Program
Program
Study Center and Administration
The ISLE Program Study Center located in Dangolla is the hub of program activity. It contains an extensive library collection, now numbering over 4,000 titles, which supports ISLE's diverse academic course offerings. The library is open at least six days a week during daylight hours. Lending privileges are extended only to ISLE students. According to University of Peradeniya faculty, it is now one of the very best English language libraries in upcountry Sri Lanka. Library privileges for ISLE students are also extended through an arrangement with the International Center for Ethnic Studies (ICES) and on a more limited basis with the University of Peradeniya.
ISLE Program Study Center, Kandy, Sri Lanka (campus representatives visiting the center in the foreground)
The ISLE Program Study Center also contains an outdoor pavillion or classroom where language classes are conducted, a study room with TV and VCR, a collection of contemporary American literature and travel guides, and a beautiful and expansive garden.
An outdoor classroom at the center.
Study room.
The Center also houses the program's business office, and is the residence of the program director, the program assistant(s), and some of the program staff.
The staff at the ISLE Center, from left to right: Rosemary (manager), Rupa (chef),
Sree Padma Holt (Administrative Director), Violet (chef), Sumanasena
(transportation facilitator), Maya (domestic support), and Gabriel (gardener).
2010 Fall Program
Professor Stephen Jenkins will direct the program in Fall 2010. He received his doctorate from Harvard in 1999 and is currently Chair of Religious Studies at Humboldt State University. His research has been primarily focused on Buddhist concepts of compassion, their philosophical grounding, and their ethical implications. Since his own life-changing undergraduate experiences in India and China, he has been dedicated to enriching students through study abroad education. He has chaired university and statewide committees for international programs and has led study abroad programs in Tibet, Israel, Japan and twice in India.
Dr. Sree Padma Holt is ISLE's Administrative Director. Her office is located at the program's agency institution (Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine). With the program's Faculty Board of Directors and the Faculty Resident Director, she is responsible for all aspects of program planning and implementation. She can be contacted for any questions about the program.
Board of Directors
The ISLE Board of Directors holds plenary meetings annually at one of the member colleges. The board consists of faculty representatives from each of the consortium colleges, and three Off-Campus Directors from three of the colleges. Bowdoin College Dean of Academic Affairs Cristle Judd is an ex-officio member of the board. Professor John Holt, of Bowdoin college, serves as consultant; Professor Holt founded the ISLE Program in 1982.
At this meeting, the board receives reports from the administrator, review policies, and entertains proposals.
The 2009 meeting was held in April at Macalester College.
2009 ISLE FACULTY BOARD MEETING AT MACALESTER COLLEGE: Back row (standing, left to right): Paul D. Nelson (Study Abroad Coordinator, Macalester College), Dr. Helena Kaufman (Director of Off Campus Studies, Carleton), Professor Roger Vetter, (Department of Music, Grinnell College and ISLE Resident Faculty Director, Fall 2009), Professor Arjun Guneratne (Department of Anthropology, Macalester College, and Director of the American Institute for Sri Lankan Studies), Professor Nancy Wilkie, (Department of Classical Languages, Carleton College, and ISLE Resident Faculty Director, Fall 2008), Professor Mark Lincicome (Director of Study Abroad, Holy Cross College), Professor John Holt, (Department of Religion, Bowdoin College), Professor Roger Jackson, (Department of Religion, Carleton College), Dean Kathleen Murray (Provost and Dean of Faculty, Macalester College), Michael D. Monahan (Director, International Center, Macalester College), Dr. Sree Padma Holt (Administrative Director, ISLE Program).
Front row (kneeling, left to right): Professor Edmund Gilday (Department of Religious Studies, Grinnell College, and Board Chair, ISLE Program), Professor Jason Carbine (Department of Religious Studies, Whittier College).