URC names director for Global Detroit International Student Retention Program

September 15, 2011

The University Research Corridor (URC) has named Athena Trentin as the Project Director to implement the Global Detroit International Student Retention Program which is a three-year program funded by the New Economy Initiative to retain international students in the region. Athena joined the URC effective Monday September 12th and she was previously with the International Center at the University of Michigan. Athena will work out of the MSU Detroit Center located on Woodward Avenue in Detroit.

With nearly 20 years of experience in the field of International Education, Athena Trentin specializes in helping international students and scholars succeed in every aspect of their lives while studying and/or performing research at U.S. universities. She has worked as an international student and scholar advisor at Tier I research institutions such as the California Institute of Technology and the University of Michigan. She began her career at Michigan State University teaching U.S. culture, English language, and teaching assistant training classes for the Teaching Assistant Program and the Visiting International Professionals Program (VIPP). Most recently, she is a part time lecturer for the Global Scholars Program at the University of Michigan, teaching a class on global understanding and competency. In 2008, Athena received her Doctorate of Education from the University of Southern California where her research focused on how culture influences teaching style and perceived teaching effectiveness in the U.S. classroom. Her Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and Bachelors in International and Social Relations (James Madison College) were both awarded by Michigan State University.

The Global Detroit International Student Retention Program is designed to implement a wide range of activities to welcome and retain foreign-born residents and investments into the state, and to capitalize on the talent represented in the 16,000 international students studying at Southeast Michigan universities (often in high tech/STEM fields). Foreign-born talent already has a profound impact on Michigan’s tech economy with more than 30 percent of all high tech firms created in the state between 1995 – 2005 having at least one immigrant founder, according to one study. Immigrants file nearly 50 percent of Michigan’s international patents and are three times as likely to start a business. The Global Detroit International Student Retention Program is a partnership with the three URC universities along with Eastern Michigan University, Lawrence Technological University, Oakland University, University of Michigan – Dearborn, the Michigan chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Detroit Regional Chamber, and Ann Arbor SPARK.