and they will know what it takes to get started," Mould says. "It's not so much the subject matter as it is working on different projects and working across cultures." Steve Witham, a second-year GLC student majoring in management information systems and marketing, has found working on projects to be an effective way to learn. "With project-based learning, you sometimes have problems that arise," he says. "The fact that I've dealt with these problems has really helped me." Gaining a wider perspective on the world was a valuable benefit for Lindsay Mazza, a senior majoring in interpersonal communications and human services. "It's important to understand different views, work styles and cultures and be able to incorporate that into whatever project you're working on," says Mazza, who traveled to Ecuador to work with a hat manufacturer. "I really enjoyed how we got to go in and just observe before saying 'Do it this way!' from an American perspective."     GLC students climb a mountain in Ecuador. Despite the need for college graduates to be savvy world citizens, Emery notes that the GLC can accept only 30 students each year. His short-term goals are to acquire more space and, because of the program's interdisciplinary focus, to have professors from each college within the University participate in the program. Eventually he would like to help cover the cost of students' international trips and bring in top people in various fields to consult on class projects. While international travel grants are awarded to students on a competitive basis, Emery says finances can sometimes be a barrier for students wishing to enter the program. "Because of our financial and spatial limitations, we can't grow," Emery says. "I've heard the GLC referred to as the 'gold standard' of international programs at Ohio University. I wish more students could take advantage of this fantastic opportunity." Lorie McCormick, BSJ '90, coordinates the College of Communication's external and alumni relations.