HISTORY OF THE CENTER

The Center for Multilingual and Intercultural Communication (MIC) was initially conceptualized in summer 2013.  It was meant to provide a creative, collaborative platform for scholars and students to explore the complex and dynamic nature of communication involving participants from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. MIC was officially approved by the College of Arts and Sciences Senate in November 2013 and subsequently by the Stony Brook University Senate in May 2014. MIC has affiliated faculty members from a range of different departments who bring to the Center their related research expertise and contribute to the Center’s initiatives. It also has a Campus Advisory Board and an External Advisory Board which provide guidance and serve as a sounding board.

MIC operates under the auspices of the College of Arts and Sciences. It is directed by Dr. Agnes Weiyun He, an applied linguist whose research on discourse and language development in multilingual and intercultural contexts has earned her a Spencer Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

In MIC's first official year (2014-2015), we initiated a Distinguished Lecture Series on multilingual and intercultural communication, launched a website with resources for scholars, students and the public, developed research projects, applied for program and research grants (most notably the $1M NSF grant for research on communication in the multilingual college classroom), and established sister-center relationships with several similar entities around the world that share our mission.  Our goal for the near future is to continue the efforts of the first year, expand our research repertoire, and increase the level of participation in MIC-related activities by not only faculty, but also graduate students, undergraduate students, as well as members of the larger community.