BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – As he wanders the tree-lined streets of Barcelona, passing cafés and tiendas selling churros and café con leche, Illinois Wesleyan alumnus Rich Kurtzman feels at ease navigating the capital of this region of Spain, a place he has called home since 2002.
Kurtzman, who graduated from IWU in 1998, came to Barcelona to work as a recruiter and adviser for IES Abroad, a study abroad company with a program in Barcelona. Now, eight years later, he is the director of his own study abroad company, Barcelona Study Abroad Experience, which will partner with the Illinois Wesleyan Barcelona Program in the spring of 2011.
Last year the University decided to shift studies in Spain from Madrid to Barcelona. The University saw benefits of situating the program in Barcelona, said Director of the International Office Stacey Shimizu. “With Barcelona, the city’s physical location–on the Mediterranean, close to France–and its multicultural history and nature means a wider range of faculty can design courses that take advantage of its resources, courses that perhaps take a more comparative or cross-cultural perspective.”
Starting in January, 18 IWU students will spend four months abroad with the new IWU Barcelona Program, taking classes through Barcelona SAE. The program will take place each spring semester. According to Shimizu, “Barcelona SAE was able to offer a program much like IWU had administered in Madrid, but addressing all the issues of concern, such as lower-level language classes, housing assistance and financial sustainability.”