Border crossings
The Henry J. Leir Luxembourg Program-Clark University offers opportunities for teaching and learning across cultural boundaries
By SunHee Kim Gertz, professor of English and co-director of the LLP-CU
Photos courtesy of Uwe Gertz and SunHee Kim Gertz
Experiencing diverse cultures through a diverse campus community and a curriculum that is global in its view is a key component of a Clark education. The Henry J. Leir Luxembourg Program-Clark University (LLP-CU) plays no small part in the University's intercultural mission. The LLP-CU is coordinated by Uwe Gertz and directed by English professor SunHee Kim Gertz and German professor Walter Schatzberg. Its best-known program is most likely the May Term in Luxembourg, but the LLP-CU offers many other programs that support the kind of intercultural research, teaching and learning that have become a hallmark of the Clark experience. In the following essay, Gertz describes the LLP-CU's mission and activities, and reflects on the man who made it possible, Henry J. Leir (1900-1998).
Established in 1985, the Clark European Center in Luxembourg, now known as the Henry J. Leir Luxembourg Program-Clark University (LLP-CU), was founded through the generosity of Henry J. and Erna Leir. Known internationally as a key industrialist, Leir left Germany in 1933, having read the troubling signs correctly, and amassed a fortune in metals and mining in Luxembourg before expanding his businesses to 35 different countries, with offices in Luxembourg City, Düsseldorf, Mexico City, New York City, London, Paris and Tokyo, among others.
Beyond his business acumen, Leir displayed a love for languages, literature and the arts, in part for their ability to edify. In 1937, he wrote a novel under the pseudonym Tom Palmer, “La Grande Compagnie de Colonisation,” which presented a vision of a world that could achieve peace through the efforts of enlightened industrialists. This vision finds expression in Leir's varied and extensive philanthropic activities, which are also aimed at improving conditions in the world. During his lifetime, Leir made generous gifts to hospitals, underprivileged children, Jewish institutions and universities, among others. Thankfully, under the leadership of Arthur Hoffman and Margot Gibis, Leir's foundations continue his philanthropic work.
As a result of his remarkable achievements in his varied mix of interests, Leir received numerous honors, including honorary doctorates from several universities, the French Legion of Honor and Luxembourg's Order of Merit, the highest honor that Luxembourg awards a civilian. The LLP-CU works in Leir's spirit and memory by honoring his lifelong gratitude to Luxembourg.
Active learning in Luxembourg Leir found active learning to be a key to students' development and encouraged it to take place in Luxembourg. Our internships, for example, define active learning from a focused, professional perspective. As with other Clark internships, students are placed with a supervisor and integrated into a team. Beyond gaining professional experience, the interns live in Luxembourg, learn how Europeans conduct their professional lives and, most importantly, come to understand how perspectives other than our own can deeply enhance knowledge and experience.
The LLP-CU's May Term provides active learning in a classroom setting. Courses usually have 13 students per class—an ideal teaching and learning experience because students and faculty study, travel, eat and sleep in the same complex, the Château de Schengen. Just as importantly, the dozen or so course-related field trips attached to each four-week course—which must have some connection to Luxembourg—give life to the material. For courses in economics and government, for example, students visit the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, and the European court in Luxembourg City. For medieval literature, students travel to Clervaux in northern Luxembourg to walk through and learn about a medieval monastery, church and castle. More dramatically, it is one thing to read statistics on how many were killed in World War I; it is an altogether different learning experience to bear witness to the rows and rows of crosses at Verdun.
During 2007 the May Term will offer courses on: “Cultural Psychology of Urban Living,” taught by Clark psychology professor Jaan Valsiner; “From Total War to European Union,” taught by Holy Cross history professor Theresa McBride; and “Seeing the Light: At the Crossroads of Art and Science,” taught by Clark physicist Les Blatt.
Luxembourg Luxembourg's location, small size, long and important history, and its wealthy economy provide many opportunities for intellectual exploration. Officially named the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the country is geographically central to western Europe and has 2,586 square kilometers; 451,600 inhabitants (about 40 percent of whom are foreign); and Germany, Belgium and France as neighbors. First mentioned in manuscripts in 963, Luxembourg is now a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy. The LLP-CU May Term and conference location, the Château de Schengen, has further historical and political significance: it is located at the site of the Schengen Treaty, which essentially opened up Europe's inner borders, contributing to the idea of the European Union.
Luxembourg is also one of the key governmental and financial centers of the European Union, which allows the LLP-CU access to important institutions. We have, for example, internships with the Central Bank of Luxembourg and with the U.S. Embassy. Moreover, it has one of the lowest crime rates in western Europe, making it a relatively safe place for students and faculty to conduct their research. Just as importantly, our Luxembourg colleagues are forthcoming and reliable partners. The LLP-CU-funded collaborations between Clark faculty and their Luxembourg colleagues have resulted in grants and publications. Finally, Luxembourgers have a very high standard of living, which, on the one hand, means higher prices than in the United States, but on the other hand, allows Clark scholars to enjoy their beautifully kept country.
In honor of Leir, the LLP-CU has been developing and increasing the number of its programs for some time. Now, through the generous and thoughtful support of the Ridgefield Foundation, the LLP-CU has the unique opportunity to develop relations on every level of interest to Clark that makes sense in Luxembourg. While the LLP-CU is eager to expand, its officers are planning these developments carefully, with an eye toward quality first. Thus, the LLP-CU hopes to establish links to several divisions of the new Université du Luxembourg, including collaboration with the international research center CRP-Gabriel Lippmann in interdisciplinary ecological studies. The LLP-CU is also looking into an internship possibility with the Luxembourg Embassy in Washington, D.C. These new developments aim to enhance the LLP-CU's support of intercultural research, teaching and learning at Clark.
To learn more about the Henry J. Leir Luxembourg Program-Clark University, contact Coordinator Uwe Gertz at ugertz@clarku.edu, Director Walter Schatzberg at wschatzberg@clarku.edu or Director SunHee Kim Gertz at sgertz@clarku.edu.
LLP-CU programs
Unlike the other two U.S. universities that have noteworthy presence in Luxembourg (Sacred Heart of Connecticut and Miami University of Ohio), the LLP-CU has a variety of programs aimed at different constituencies. The following programs are offered in addition to the May Term.
Conferences The LLP-CU offers Clark faculty the opportunity to run conferences or workshops in Luxembourg, which they frequently plan with members of Luxembourg's academic and professional worlds. Usually, conferences or workshops run from three to four days and involve approximately a dozen scholars and professionals in intensive discussion and analysis, at times resulting in publications, while ties among colleagues are almost always deepened. From 2004 through 2006, the LLP-CU sponsored seven conferences and workshops convened by Clark professors Simon Payaslian, Gary Overvold, SunHee Kim Gertz, Jaan Valsiner, Paul Ropp, Lawrence Lewis and Nick Thompson. Covering topics ranging from China scholarship in Europe to the European constitution, these conferences and workshops brought more than 90 scholars from 21 different countries to Luxembourg.
The Henry J. Leir Lectures
Clark welcomes a Luxembourg faculty member or professional to deliver a lecture in his or her area of expertise on a regular basis, giving the Clark community the opportunity to learn more about Luxembourg and the speaker the opportunity to know Clark more intimately.
The Henry J. Leir Student Conference Participation Award
This award allows a student to attend an LLP-CU conference and experience professional aspects of the academy. The student assists the Clark professor in charge with administrative details, but also attends sessions to learn about a topic more deeply and to witness faculty and professionals in action.
The Henry J. Leir Summer Research Scholarship
This scholarship enables a Clark student to serve as an intern and/or conduct research with a Luxembourg business or institute for eight weeks during the summer. Undergraduates are able to enter the professional world while learning more about Luxembourg. Past internships have been conducted at the international research institute CRP-Gabriel Lippmann, the Citibank-Luxembourg, and the U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg.
The Henry J. Leir Ph.D. Research Scholarship
This highly prestigious, one-year internship with the Banque Centrale du Luxembourg is for a Ph.D. candidate from Clark's Economics Department.
The Henry J. Leir Dual M.A. Program
A student from the University of Luxembourg can obtain a M.A. degree from Clark's English Department as well as from the University of Trier in Germany.
The Henry J. Leir Grade 11 Prize
This prize is awarded each year for the best essay written in English by an 11th-grade student of the International School of Luxembourg.
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Clarknews Fall 2006
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Chateau de Schengen |
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