Acknowledgements

This project began in 2021 when the Committee on Arts Faculty and International Student Success applied to the President’s Diversity and Equity Committee for a small grant, which we used to hire Litzy Baeza to produce a guidance document. Our committee then formed a working group to edit and shape the guidance document to make it as specific as possible to KPU. Early on, the working group consisted of Billeh Nickerson, Heather Ladd, Zahia Marzouk, and me, Mark Vardy. The committee changed composition; Zahia and I were joined by Parvinder Dhariwal, and the three of us continued the work.

Along the way, we benefitted enormously from many constructive conversations with the faculty, staff and students on the committee. A partial list includes (in alphabetical order by first name): Amandeep Dhillon, Arpita Bhanot, Asma Sayed, Alexandra Gutierrez de la Cruz, Chahat, Ed Ko, Geraldine Wee, Greg Millard, Indra Manhas, Jeffrey Meyers, Kai Barcellos, Kris Singh, Leanne MacDonald, Masako Ishihara, Melinda Bige, Naomi Ben-Yehuda, Pedro dos Santos, and Zainab Al-koubaisi. Asma Sayed, Lilach Marom, and Mike Larsen provided helpful feedback on an early draft. Along the way, we decided to include videos with International students, which Gordon Cobb enthusiastically agreed to make.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the students whose voices make this guide come alive. Students featured in the video clips include Alisha Mehta, Amandeep Dhillon, Asad Husain, Chahat, Kai Barcellos, King Lee, Malva Varela Alonso, Mansukh Sidhu, and Melissa Arbocco Freyre. Student assistant Navleen Kaur helped with the filming. Zahia translated the draft faculty guide from a Word document into a community Moodle site. We then put it into Pressbook format, which was enabled and expertly facilitated by Amanda Grey and her student assistant Akshleen Kaur.

Thank you to Shelley Boyd who, as Dean of Arts, has encouraged us in the production of this guide from the outset. Most importantly, thank you to all the International students who we’ve taught over the years. It is a truly rewarding and enriching experience to share your learning journey with you.