Release date: April 11, 2003

Contact: Frances Weyand, Director of Media Relations, 770-423-6203 or fweyand@kennesaw.edu
Writer: Karen Kennedy, 770-423-6203 or kkennedy@kennesaw.edu

KSU hosts Maya heritage conference

Kennesaw State University's Hispanic Center and International Center will host the KSU/Maya Heritage Community Conference at Kennesaw State on Saturday, April 12, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., in Burruss Building Room 151. The featured speaker will be state Rep. Calvin Hill, R-Woodstock. Other events include Maya cultural displays, a Maya cultural show, and workshops on building community strength and present and future strategies.

The conference is just one event designed to strengthen the partnership between Kennesaw State University and a community of more than 2,000 Maya from northern Guatemala, now living in Cherokee and Pickens counties. Through this partnership KSU will guide human services, nursing, teacher preparation and Spanish language students into service learning projects with the Maya community; partner with the city of Canton and MUST Ministries to provide and staff a community center for the Maya; and develop study abroad programs that send KSU students to the Maya's home villages near the Guatemala/Mexico border.

###

Kennesaw State University is a comprehensive, residential institution with a growing student population of 15,600 from 118 countries. The fifth largest out of 34 institutions in the University System of Georgia, KSU offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.