UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A pair of Penn State Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows will speak later this month at an American Association of University Women (AAUW) State College event.
Odgerel Batsaikhan and Ninoska Leiva will present at AAUW State College’s “International Perspectives on Women in Society” program from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Jan. 25 at Graduate State College (formerly the Atherton Hotel).
Batsaikhan represents Mongolia as a Humphrey Fellow in the field of higher education administration. She is vice director of Otgontenger University, one of the first private universities in Mongolia. She has been working in higher education institutions for 18 years and holds a doctorate in political science. Her doctoral dissertation focused on increasing women's participation in decision-making.
“For a developing country, I have come to realize that the solution to many problems, such as poverty, urban planning, economic difficulties, etc., lies in providing good quality education,” Batsaikhan said. “In this context, the leadership of higher education researchers and teachers becomes crucial. I chose to participate in this program because it aligns perfectly with my desire to study in the United States, which is home to the world's best universities and higher education system.”
She is a member of the Gender Consortium, a collaborative platform for Mongolian universities, and analyzes liberal arts curricula with the aim of clarifying gender-sensitive methodology. She has also authored and co-authored several books.
At the AAUW event, she plans to discuss the role and participation of women in Mongolia’s higher education sector.
“While women are predominant in higher education and research institutes, their representation decreases as they advance in the ranks,” Batsaikhan said. “Mongolia recently celebrated its 100th anniversary of the establishment of a formal higher education system. Mongolia is a democratic country with a profound ancient history and breathtaking natural beauty.”
She has developed a love of Penn State, she said, especially after her first trip to Beaver Stadium for a football game.
“Since I arrived last fall, I have spent every day at Penn State and State College, creating fond memories,” Batsaikhan said. “Particularly, watching a football game at Beaver Stadium was a wonderful day that will never be forgotten. In Mongolia, there is little knowledge of American football, but being here, I've witnessed how significant Penn State football is in people's lives. I have become one of them.”
Leiva is a professor at the University of Chile and the University of Santiago de Chile. She has spent time as a journalist, with a degree in social communication, a postgraduate degree in leadership and team management and digital marketing, and a master's degree in public policy sciences from the University of Chile.
She is head of communications at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Chile. She is a professional with experience in strategic communication in the media, private companies and the public sector. She has engaged with CNN, Radio U. de Chile and the Ministry of Health; and was a communications adviser on the Infrastructure Policy Council, where four former Chilean presidents and 20 ministers of state participated.
During her time at Penn State, Leiva said she has most enjoyed meeting with American counterparts and working alongside Penn State organizations that conduct similar work to what she does in Chile to learn and exchange best practices. Through the Humphrey Fellows program, she has been able to attend conferences across the U.S. where she has had the opportunity to present her work and research to the international community.
Her journey to Penn State, however, is the fulfillment of a long-held wish that has seen her overcome still learning the English language, becoming a mother at the age of 17 and the loss of her younger brother a decade ago while continuing to battle attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), she said.
“This is a dream for me,” Leiva said. “I was drawn by the opportunities provided by the Humphrey Fellows program. In my time here at Penn State, I have met with professionals from various backgrounds and learned more about their trajectories and experiences, providing me with key insights on how to progress in my field.
“I was a teenage mother,” she continued. “I was 17 years old, and this was really hard but today I appreciate it. Now my son is 20 years old and he is studying medicine in Chile. The hardest attack I suffered was in 2012 when my younger brother died. I will never recover from that, but he taught me to go for your dreams, because I need to live my life and his life. I am an energetic person and always try to smile and do something, because I have ADHD. This is a hard condition, but it is nice, too, because you are different. I have been married for 24 years and I have an amazing family.”
At the AAUW event, Leiva said, she plans to talk about her own professional background and the work she is currently doing to improve the relationship between universities and corporate entities. She will discuss particular projects that were implemented in the university that helped achieve those objectives.
She also is passionate about teaching, she said, and the impact she can have on students’ lives as a result of sharing her own life experiences.
“It’s about believing in yourself,” Leiva said. “My parents are not professional. They only have a high school education, and being a teenage mother was hard, but I believe in myself. Now I am in this program, I am a university teacher, I have two master’s degrees and I am studying for my Ph.D. in strategic communication at the University of Sevilla in Spain. Sometimes life isn’t easy, but it is important to believe in yourself.”
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows program is a one-year non-degree program of combined academic and professional development opportunities. It brings accomplished mid-career professionals from designated countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle East to selected universities in the U.S. — including Penn State — for public service, advanced study, professional training and work-related experiences.
The program was established in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter to honor the late Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. As the fellowship was being founded, Carter received encouragement from a key advocate — former Penn State President John Oswald.
The Humphrey Fellowship Program is administered by the Institute of International Education and the primary support for the program comes from the U.S. Department of State.
For those who wish to attend the event, reservations are due Jan. 18. To attend, send a check for $24 payable to “AAUW State College” c/o Christine Bishop, 205 First Ave., State College, PA 16801. Late payments are accepted at the door but advance reservations are required by Jan. 18. The event includes a lunch buffet. The moderator will be Carolyn Donaldson of AAUW State College.
For questions or more information, contact Christine Bishop via email at cbishop@ccysb.com or by calling 814-441-3571.
Event sponsors include Altrusa International Centre County, Community Diversity Group, Global Connections, Soroptimists International of Centre County and Ten Thousand Villages.
Brian Cox