| Franklin College Switzerland | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Global perspective, the Franklin experience |
| Established | 1969 |
| Type | Private, Liberal Arts, Coed |
| President | Dr. Erik O. Nielsen |
| Academic staff | 51 [1] |
| Undergraduates | 450 [1] |
| Location | Lugano, Switzerland |
| Nickname | FC |
| Mascot | Falcon |
| Website | http://www.fc.edu |
Franklin College Switzerland is a private, independent, liberal arts college in Switzerland with an enrollment of approximately 450 students. Located in the Italian speaking city of Lugano, Franklin offers Bachelor of Arts degrees that are accredited by both the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in the United States and by the Swiss University Conference in Switzerland.
Franklin identifies its mission as "to provide a multi-cultural and international academic environment within which students acquire the essential knowledge and critical, creative and analytical abilities necessary to attain success in their chosen careers and to live culturally enriched and rewarding lives."
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Born out of the former Fleming College, Franklin College was chartered in 1969, founded as a non-profit, independent, post-secondary institution. Franklin College is named for Benjamin Franklin, the United States' first ambassador to Europe. Since its incarnation, Franklin has stressed the importance of international studies as the basis for a strong, global education. In 2005, Franklin was granted Swiss university accreditation, in addition to its accreditation as a Delaware institution of higher learning.
The main campus (formally Kaletch Campus), acquired in 1985, is composed of a private villa with attached library, auditorium, and classroom wing, surrounded by a wooded park. In 2005 the college acquired an additional campus nearby, adding administrative, educational, athletic, social and residential capacity. The current campus spans 5 acres (20,000 m2). The Franklin campus is residential, and is located on a hillside overlooking the town of Lugano, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, Switzerland.
Franklin College has ten residence buildings, seven in Sorengo and three in Lugano
Franklin College Switzerland offers a variety of major programs to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree.
The college also allows for a combined-major programme, in which a student chooses two of the above to earn one degree, as opposed to a double-major.
The majority of courses are taught in English, with the exception of language courses, including an upper-level language courses on film, culture and literature. Students must also achieve proficiency in either Spanish, Italian, French or German, through fulfilling a 3-year language course sequence. In addition to the language requirement at Franklin, a core curriculum consisting of Intercultural Competencies (humanities and arts), International Engagement (political science, history and economics) and Social Responsibility (sciences and cultural studies) is at the forefront to the curriculum. A full year's worth of study in these three categories is a requirement. Courses in mathematics and writing are required as well.
The most popular majors at Franklin are International Management, International Relations, Communications and Media Studies and International Economics, respectively.
The average class size at Franklin is 16, with no class exceeding 30 students.
The Academic Travel Program is an integrated part of the Franklin College curriculum. Academic Travel is a credit bearing degree requirement, and two weeks of travel each semester represent an extension of the students’ class work. Travel is led by faculty members and relates to the academic expertise of the individual professor and to his or her knowledge of a given country or area.
All students, including semester and year-abroad students, are required to participate in the Academic Travel Program. Academic Travel is not only a graduation requirement but an integral component of each semester of study. The graduation requirement for Academic Travel is fulfilled by participating in six travel programs. Students usually fulfill the requirement by participating each semester of their first three years at Franklin. Students who enter with Sophomore standing must participate each semester in which they are enrolled except their senior year.
The travels are themed around academic studies relating both to the location visited and the professor guiding the travel. Economics, art history, literature, business and marketing, international relations, and history are among common themes investigated through travels.
In the spring of 2010 alone, students traveled to Namibia; Ireland; Liguria and Southern France; Venice; Northern Greece and Turkey; Southern Germany; Istanbul; London; Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia; Umbria; Florence, Lucca and Siena; the Po Valley; Vienna and Budapest; Paris; Kerala (India); and Thailand.
Student life at Franklin consists of an emphasis on independent travel within Switzerland and Greater Europe, and of student associations, residential life, and interaction with Swiss-Italian culture in Lugano.
Since 2000-2001, with an exception of a bye year in 2001-2002, Franklin’s men’s soccer team has competed in the National Swiss Division. The team competes with other clubs in the league from the Canton of Ticino. Franklin College is currently the reserve team for the local club FC Paradiso, making it Franklin FC Paradiso II. In recent years the team has won three Fair Play Awards and has placed close to second on a couple of occasions. Lanier sponsored the team until Ricoh took over at the beginning of the 2009 season. The team trains twice a week and competes on the weekends in both the fall and spring semesters - home games are played on Friday nights.
The women's soccer team at Franklin started as a club in 2004-2005. It is still building up to become a truly competitive team. However, during the last few years, participation has grown as the club becomes a more competitive team.
The Franklin intramural basketball team is an organized group of basketball players who practice twice a week. The team, which consists of both male and female players, travels to northern Spain every spring to participate in an international college basketball tournament.
In addition to soccer and basketball, Franklin has an athletic center that holds classes in Karate, Yoga, and Volleyball, as well.
Baobab Initiative
The Baobab Initiative is an independent enterprise that benefits Makumba Village which is in Zambia near the border with Malawi. The town is affectionately called Baobab Village because of the immense Baobab tree that stands in front of it. The Baobab tree is best known for its ability to store over 120,000 liters of water in its trunk in order to survive the harsh conditions of drought. This Initiative began as a result of an Academic Travel conducted by Professor Anne Flutti in October, 2003, to Malawi and Zambia to learn about an organic farming method known as “permaculture,” a contraction of the words permanent and agriculture.
The Baobab Initiative was begun in October, 2004, by Laura Marsala, Justin Niles, and Danielle Benent and now boasts over 30 full-time members and countless supporters. In the years of commitment to the cause, the students have devised a plan to raise funds and to help the villagers help themselves. A much-needed infrastructure has been set up, and resources to start the people of the village on their journey towards prosperity have been offered and are now showing progress.
The efforts are ongoing. The next big educational project is to provide a scholarship fund for the older students who have an interest in furthering their education. The Initiative has begun to expand to surrounding communities as a result of increased dedication from neighbors in the local area. The Initiative also hopes to assist Mphata Primary School, which is attended by several of the village children, in its efforts to build a new classroom.[2]
Mosler Economic Policy Center (MECPOC)
The Mosler Economic Policy Center (Mecpoc) promotes and encourages education and research in new concepts and methods of economic policy analysis. Activities include an annual symposium, a summer scholarship, a website, and other opportunities for undergraduate students to explore alternative views in economic policy making.
Mecpoc was founded thanks to the generous support of Warren Mosler. Mr. Mosler is the president of Valance Co, Inc. and Founder and Principal of AVM, a broker/dealer that provides advanced financial services to large institutional accounts. Beside his many business activities, Mr. Mosler is a Co-Founder and Distinguished Research Associate of The Center for Full Employment and Price Stability and founder of EPIC – the Coalition of Economic Policy Institutions – a non-partisan forum dedicated to promoting research and public discussion of issues related to macroeconomics and monetary policy.[3]
Caribbean Unbound Conference
The Caribbean Unbound Conference is hosted by Franklin College every two years. Each year a theme is chosen; for the Fourth Conference in the Spring of 2009, the theme was "Reconceiving Hispaniola". Past Keynote speakers include Jean-Claude Fignolé, and Maryse Condé.
Intersections of Law and Culture
This is another conference Franklin hosts, usually every two years. It aims to investigate culture's place in law, law's place in culture, and what happens at the point where the two intersect. Previous keynote speakers include Peter Rosenblum, Professor of Human Rights Law at Columbia Law School.[4]
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