According to a recent American Council on Education study, more than 70 percent of high school seniors think it's important that their college offer study-abroad programs, and almost half plan to participate in such programs. With an increasing emphasis on international education, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation granted $10,000 to the CCCU to encourage and promote international education. The grant will also cover a portion of conference fees for senior Chief Academic Officers (CAOs) to gain direct exposure to the CCCU’s Latin American Studies Program (LASP) located in Costa Rica.

Conference participants will discuss cross-cultural education models and best practices, student safety and international travel issues, supporting students interested in international programs and global implications for core curricula.

CAOs see this growing study-abroad trend as an opportunity to reach potential high school students. Their first-hand experience of the LASP will show students:

• Learning through Spanish language study and interdisciplinary seminars about Latin culture, history, ecology, politics, economics and religion
• Living with Costa Rican families, improving their Spanish and sharing their lives with Latin American Christians
• Serving in a hands-on work opportunity that provides another window into Latin American life and allows them to gain experience in an area of professional interest
• Traveling through other Central American nations to discover the rich diversity of cultures and peoples in the region

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation was established in 1930 "to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations." Its programming activities center around the common vision of a world in which each person has a sense of worth, accepts responsibility for self, family, communication and societal well-being, has the capacity to be productive, and to help create nurturing families, responsive institutions and healthy communities.

To achieve the greatest impact, the Foundation targets its grants toward specific areas. These include: health, food systems and rural development, youth and education and philanthropy and volunteerism. Within these areas, attention is given to the cross-cutting themes of leadership, information and communication technology, capitalizing on diversity and social and economic community development. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean and the southern African countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.