Semester in Florence and Semester in Salamanca celebrate milestone anniversaries during Homecoming

On Homecoming Weekend, the Center for Global Engagement had the honor of celebrating four decades of two flagship study abroad programs: the Semester in Spain and the Semester in Florence. These programs, which both started in the 1980s, have hosted more than 5,000 students since their founding, and are continuing to provide exceptional experiential learning opportunities to students today. All program alumni and former Faculty Members in Residence were invited to attend the celebration.

The Semester in Spain program, formerly called the Semester in Salamanca program, was founded by former professor of Spanish, Dr. Carmenza Kline, and started as a full Spanish immersion opportunity for JMU students. The program has also been directed by Dr. Felix Wang of the Honors College, and Dr. Tomás Regalado-Lopez of the Department of World Languages. Students take classes at the University of Salamanca (a renowned university founded in 1218). Today, the program still boasts full Spanish immersion opportunities in the summer and fall semesters, while the spring semester is offered in English for students to enroll in General Education courses. While on the program, students also visit other historic sites in Spain including Madrid, Sevilla, and Granada, and Porto in Portugal.

The Semester in Florence program, founded by former Art History professor, Dr. Kay Arthur, is an interdisciplinary program offering courses in art history, hospitality management, marketing, political science, communications, and more. The program continued to flourish under the leadership of Political Science professors Dr. John Scherpereel followed by Dr. Chris Blake, the current director. Students live and take classes at the historical Palazzo Capponi, which is a 14,000-square-foot medieval palace in the heart of the Santo Spirito neighborhood. In addition to calling Florence home, program participants also get to visit sites like Naples, Pompeii and Pisa.

Both programs also house masters’ level programs; the European Union Policy Studies program is housed in Florence while the Spanish Language and Culture for Educators program partly takes place in Salamanca.