Iowa Wesleyan University plans to open a Center for International Education

MT. PLEASANT - Iowa Wesleyan University is hoping to bring more of the world to Mt. Pleasant with their Center for International Education.

University Provost DeWayne Frazier announced Friday evening IW plans to transform a building donated to the university by the local Methodist Church into a hub for international students and visitors.

The announcement came as an introduction to a performance by the Golden Dragon Acrobats at the University Chapel, which saw over 700 community members and students fill the auditorium to capacity.

'With the center, we're going to do more cultural opportunities and things in our community. We're looking to bring more programs in the future and more diverse groups to campus. [The community wants] to see these things. What small town in Iowa do you get this kind of stuff?” Frazier said.

The university provost also noted IW serves close to 120 international students from 30 international countries. Though the number may seem small, the students actually make up about 25% to 30% of the campus' student body.

'We are the number one international student population of all schools in Iowa,” Frazier said.

Currently, the university offers an international studies minor, study abroad opportunities, an English as a Second Language Program as well as language and culture classes that are available to anyone from the community.

Frazier said the university hopes the new center will allow the campus to be an even better resource for both the community and students.

'We want to be that resource. It'll be a site on campus for community members to stop if they want to talk to someone. If a teacher reaches out and needs someone to come and talk about a country, there's a chance that we'd have a student from that country who would be willing to do it,” he said.

Frazier added the center also will be a hub dedicated to international students where they can cook food or gather for events.

'We have so many international students. The home also will just make it feel like it's their place versus an office with all kinds of other offices. It shows our dedication to these students,” Frazier added.

The university will be undertaking a $25,000 project to enhance the building, which will include powerwashing and painting the exterior, repairs, and the planting of flags representing the home countries of IW students. Frazier said he hopes the building will be ready by summer but will host a grand opening in August when students are back from summer break.

Clay Johnson, the international student adviser, said the center is an 'exciting” development for the international community on campus. Johnson believes a designated area for international students will encourage even more interaction across cultures.

'Since I've been here, seeing the students from different countries interact more with each other. That's something I've been trying to do is get them from sticking to groups, but I've seen a lot more student interaction and countries,” Johnson said.

The center is just as exciting to students as well. Wen Du, a first-year Masters student from China studying business, said the campus fosters a great deal of diversity that will only grow with an international center.

'We have many international students from many countries and there's a lot of diversity. They're all very friendly,” he said, 'I think it's cool we're going to have a place to call our own.”