The Office of International Programs has named Katherine Bellows as the interim director of international programs. Bellows will assume her duties starting April 1.

Bellows, currently the assistant dean and director of international student and scholar services, will replace Michael Vande Berg, the current director of OIP.

After four years of leading the OIP, Vande Berg is leaving to join the Council on International Education Exchange as vice president for academic and external affairs. Vande Berg’s extensive involvement in international programs will be helpful for his new position with the CIEE, a non-governmental international education organization designed for high school and college students to study, work, teach or volunteer around the world. Since Georgetown works with CIEE programs, Vande Berg is likely to be visiting campus again on behalf of the CIEE.

His efforts at Georgetown included continuous assessment of student learning abroad, enhancement of student safety especially for those in politically unstable nations and emphasis on on-campus support systems for international students.

Bellows said she would like to focus on similar matters. As the interim director, she will be working toward several goals dealing with the student experience abroad.

“I want to focus on the quality of student experiences and try to provide students with all the information needed before entering a new culture,” she said. “Most of all I want to learn from the students once they come back to Georgetown, which will really help us in assessing our programs.”

Bellows arrived at Georgetown in 1991 with an extensive background in education, specifically in international studies. After spending two years as a volunteer for the U.S. Peace Corps in Botswana, Bellows worked on two graduate degrees from the University of Florida in Counseling Education focusing on Cross-Cultural Psychotherapy.

“Even before the Peace Corps, I taught international students in a secondary school in Pennsylvania. And my experience in the Peace Corps was the most phenomenal experience. Living in a different culture is incredible,” Bellows said.

Her familiarity with international education has permeated her life. Bellow’s career at Georgetown began as director of the international student and scholar service at OIP. She is actively taking part in various organizations which promote international education, her passion.

“My time in the Peace Corps is at the root of all this. In fact, I encourage everyone to live in a different country at some time,” Bellows said.

Bellows said that her time in Botswana allowed her to understand the struggles of other cultures. “Kids would go home to do their homework,” she said. “But they weren’t allowed to because they had to go fetch water, collect wood and help take care of their brothers and sisters. It’s really challenging.”