Ann Kuhlman and Gang Wang bring a wealth of experience in developing programs for international students and scholars to their new posts at Yale.

New office to help meet needs
of University's international scholars

As part of Yale's effort to increase and enhance the services and programs it offers to its growing international community, Provost Alison F. Richard has appointed two staff members to head up the newly reconfigured Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS). Ann Kuhlman, associate director of the Office of International Programs at the University of Pennsylvania for the past 17 years, has been appointed director of the OISS. Gang Wang, who worked for the past six years in Cornell University's International Students and Scholars Office, has been named associate director for immigration and visa services in the office. Under the new leadership, the OISS will expand the services offered by the former Office of Foreign Students and Scholars, which focused primarily on assistance and counseling regarding visa and immigration issues. Roberta Grossman, who directed the Office of Foreign Students and Scholars for 19 years, retired in April of 1999. "Yale attracts a steadily increasing number of students and scholars from the international community," says Richard. "I am most grateful for the dedicated and expert service that Roberta Grossman and her staff provided to these individuals in the past. Currently, however, we have come to recognize the need to expand the scope of the Office to provide even more in the way of support and services to our international students and scholars if they -- and their American colleagues -- are to reap the full benefits of their participation in the work and life of the University." The OISS, she adds, will offer these scholars additional services and will "have as one of its top priorities increasing communication between the office and the international community." The new director and associate director of OISS bring to their positions extensive experience working with international students and scholars, notes the Provost. "Ann Kuhlman and Gang Wang will be a wonderful resource for our international students and scholars," says Richard. "Both have a keen understanding of the issues and concerns faced by those who come from abroad to study and work here. In their former positions, they assisted and advised students on a wide range of concerns, from immigration regulations to health insurance to employment. In addition, each has established programs to help orient arriving students and scholars to their new university setting and to improve regular communication with members of the international community." The OISS has already established a listserv that will convey timely information about immigration regulations, employment opportunities and OISS programs, and is moving to develop a new web site for more general information. In addition to assisting the international community with matters related to U.S. immigration regulations, the OISS will look to develop new programs and services to help international students and scholars achieve "maximum professional and personal benefit from their stays at Yale," says Kuhlman. "Initially, we want to address issues of arrival, settling in, and making a successful adjustment to life in the United States," Kuhlman explains. "A first step will be to seek advice from the Yale community as to what services and programs the OISS might offer to facilitate a smooth transition and to enhance the experiences of international students and scholars at Yale. We invite comments and suggestions from Yale students, faculty and staff." Ann Kuhlman At the University of Pennsylvania, Kuhlman's duties included the administration of services and programs for the more than 4,500 members of the international community there. She developed orientation programs for international students, as well as the Campus Mentoring and Hosting Program and a support group for international students and scholars. She also advised UPenn students on graduate fellowships, including Rhodes, Marshall and Fulbright. Kuhlman also worked out student exchange agreements, served as a liaison with city and regional organizations involved in international student programs and international education activities, and helped develop a computerized database of international expertise. From 1976 to 1981 she was a foreign student adviser at UPenn. Since 1974, Kuhlman has been an active member of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, serving on the board and chairing numerous committees, including the National Conference Program Committee and the Education and Training Committee. She has written a number of articles about foreign student admissions, placement and orientation in institutions of higher education, and has spoken on those subjects and others at numerous regional and national conferences. In June 1999 Kulman received a Fulbright grant and spent two weeks in Korea on a program designed for U.S. international education administrators to learn more about the Korean educational system and culture. The new OISS director earned her bachelor's degree from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, and her master's degree in international relations and Middle East studies from the University of Pennsylvania. Gang Wang Wang has been associate director of Cornell University's International Students and Scholars Office for the past two years. From 1996 to 1998, he was the assistant director of the office. He formerly served there as an international student adviser and international program coordinator. During his six years at Cornell, Wang worked with international student groups and developed the Cornell web site for foreign students and scholars. He also offered workshops on employment for foreign students in the United States and abroad, and developed orientation programs. Prior to his work at Cornell, Wang coordinated the International Living/Learning Center at Miami University. Wang earned his bachelor's degree in English and American literature from Xian Foreign Language Institute in China and his master's degree in higher education administration and student affairs from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He has spoken at several national conferences about foreign student advising and the development of technology to improve service and increase efficiency in international student offices. In 1998, he was presented an award for his web site for NAFSA Region 10 in New York. Other OISS information Kuhlman and Wang will be working with OISS staff members Susan Buydos, Janice Pinkard and Monica Weeks, who are assistant directors, and office secretaries Helene Meltzer and Margaret Valentino. "I feel very fortunate to have joined such a capable and committed staff, and look forward to working with them as we streamline our internal operations, and identify and address the needs of Yale's international community," says Kuhlman. The OISS is located on the fourth floor of 246 Church St. By the end of October, the office will move to newly renovated space on the second floor. The office is open Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Advisers are available to see students and scholars for walk-in appointments Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. If those times are not convenient, students and scholars can also schedule appointments by calling the office at 432-2305. Students, faculty and staff are welcome to stop by and visit the office and to forward comments and concerns to office staff members. For further information, call 432-2305 or send e-mail to ann.kuhlman@yale.edu or gang.wang.gw58@yale.edu. The office's fax number is 432-7166. 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