Fulbright Teaching Assistant Joins Williams College

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — María Pía Maiti from Argentina has been awarded a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program grant to serve as a teaching associate in Spanish and take courses at Williams College for academic year 2016-17. 

While in the United States, Maiti will share her language and culture with U.S. communities to inspire Americans to travel and study overseas, and make U.S. citizens better prepared to engage with businesses, governments, and organizations abroad.

Pía Maiti is one of nearly 400 young educators from 50 countries who has traveled to the United States for the 2016-2017 academic year through the Fulbright FLTA Program to help internationalize U.S. colleges and universities, a key goal of many institutions as they prepare students for the 21st century workforce and globalized world. Recipients of Fulbright FLTA grants are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential.  Fulbright FLTA scholarships are awarded by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

In the coming year, grant recipients from East Asia and the Pacific; Europe and Eurasia; the Middle East and North Africa; South and Central Asia; and Sub-Saharan Africa will contribute to U.S. students’ foreign language acquisition in more than 30 languages at over 200 U.S. institutions. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments, universities, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright Program has given approximately 360,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.  Since 2001, more than 4,000 Fulbright awardees have been Fulbright FLTAs.

Fulbright FLTA recipients are among over 50,000 individuals participating in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year. The Fulbright FLTA Program is administered by the Institute of International Education.


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Williamstown Charter Review Panel OKs Fix to Address 'Separation of Powers' Concern

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter.
 
The committee accepted language designed to meet concerns raised by the Planning Board about separation of powers under the charter.
 
The committee's original compliance language — Article 32 on the annual town meeting warrant — would have made the Select Board responsible for determining a remedy if any other town board or committee violated the charter.
 
The Planning Board objected to that notion, pointing out that it would give one elected body in town some authority over another.
 
On Wednesday, Charter Review Committee co-Chairs Andrew Hogeland and Jeffrey Johnson, both members of the Select Board, brought their colleagues amended language that, in essence, gives authority to enforce charter compliance by a board to its appointing authority.
 
For example, the Select Board would have authority to determine a remedy if, say, the Community Preservation Committee somehow violated the charter. And the voters, who elect the Planning Board, would have ultimate say if that body violates the charter.
 
In reality, the charter says very little about what town boards and committees — other than the Select Board — can or cannot do, and the powers of bodies like the Planning Board are regulated by state law.
 
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