MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2014
PAGE 6
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FACULTY
English professor conducts 36th trip abroad
LAUREN KATZ
news@kansan.com
When it comes to study abroad, Professor Mary Klayder has three rules for students who travel with her. The first: "Have a good time." The second: "Let me have a good time." And the third: "Don't let rule number one interfere with rule number two."
Klayder, a lecturer in the honors program and associate director in the English department, believes that when it comes to learning, good experiences in other cultures are the best ways for students to build knowledge and understanding. Her enthusiasm for combining travel and academics is so great that this summer, she'll be conducting her 36th trip abroad.
"Mary sees the beauty in the strange," said Taylor Bettles, a senior
from Wichita who traveled to London with Klayder's "London Review" course this past March. "It's just fun to get to be a part of her world, especially when she's going abroad because it's such a different culture and you see how she reacts to that, and it just makes it that much more exciting to be there."
Each year, Klayder takes students on trips as part of two travel writing classes and one summer program. In the fall semester, she leads a 12-day trip to Costa Rica and in spring, a trip to London. Over the summer, Klayder leads a trip to various locations in the U.K. called the British Summer Institute.
Klayer created these study abroad programs in response to low enrollment rates in the travel writing courses. In fact, one of the classes started with just four people. At the time, study abroad programs did not
include any short-term options and staff in the study abroad department wanted more affordable programs. After Klayder implemented her first trip abroad, 30 students signed up with seven on a wait list. In her 35 trips, Klayder estimates she has taken more than 800 students total.
"Her programs have a lot more students than most of the other programs I work with," said David Wiley, a program coordinator in the KU Office of Study Abroad. "She outworks everybody else.She understands that it requires more than just putting forward an interesting program for students."
For Klayder, the class opportunities are what she calls "appetizer programs"—programs that develop an appetite in students who never would have thought about studying abroad.
"I like experiential learning" Klayer said. "I like seeing people change
and get comfortable in another city or another culture"
Klayder is one to know all about different cultures: she comes from English heritage and has a special interest in British literature, especially 20th-century London and contemporary Scottish literature. Her knowledge of these types of literature and culture led her to bring the British Summer Institute program to the University in 1990. Twenty-four years later, the program averages about 25 students per trip.
As for choosing Costa Rica, Klayder conducted her own research along with the help of her two children. Klayder's family traveled to four different cities and chose which cities gave the best sense of the country for class purposes.
"With Costa Rica I kind of started from square one, and my motivation was that my kids are from Costa
Rica and I wanted to understand more about that," Klayder said. "It's a whole different place. The language is different, and I had to step out of all sorts of comfort zones."
Alternative thinking and gaining a global perspective are part of Klayder's mantra. During each trip, she encourages students to attend and write about events that relate to their own interests, and then invites them to vocalize their feelings over a reflective group dinner, which is one of Klayder's favorite aspects of the trip.
"People end up writing what they want to say, and that's what makes people write better," Klayder said. "There's a little turn that takes people over, and they get that confidence and that's a real epiphany for me."
— Edited by Emma LeGault
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TRANSPORTATION
Campus construction
JACK FEIGH news@kansan.com
The construction and road work on Jayhawk Boulevard entered its second stage on May 19. This phase will extend from Poplar Lane to the intersection of Sunflower Road and Jayhawk Boulevard.
"The road is in a serious state of disrepair and hasn't undergone this level of maintenance for several decades," Gavin Young, the provost's communication coordinator for the University, said.
Young said the overhaul will completely reconstruct the road. The road will be torn up and the construction workers will lay a new foundation that will create a more stable and durable road. In past years, construction crews have only added new concrete to the road.
The construction will last from May 19 to Aug. 15., according to an email from Sharon Anthony, the administrative assistant at the University's Office of Design and Construction Management.
Another construction project will occur on Naismith Drive and will close areas between 15th Street and Crescent Road. The intersections at both ends of the construction will remain open, and will be completed by Aug.1 along with the construction on Jayhawk Boulevard.
Because the intersection of Jayhawk Boulevard and Sunflower Road is part of the project, traffic through campus is closed off at each of the four traffic booths. Students, staff and visitors should navigate the construction site with care.
In addition to the roadways, the University will be improving rainwater management and runoff systems.
Construction on two new residence halls on Daisy Hill will make progress this summer, which will close off Engel Road and Irving Hill Road. The Lied Center will be used
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as additional parking for students.
"It was long overdue sprucing up of [Jayhawk] Boulevard, and I think they chose a good time to do it during the summer," Mitchell Seeman, a recent University graduate from
Those living around the residence halls or commuting in Lawrence will see construction on the bridge over Iowa Street has reduced the bridge to one lane. The route from University Drive connecting to Iowa Street can be used for those trying to get from main campus to any building on west campus.
Overland Park, said.
However, some students find the construction to be an inconvenience as classes are starting.
"It's kind of inconvenient to get to places like the Union," Maddie Noe, a junior from Chesterfield, Mo., said. "I didn't know about it before this was happening."
Edited by Tom DeHart and Emma LeGault
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