By Madison Hiser

Tucked away in the peninsula of Italy, 5,333 miles away from Fayetteville, sits The University of Arkansas Rome Center. This historic site is home to the university’s only international campus, which serves as a study residence and workplace for students and staff across various concentrations. The campus has been integral to the professional and personal experiences of many faculty members and students at the University of Arkansas, specifically Dr. Heather Sprandel of the Walton College and Larry Foley of Fulbright College.

Dr. Sprandel teaches Data Analysis & Interpretation and several management courses for the Walton College of Business on campus in Fayetteville, but she is also incredibly involved overseas, where she co-leads two of the study abroad programs in Rome.

She is a co-faculty lead for the Marketing in Rome summer program, the Global Awareness program in London, and the Business of Marketing winter intersession program also in Rome.

Sprandel shares that each of the business abroad programs she leads includes experiential education experiences, such as providing consulting services for a company or organization. These opportunities allow students to complement their cultural exposure with professional development.

“Study abroad is important to help students expand their global cultural awareness. It helps them to grow personally and professionally, and the experience is attractive to add to a student’s resume,” Sprandel said.

Sprandel says that the most rewarding aspect of her experience leading students abroad is when students come back and share how much their time in the program meant to them and that they would do it again if they could. 

“I’m just grateful that I could be a part of the experience with them,” Sprandel said. 

Similar to Dr. Sprandel, Larry Foley, a broadcast professor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Media, has also experienced significant impact from his work as an instructor and in his own personal career while abroad.

In 2022, Foley received an appointment as a research fellow at the Rome Center. In his time in Italy, he taught Multimedia Storytelling to students of all degrees and worked on his documentary “Cries from the Cotton Field” (scheduled for release in 2024).

Foley’s work in Italy provided some of his students with opportunities to grow their professional skills. As he worked on his documentary, he was able to offer two of his Broadcast Journalism students an internship working on the film. These interns were able to receive academic credit while also growing culturally and professionally.

He explains the surreal experience of what it is like to walk through historic Rome on the way to class and work.

“My apartment was across the street from the Tiber River, and for dinner (I) might have walked past the Vatican. It was just an incredible experience,” Foley said. 

He says that having an opportunity to be in a different place “where all that history and culture is going on” was one of the best experiences of his life.

“If you have an opportunity to go to another country—live and study–-that is an opportunity I would not pass up,” Foley said, “…I think any faculty member who has the opportunity to teach or do research abroad should seize it, and I would say the same thing about students.

Both Dr. Sprandel and Professor Foley suggest that studying abroad is an excellent way to become immersed not only in another culture but in the development of professional skills. For students eager for opportunities found in international education, program information and applications can be found on the university’s study abroad website.

In addition to the marketing programs co-led by Dr. Sprandel, the Rome Center hosts many faculty-led programs for students across various areas of study during the summer, each semester, and during intersession. Students in good academic standing and at least 24 credit hours earned on campus are generally eligible to apply. A student can apply for traditional study abroad, international exchange, independent study or internship programs using the HogsAbroad Portal.

As for opportunities outside of the classroom, students can apply for internships or independent studies abroad. Like Professor Foley’s student interns, many UA students take part in international internships, research projects and independent study programs. In addition to the university’s programs, the Office of Study Abroad also works with external partners who offer internships for academic credit.

Each program has its own application deadline and requirements, so it may be helpful for a student to schedule an appointment with an advisor at the Study Abroad and International Exchange office on campus to discuss these details. The office is located at 520 N Storer Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72701. They can be reached by email at studyabr@uark.edu or an appointment can be made online.